Texas Sheriff Tells Citizens Not To Rely On Law Enforcement For Their Safety

That's pretty much always the case IMO. I grew up in a place where it would take the LEO at least an hour to show up and that's after we went somewhere to call them because we didn't have a phone where we lived. It was pretty far off the blacktop I guess. The nearest phone was a couple of miles away or so unless you wanted to swim the river. Considering we didn't have a car when dad was at work that pretty much left us on our own as far as protection from the bad guys went. And they knew where to find us too. Some idiots set up a moonshine still around the road on past our house (if you could call it a road - more like driving through a field really). Dad didn't like that one bit. That day he did find himself a sheriff. He didn't want us living smack in the middle of the stoned drunk interstate. Dad wasn't someone to rat people out because he knew we were vulnerable where we lived but that was a battle he was going to fight. He warned them he would do it. I guess they didn't believe him. The one guy got sent up for 10 years. His brother swore revenge on dad but he knew we weren't without a collection of guns and people to shoot them.

I can only imagine what it would be like living on the border now with the government telling people to avoid the area. I can't say as I wouldn't do something about any trails too close to the house. Those drug gangs play rough and the dang gubmit sure ain't gonna protect you. They get bought off same as the Mexicans. At least they do where I live. They've been caught at it plenty enough times to prove that. I know most LEO's wouldn't do such a thing but it doesn't take many to make life rough for people.

I can't understand why people don't get it. I guess if you live in NYC where there's 2 cops on every block you wouldn't understand. I've seen those Big Apple types come to my part of the world and absolutely lose their minds about how we live. Some kid rode with us to a friend's house on "Space Mountain" (as we called it) and he was ready to jump out of the car and run. He thought we were taking him out to kill him. He wouldn't believe someone actually lived on a road like that. It wasn't half as bad as the road I grew up on either. Heck we were all hippies at the time (yeah, yeah - you had to be there ) and he still thought we were murdering bubba types i.e. "Deliverance".

"Just days after a homeowner in his county was forced to shoot an intruder, Van Zandt County, Texas, Sheriff Michael Lindsey Ray shared some controversial advice with his constituents.

“Presently,” he said, “as the result of underfunding and inadequate staffing at the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, homeowners need to take appropriate precautions to protect their families.”

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"...Because if we did have adequate staffing and funding, we sure would have been there to shoot that intruder for you. ..."



(... said no law enforcement officer, ever.)

Midwest said:

“Presently,” he said, “as the result of underfunding and inadequate staffing at the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, homeowners need to take appropriate precautions to protect their families.”[/I]
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It's possible that the good sheriff wants more money for his department and is using the situation for leverage. Some folks would call that extortion.

It's possible that the good sheriff wants more money for his department and is using the situation for leverage

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Others would call it politics as usual. It's not always a bad thing. I'd much rather spend money on police protection than on studying cow flatulence or some of the other idiotic things the gubmit finds to spend our money on.

I am really not sure why anyone would need to be told to protect your self and your family. It just don't make sense to me. Is this world really getting to the point where people genuinely need to be told to protect themselves?? I don't live in the sticks I have several neighbors, with that being said, if something happens around here, I don't call the cops until it is time for them to do their job. Cops make incident reports so when there is a incident I expect them to do their job and make a report of what happened, not come riding up on a stallion and save the day. I have never understood how people rely on someone 30 minutes away to handle a issue that is happening right then.

"...Sheriff Tells Citizens Not To Rely On Law Enforcement..." Old news, up here. Cops have been saying that for years. "Serve me. I'll protect myself." isn't an option up here though.
"...the good sheriff wants more money..." Just like all of 'em. An old Toronto PD Chief said long ago that if he didn't get more money public safety would be jeopardized. A local newspaper looked into that claim at the time. Found it to be absolute horse excrement. Crime rates have nothing to do with police budgets in any way, shape or form. It's an outright lie and any Chief who says it should be fired. TO's PD budget is nearly a billion dollars. Mostly in pay roll.

SleazyRider said:

It's possible that the good sheriff wants more money for his department and is using the situation for leverage. Some folks would call that extortion.

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Spot on!

I live one county over and I've known some LEOs from that area as well. That sheriff just saw an opportunity to squeeze some money.

The attitude out here in East TX is VERY pro gun, self defense and stand your ground.

A friend of mine killed someone trying to break into his shop here in my county. The newspaper wanted a quote from the Sheriff, he said " this is is one career criminal that won't be going through the revolving doors of justice again".

You sure won't hear quotes like that in Dallas or Houston!

I would not care to make a judgement of his motives, based on a media
article.

It does seem to me that his is pointing out the reality that we, as gun owners, are always saying. Sounds like he agrees.

Do we not all look to oursleves as having primary responsibility for the defense and protection of ourselves and our families? Aren't we our own first responders? Sure it's better left to professional LEOs if they are present, or can get there in time, but such is not often the case.

How many have said, "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away"?

How many of us burn some gun grabber says "You don't need a gun. Just call the police."?

maybe he is fishing for more funding, but what he said rings true whether your local dept. is well funded or not, and I'm ready to applaud his willingness to support gunowner's rights in the face of reality.

Old news here in NM.


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NEW MEXICO COUNTY ENDORSES MANDATORY GUN OWNERSHIPAP, Associated Press

Aug. 2, 1994*10:30 PM ET

RESERVE, N.M.*(AP) _ Every house in Catron County should contain a gun for safety reasons and to counter threats against the right to bear arms, the county's commissioners said Tuesday.

In a non-binding resolution, the three-man Catron County Commission stated unanimously that a gun and ammunition should stand at the ready in each home in the western New Mexico county of 2,560 people.

Assistant County Manager Jim Blancq acknowledged the resolution doesn't actually require anything but puts commissioners on record as saying they believe it should be mandatory.

''That's what the Catron County Commission believes ought to be done,'' he said. ''If you just flat said, 'I don't believe in having a gun,' nobody was going to do anything to you.''

He said most heads of household in the sparsely populated area along the Arizona line probably already own guns.

The measure cites U.S. and state constitutional laws on the right to keep and bear arms, and adds: ''There are forces in our country that are striving to take away our right to bear arms.''

Blancq said proponents were concerned that legislation such as the federal Brady Law, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases, might erode gun owners' rights.

©*2015**The Associated Press. All rights reserved.*

For the past several years, various violent crime went up 35-85% in my city/county and both police chief and sheriff went on camera and announced when officers are already responding to other 911 calls, calling 911 may not result in immediate response, even if our lives were in danger, and we must fend for ourselves until officers are able to respond.

Sheriff promised until the situation improves, he'll approve as many carry permits as possible and has approved record setting number of permits the past several years (and AFAIK, the DA has not prosecuted any justified defensive shootings where homeowners shot the intruders).

I don't necessarily think sheriff's statement in the OP was driven by budgetary motives. It may be that due to recent rise in crime near the Mexican border for him to state his office does not have enough resources and manpower for citizens to arm themselves. I think if that's the case, it would be prudent thing to do.

Police protection is a myth anyways. Just get your Google on. Google "policeman stops robbery" and then Google "CHL holder stops robbery" and you'll immediately see the discrepancy. Many police officials have said these types of things in the hopes of stirring up controversy to raise funds for their departments. To be frank, I don't feel as though I've ever needed the police, and I see there presence as more of a nuisance than a necessity. A burden on the tax payer.

Crime rates have nothing to do with police budgets in any way, shape or form.

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So just as a thought exercise, if my department laid off 90% of its sworn employees, crime rate wouldn't change at all? Even though criminals would know that even highest priority crimes of violence calls would end up with response potentially delayed for hours?

There's absolutely a politics as usual element to budgetary maneuvering from public safety agencies, like every other agency, but I think you've overstated a bit.

Police protection is a myth anyways. Just get your Google on. Google "policeman stops robbery" and then Google "CHL holder stops robbery" and you'll immediately see the discrepancy.

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Most criminals intent on committing a robbery change or delay their plan when the convenience store they walk into or whatever has a police officer or two inside it, so that's kind of an apples and oranges comparison.

That said, it's true the majority of law enforcement work is reactive. A portion of that is the inherent legal framework for LEOs (i.e. locking people up pre-emptively is usually problematic, and should be), but a portion is also resource/manpower driven. Most departments, if you had four or five times as many officers on the street, you'd get more minor crimes interrupted in progress simply because of higher presence on the street increasing foot print and reducing reaction times. Very few, if any, jurisdictions have tax payers interested in footing the bill for that massive a build up in police presence and end strength (few places don't have an opposite trajectory in these "do more with less" or just "do less with less" days).

He seems to be speaking common sense. Surely only children and those with simple minds really think that police can be everywhere all the time. the sheriff is likely making a plug for his next funding request. I just cant believe anyone would think this was a revelation of some acute budget crises. imagine a fire chief mentioning that it is a good idea to protect yourself with a fire extinguisher in the kitchen because due to the inability for mr average american to afford the taxes necessary to place a fireman in every home, you may need to be the first response. Otherwise, they will be there shortly after you call. If we do eventually get assigned a police and fire officer in each home, i would like one that could also split wood and help with plumbing.

The sheriff may be playing politics but the sad truth is when it hits the fan the cops aren't going to be there in most cases. i worked for a large metropolitan dept for thirty years and many nights the dispatcher was calling for any car to make a call because we were blacked out, no cars in service. I've seen this even on an officer needs assistance call. The old saying is true when seconds count the police are only minutes away

This is really nothing new. The Supreme Court has ruled the law enforcement has no Constitutional duty to protect you.

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The fact itself is not new. CLEOs recognizing it, and saying it out loud seems to be a recent phenomenon. Milwaukee Sheriff Clarke, this guy and a few others are saying what is intuitive to many of us.

Still, it is only a few so far. And the press never gives guys like this an easy time, always citing the responses from anti-gun "experts"...

I'm quite sure there are politics in play.

HOWEVER:

I say Kudos to the sheriff for stating the obvious when we live in a society that (generally) hides its' collective head in the sand. Protecting you and yours is YOUR job. Abdicating this to outside authority is cowardice and avoidance of reality. Police, however good their intentions, cannot be there every time something bad happens. They are there to be potential deterrent and process the paperwork after something happens. Maybe they'll even catch the guy/gal that did it.

Do you do stupid stuff with matches and expect the fire department to save you from house fires? Of course not. You take precautions to prevent fires and know the FD only rolls when you screwed the pooch. Same with PD. They roll when it's already happened. Protect yourself.

I think it's a good thing that the Sheriff is honest about the fact that when seconds count, the police are minutes away!

Sounds like a Sheriff I'd like to be near by.

Van Zandt County is like every other rural county in America. It takes the cops a long time to get there when called. 60 miles east of Dallas with a few small towns, some which don't have any police departments. I believe it is about 860 square miles or so. I couldn't find out how many deputies the sheriff has. my family is from there, and I lived there myself for a few years. It is country, with farming and ranching. may be a neighbor close, may be miles away. When my parents lived there my mom kept a pistol handy, not paranoid, but she knew how far out the cops were. Anyway, one less parolee causing trouble.
apparently this guy was a sex offender recently on parole.

Is that the county where the late Chris Kyle killed two carjackers?

If not, the town which supposedly tried to block media access to the Kyle event might not be far from VZ County.

Law inforcement solve crimes - they do not prevent them. If there is a number/statistic that tells us how many times an officer was on location during commision of a crime, my guess is, it is very very small.