Book Review: “The Devil Behind the Badge” by Rick Jervis

By Guest Contributing Writer Marc S Friedman

Chilling. 

               Informative.

                                      Disturbing. 

                                                            Entertaining. 

These words describe “The Devil Behind the Badge,” a powerfully written first book by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Jervis, a journalist with USA Today.

This richly detailed account of a Texas law enforcement officer turned serial killer offers a haunting and unsettling glimpse into the life of Border Patrol officer Juan David Ortiz, who shockingly turned from a widely admired law enforcement official into a serial killer. 

Jervis, based in Austin, expertly pieces together the lurid 2018 murder spree in Laredo, Texas, in which Ortiz took the lives of four vulnerable women, all sex workers, before being apprehended by local police. What makes the case even more disturbing is the realization by the police that one of their own, a respected Border Patrol officer, was the culprit behind the string of brutal killings.

 While Ortiz’s rampage covered only 12 days, Jervis patiently crafted a compelling and detailed narrative, exploring the broader social and political forces that surrounded Ortiz's crimes. This work is not just a simple recounting of a few horrific days; instead, it takes a deep dive into the dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border region and the immigration crisis, and the evolution of the Border Patrol itself. 

Jervis traces the agency’s roots, starting with its neglected early days, through to its transformation into a militarized juggernaut post-9/11, bringing to light troubling patterns within the agency. He carefully documents that agents who violated the Border Patrol’s use-of-force policies were rarely held accountable, fostering a culture of impunity.

In tracing Ortiz’s background, Jervis reconstructs the trajectory of a man who initially seemed destined for success. Ortiz’s story begins with a difficult childhood, but he found purpose in the military, thriving in the structure and discipline of that life. His service in the Iraq War as a medic earned him praise. 

The Border Patrol seemed like the next logical step in his career as it did for many military veterans. Ortiz’s motivations appeared noble at first. As the son of immigrants, Ortiz felt he could serve the best interests of those crossing the border into the U.S., telling his neighbors that his goal was to ensure fair treatment for migrants.

However, behind the façade of a family man and a dedicated officer, Ortiz slipped into a dark double life. His career in the Border Patrol took him deeper into the murky underworld of Laredo, a city rife with drugs, prostitution, and violence. 

Though he climbed the ranks to a supervisory position in an intelligence unit, the pressures of his job, combined with PTSD from his military service in Iraq and his growing dependency on alcohol and psychotropic drugs, pushed him to the brink. Ortiz began to have sex with a variety of prostitutes along Laredo’s infamous San Bernardo Avenue. 

He became angry, anxious, paranoid, and suicidal. He increasingly experienced blackouts from excessive alcohol and drugs. Yet, despite Ortiz’s clear signs of instability and danger to himself and others, his downward spiral went unreported by anyone at the Border Patrol. This lack of oversight or concern reflects broader issues within the agency, where stress and trauma often go unchecked.

As Ortiz slipped into a darker and more dangerous life, he became determined to eliminate the sex workers along San Bernardo Avenue, including those with whom he had sexual and non-sexual relations. In the Border Patrol’s offices, Ortiz ominously said, “[R}emember, snitches get stitches and bitches wind up in ditches.” 

He became determined to make this happen, resulting in the murder of four marginalized women trying to make ends meet as sex workers. It was a fifth woman who led law enforcement to Ortiz after she successfully escaped from his truck at a service station before being murdered.

One of the great strengths of Jervis’s book is his empathetic portrayal of Ortiz’s five victims. He does not reduce them to mere names or numbers in a series of grisly killings. Instead, Jervis painstakingly reconstructs their lives, exploring the challenges and circumstances that led them into the margins of society, where people like Ortiz preyed on their vulnerabilities. 

He captures the complex social networks these women depended on to survive, while also emphasizing how places like Laredo have become epicenters for intertwined crises—such as the opioid epidemic and the surge of migration—creating an environment where marginalized individuals are at even greater risk.

In his exploration of Laredo, Jervis uses the city as a symbol of the larger issues plaguing the southern border. The opioid crisis, rampant migration, economic hardship, and an undercurrent of violence make this region ground zero for people slipping through the cracks, left vulnerable to exploitation. This is where Ortiz, armed with the authority of his badge, transformed from protector to predator, exploiting the very people he once claimed he would help.

The duality in Ortiz’s life is one of the most disturbing aspects of this case. His descent into madness may have been fueled by external factors like substance abuse and job-related stress, but Jervis implies that deeper, more insidious forces were at work. 

The pressures of working in a militarized and often under-scrutinized agency like the Border Patrol created an environment where someone like Ortiz could easily spiral out of control without intervention. While it is impossible to know the full extent of what triggered Ortiz’s violent outburst, Jervis suggests that the toxic mix of personal trauma, professional stress, and systemic failures within the agency contributed to his breakdown.

After a dangerous chase by law enforcement, Ortiz was captured and indicted for four murders and one attempted killing. A key piece of trial evidence was the video recording of a nine-hour session with law enforcement.

Interestingly, at that time the police knew only of three killings. To their surprise, during the interrogation Ortiz disclosed that he had committed a fourth murder of a missing transsexual prostitute.

“The Devil Behind the Badge” is more than a sensational true-crime story. The author skillfully invites readers to grapple with the complex realities of the southern border, highlighting how larger societal issues—like the treatment of marginalized populations and the failures of law enforcement institutions—can have devastating consequences. 

The book serves as both a gripping account of a killer’s descent into madness and a sobering examination of the systems that allowed it to happen.

With his meticulous research and compassionate storytelling, Jervis has crafted a true-crime drama that goes well beyond the headlines to capture the unsettling realities of life at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

This is not just a story about a man who committed heinous crimes—it is a story about a region in crisis, where the lines between protector and predator can blur in the most dangerous of ways.

 “The Devil Behind the Badge” is a scintillating book that will give the reader a deeper understanding of the immigration crisis at the southern border and how it profoundly affects the lives of those who are part of it. 

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Marc S Friedman was a trial lawyer for five decades and now is an Executive Coach. He graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a B.A degree in Philosophy and from The George Washington University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree with Honors.

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