Under a recent Texas law, candidates running for the position of county sheriff will now be required to hold a peace officer license.
The new law, SB 1124, came into effect on September 1 and marks a shift in the state’s approach to electing its top law enforcement officials.
Under the previous state hiring regulations, candidates for the position of sheriff in Texas were not required to possess a peace officer’s license.
However, SB 1124 has altered this landscape, mandating that candidates must hold this certification in order to qualify for the role.
Texas, with its 254 counties, elects a sheriff every four years as per the state’s constitution. This constitutional mandate makes the sheriff the highest-ranking law enforcement officer within each county.
The author of SB 1124, state Senator Phil King, a Republican from Weatherford, expressed his concerns before the bill’s passage, and underlined the importance of the legislation.
“Somebody can be elected sheriff, be handed a gun and badge who’s never been a law enforcement officer, never been to an academy, never had any experience or training at all, they can be handed a gun and a badge, the very next day they could be in charge of a mass shooting at a school or some other dangerous situation. They also, the next day, would be taking over a jail and all of the liabilities and responsibilities,” the senator said.
Previously, individuals without a peace officer’s license had a grace period of two years to obtain one after being elected as sheriff.
However, the new law has raised the bar for candidates aspiring to run for sheriff by requiring at least five years of full-time experience as a paid peace officer or federal special investigator.
According to lawmakers, this experience is intended to ensure candidates have a fundamental understanding of crucial law enforcement concepts such as search and seizure, the 4th and 5th Amendments and handling active shooter situations.
While the passage of SB 1124 received bipartisan support, it did not go without opposition.
Critics argued that the law represents government overreach, and raised concerns about the potential difficulties that less-populated counties might face in finding qualified candidates.
Nevertheless, the law also introduces expanded eligibility criteria, allowing veterans with 10 years of combined active duty or National Guard service experience to run for the position of sheriff.
This provision aims to ensure that individuals vying for the highest law enforcement officer role in their county are well qualified.
Democratic political consultant Robert Vargas commented on the law’s significance, likening it to other professions that require licensing.
“It’s kind of like going to someone who wants to be a doctor and saying, ‘Hey, treat me for diabetes, and you can get your medical degree and training later on down the line.’ We wouldn’t do that for doctors. Why would we allow that for the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in the county?” Vargas stated.
Ron Took, the leader of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Bexar County, argued that the law modernizes the sheriff’s office.
“You really have to know the law” in today’s law enforcement environment, Took said.
In retrospect, had SB 1124 been in place earlier, certain county sheriff candidates with no law enforcement experience might not have been eligible to run.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who faced a non-law enforcement opponent in the 2020 elections, welcomed the new requirements, stating that it weeds out individuals who may not be as committed or serious about the profession.
“It’s a little bit more than wearing a hat and carrying a gun that’s involved in running a law enforcement agency like this. So if you don’t even have the ability to go get the basic license at some point in your career, then maybe you maybe ought not be thinking about the top cop job in the county,” the Bexar sheriff said.
