PRECINCT 5 CONSTABLE RESPONDS TO NEWSPAPER ARTICLE REGARDING LISD SITUATION This release is in response to this morning’s Tyler Morning Telegraph article regarding alleged discourse between Lindale Independent School District and Smith County Precinct 5 Constables Office. I have been the Constable of Precinct 5 since January of 2013 and in that capacity inherited the School Resource Officer program at Lindale ISD. That program requires an annual year to year Interlocal Agreement which runs from October 1st through September 30th of each fiscal year. This is an ancillary duty of the Constables Office and frankly we are the only Constables Office within Smith County that has provided that service. This is not a common or constitutional function of a Constables Office to provide this type of service. Over the past several months, those duties have required much more of my time which is needed to deal with the normal day to day operational duties of my office. I believe this situation has developed into a political argument which is unfortunate. I have been a law enforcement officer for over 35 years and assure you this office will not turn our backs on the students and teachers of the LISD. We are committed to insuring the safety and security of that campus until a suitable substitute can be determined and implemented. I am not at liberty to discuss any potential personnel matters involving personnel assigned to the Lindale ISD, however I will say that personnel matters were not the catalyst that caused me to reach my decision of not renewing the contract. It is as I previously stated, too much of my time and energy to properly run the everyday duties of the Constables Office are required to oversee the LISD School Resource Officer Program. Interjections from individuals who have chosen to respond to this situation in the media are counterproductive and best left to my office, the Lindale ISD and Smith County Commissioners Court. I will not be making any statements at this time regarding potential ongoing personnel matters relating to employees within my office. As to the equipment in question, this equipment was purchased with funds from the Precinct 5 Constables drug forfeiture fund and by law, I cannot relinquish that equipment to any entity that is not a part of the State drug forfeiture program. We look forward to working through this situation and again the safety of the students and faculty of the Lindale ISD is our first and foremost concern. # # #
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 22:10:09 +0000