in other words, the county is simply tooo cheap to spring for them... priorities, looks like deputies aren't one of them
Posted on 02/16/2018 4:39:16 PM PST by WestTexasWend
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Travis County Sheriff’s Office deputies do not have rifle-resistance vests because Sheriff Sally Hernandez will not commit to hold all arrested undocumented immigrants for deportation.
In January, Governor Abbott announced the state would fund $23 million in grants to purchase 33,000 vests for more than 450 law enforcement departments. Every agency that applied for vests received them. Travis County did not apply for the grant because one condition from the governor’s office required the agency to “sign a letter confirming compliance with ICE detainer requests both now and during the grant term of at least one year,” according to Travis County Commissioner’s Court records.
The deadline to apply for the vests was Sept. 6, 2017, and Travis County officials were still thinking of applying days before the deadline.
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, county staff presented a grant summary sheet to the Commissioners Court. According to county documents, project manager Valerie Hollier planned on asking for a state grant of approximately $240,000, enough for more than 200 rifle-resistant vests.
“It is anticipated the number of fatal shootings will be reduced by equipping more officers with type III & IV body armor,” according to the recommendations.
However, county staff wrote to commissioners that the county wouldn’t apply and didn’t qualify because Sheriff Hernandez would not sign a letter committing to hold arrested undocumented immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Staff wrote Hernandez wanted to wait until the outcome of Senate Bill 4 was decided.
Lawmakers passed SB 4 in the spring of 2017. The law requires county sheriffs to honor ICE detainers or hold arrested people in jail until federal immigration officials pick them up for possible deportation. Opponents of the law sued the state and the case is currently awaiting a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Both sides are expected to take the case to the United States Supreme Court afterward.
According to county documents, “If SB 4 is upheld, the Sheriff has stated that she would sign the letter and the grant would be submitted.” However, if the law is struck down or no action is taken, then the sheriff will not sign the letter.
Signing the letter also gives Abbott’s office “sole discretion” over approving the grants. The required letter and certification are laid out on Abbott’s website.
However, the governor’s office can require agencies to honor ICE detainers whether SB 4 is upheld or not. In short, the grants are from the governor’s office and Abbott can decide what the requirements are to apply.
A spokesperson from the sheriff’s office says Hernandez is complying with SB 4 but has no plans on signing the letter. If SB 4 is struck down in the future, they will revert to their old policy and only hold people arrested for very violent crimes.
Hernandez’s office declined to make her available for an interview or add anything to the documents available to the public.
KXAN reached out to the four county commissioners and Judge Sarah Eckhart to comment for this story. A spokesperson for them declined. Judge Eckhart would also have to sign on to honoring all ICE detainers to receive state grant money.
Currently, Travis County deputies do have bulletproof vests to protect against low-caliber bullets.
The money for rifle-resistant vests came about after a deadly night in Dallas. Several Dallas police officers were killed in the line of duty while they protected a Black Lives Matter march in 2016. In the 2017 legislative session, state lawmakers unanimously approved Senate Bill 12, a $25 million program to help police departments pay for protective vests.
KXAN reached out to Gov. Abbott’s office for a comment but has not heard back.
Shows how many idiots live in Travis County. They elected this clown. I lived there for several years in the early 90s. It was bad but It wasn’t as bad as it is now.
Your comment makes no sense. It is a state program, not a federal program. It has nothing to do with the county budgeting. No grant was “revoked” — the country had the opportunity to APPLY for a grant to obtain the upgraded vests, but county officials decided not to do so because the libtard sheriff would not comply with the terms of the grant.
Why should deputies have to buy their own body armor to be safer on their dangerous jobs when the stoopid county libtards could have provided the armor with a normal, sensible policy as adopted all over Texas? It seems like you are rationalizing the outrageous misbehavior of the Leftards.
That wasn’t what the article implied.
The implication was they couldn’t afford body armor because the government wouldn’t subsidize it anymore.
You really have not read the article. The Travis County deputies HAVE body armor, but it is not rated rifle resistant (safer against higher velocity rounds).
The state govt offered a NEW program to pay for upgraded “rifle resistant” vests to give a better chance of survival against higher velocity rounds.
No program subsidies were discontinued, and the existing armor for that force still exists. This was about the NEW opportunity to obtain NEW (better) vests, paid for by the state.
Thanks for the explanation. LEOs should request that any miscreants planning to shoot at them to please use low cal. hand guns rather than rifles.
Guilty
They’re trying to minimize it, to make it seem like a remote risk and that it’s not a big deal for the officers to go without the armor. As long as the woman sheriff can stand up against the mean old Patriarchy and hold the line to protect undocumented voters... /sarc
They also didn’t mention that the officers were shot by a Black Lives Matter supporter.
in other words, the county is simply tooo cheap to spring for them... priorities, looks like deputies aren't one of them
Her mom got too close to a bull dog......
City of Phoenix
It’s blue Austin Dems in Travis Co.
My nephew owns a pub restaurant in Austin and I’ve not gone there to visit. He’s not a liberal type, but there are too many in Austin that are!
Looks like a Cabbage Patch Sheriff doll.
not rated rifle resistant (safer against higher velocity rounds).
I don’t think any vest will stop a 30.06, will it?? maybe with 1/2 inch steel plates, but you are not going to be happy afterwards.
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