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

I thought this was already SOP for Texas (excluding Austin).

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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"Homeowners need to take appropriate precautions to protect their families.”

There. I fixed it.

Homeowners ALWAYS need to take precautions to protect their families. This is NOT conditional on the funding or staffing conditions of any particular law enforcement agency.

Ignition Override said:

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

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Say what? I have the utmost respect for Chris Kyle, but is there any credible evidence that this really happened?

Say what? I have the utmost respect for Chris Kyle, but is there any real evidence that this really happened?

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Apparently not. About three of the tales regarding his state-side activities have been conspicuously unverifiable, unfortunately. There are death records for 'most anyone who dies, especially violently, in the 21st century US. But no records exist for those two, or some others claimed.

It`s the same here in the Panhandle.
At times just a few on duty , and could be on opposite sides of the county.
Some calls will not go to without back up.

Funny how some people get bent at hearing the truth.

I live just outside of austin. And youre right.. The police presence here is overwhelming at times. I would definitely rather be respocible for my own protection Vs Living with the saturation we have here. (In regard to post 26)

But this is the way it should have been from the beginning.

Our society should have never been dependent on police for protection in the first place!

Police departments have always told the lie that they can effectively protect us,,,
In truth and fact their presence does keep some bad guys at bay,,,
But never to the extent that we can let them do it all.

I personally have no respect for people who refuse to take some responsibility for their own safety.

If they don't have the intestinal fortitude to defend themselves,,,
Why should anyone (cops included) risk their lives to do it for them.

So let the liberal whiners cry and moan all they want,,,
This sheriff told the truth about a situation.

I for one find it refreshing.

Aarond

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Sheriffs, politics, $$$ ......

I agree with several of the points and remarks of the members/staff re; sheriff comments.
$ and politics play a big part of it all across the USA, .
In my state, one savvy sheriff posted Facebook.com & soc media DV of his deputies patrol vehicles breaking down or having maintanance problems, delaying responses.
Another sheriff made a angry plea for more $ & support saying his LE agency was short 287 sworn(LE certified) deputies.
A rural county sheriff's office in my state had a public affairs LT tell the media directly the 911/emergency responses were 30-45min but due to budget issues and a serious lack of qualified deputies they couldn't be quicker. I give them credit for being honest & open about their problems.
There was a another county sheriff's office that had a group of sworn deputies fill up a county office during a commissioners meeting over funding the agency.
The tactic seemed a bit unsavory to me but the sworn deputies were upset & angry over the lack of funding and cut-backs.
The Milwakee County(WI) sheriff; David Clarke, is very pro gun/CCW for citizens. He's vocal about it and has used the "we don't have $$$" line.

I'll close by saying, if you get a chance, watch the doc: The Chesire Murders. I saw it on HBO Go. It's worth watching for any armed citizen or parent. If I were a SWAT unit commander or a sheriff, Id have all my sworn personnel watch it.
In short, the documentary explains how 2 savage felons did a violent home invasion/robbery & murdered-raped the female family members. The doctor father was tied up and beaten.
The local PD had approx 28min but chose to wait until the subjects left the victim's home before doing a felony traffic stop.
Oh, the family lived in a "nice" upscale area too. The thugs were caught but the CT atty general & courts said they couldn't face the death penalty.

My little county has an average of 4 to 5 deputies on duty at any one time to "protect" 561 square miles. Both Bodel and Murphy are going to tell you if there is trouble on the south east end of the county all 4 are going to be investigating a drug carrier pulled over on I65 on the north west side of the county.

When Grandpa told Dad and my uncle in this neighborhood you saddle your own horse, shine your own boots and kill your own snakes he wasn't kidding.

The county I live in covers 4391 square miles, a larger area than the two smallest states in the US combined. Of course we are on our own for our personal protection.

xxjumbojimboxx said:

I live just outside of austin. And youre right.. The police presence here is overwhelming at times. I would definitely rather be respocible for my own protection Vs Living with the saturation we have here. (In regard to post 26)

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Actually my post was more a tongue in cheek jab at the culture shift that has taken place in Austin, or the San Francisco of the South, as I like to think of it.

RustyShackelford said:

I'll close by saying, if you get a chance, watch the doc: The Chesire Murders. I saw it on HBO Go. It's worth watching for any armed citizen or parent. If I were a SWAT unit commander or a sheriff, Id have all my sworn personnel watch it.
In short, the documentary explains how 2 savage felons did a violent home invasion/robbery & murdered-raped the female family members. The doctor father was tied up and beaten.
The local PD had approx 28min but chose to wait until the subjects left the victim's home before doing a felony traffic stop.
Oh, the family lived in a "nice" upscale area too. The thugs were caught but the CT atty general & courts said they couldn't face the death penalty.

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Thanks for the lead, Rusty. And you're right, it's a "must see." The movie can been seen here in its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7zxgMNx91g . What screams out to me, and is germane to this thread, is that all the police involvement is ex post facto.

We're on our own, folks.

No police force has 'enough resources and manpower' to protect even a fraction of the population. Never did, never will.

SCOTUS ruled long time ago the police have NO DUTY TO PROTECT ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL.

The police are there to keep order in society as a whole (and usually more emphasis on the rich areas.)

You are on your own.

Deaf

It is really interesting to me how things like this sheriff's comments can be disected and get opinions from every angle of perspective. I live in Van Zandt county Texas, and within about 3 miles of the sheriff's office. We are a rural county and as such, money for local things from road repairs to law enforcement is always tight. Rural areas like this just don't have the resources such as more urban areas would have.
I knew the sheriff that served this county before Lindsay Ray, and can say he also took a broad view of things and I believe he considered the safety of our citizens very seriously. I think Lindsay Ray is following the same fundamental thoughts with none of the underhanded motives he is being accused of.
Texas people tend to be very independent and as a whole look out for their own by whatever means is at their disposal. If law enforcement is unable to furnish the manpower to protect it's citizens as they think they should, they are not above telling people to look out for their own families and neighbors.
Our law enforcement in these rural areas isn't like the big cities where they tell you to take precautions like not making eye contact with someone, make sure to lock all your doors, have proper lighting, etc...they simply tell you to be prepared to defend yourself and your family.
No ulterior motives here...just common sense and good advice from a good sheriff.

Post #38...

Thank you for the post and the Youtube.com tip. I'll pass that on.

Id add that the recent "tactical retreat" mindset being used by many LE agencies now in the post Fergueson era doesn't help things either, .

There are situations or times when you can plan or take your time, but some events or critical incidents require direct action.

Comanche county, OK is larger than the state of Rhode Island. After normal working hour there are two deputies on duty, one in the west and one in the east. It may be awhile before a deputy gets there.

One must be prepared to defend him/herself and the family. Dialing 911 and praying may not get it done.

I have visited Van Zant County many times, it is a rural setting with rolling pastures and woods, everything is green. Except for the snakes and chiggers it would be utopia for living. Unfortunately today an element of less desirable individuals infests almost all communities, if I were a crook VZ Co. would be my least choice. The people there wear hats and drive pick up's, every truck has a pistol or two and most include a rifle....they also use them often enough to be proficient. I found these Texans to be proud, religious and very friendly most are quite ready to protect their own home, community, country. The Sheriff has limited funds and manpower, because he chose to speak the truth says a great deal for his integrity plus realistically if we do not protect one another how can we expect two on duty deputies in a large county to do it?

Funding will always be inadequate for the local police force to provide protection for normal citizens within their jurisdiction. They have no duty to provide protection under the law. They don't even have to tell you the truth. Both positions have been found to be constitutional.

That is why they are called "law enforcement", not body guards or guards.

Another point....

Another important point is that misinformation or poor communications between call centers/911 & first responders/LEPs(law enforcement professionals).
Doing security work I've seen that happen a few times.
One recent incident in the Tallahassee area of north FL had a UF professor murdered by unknown assailants in his driveway. His neighbor, in a panic called 911 almost immediately after the shooting. The victim was still alive when 911/EMTs were called but the call center dispatcher sent crews/LE to the wrong location.
Then, when the address was corrected(by the frustrated neighbor repeatedly calling 911) the dispatchers then incorrectly called the incident scene unsecure. So EMTs and fire-rescue refused to respond until SWAT cleared the scene.
The professor later died from his gunshot wounds. EMTs reportedly didn't treat him or transport him for 25min.

That's a shame but not out of the norm in many cities or metro areas.

I live in Davidson Co. in Tennessee. The state capitol. We have lots of police but as we all know..."when seconds count, the police are just minutes away".

Its just how it is. The criminals plan their activity when the police are not present. duh! So we better make plans to defend ourselves or our families will be making plans for our funerals.

Mark

We were told the same thing by our sheriff about 12 years ago! We have been on our own longer than that! Here its more like when you need the police, their only hours away. If they bother to come at all!

Here its more like when you need the police, their only hours away. If they bother to come at all!

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That sounds a lot like where I live. I had a trailer stolen (dad parked his trailer by the road and said no one would bother it - yeah right) so I called the sheriff. They said I could "come down" and fill out a report if I wanted. But of course nothing would be done about it. It was probably a deputy that did it the way things work in my area. If they didn't do it they were being paid by the people that did. They have been caught being on the take so often it's crazy.

But it's actually better than it was when I was a kid. There were TWO state cops in my whole county and only one at a time was on duty. And it's a big county with big hills. There were no radio systems in those days so they couldn't contact the cop on duty (if there was one) if they wanted. Yes we had A sheriff. No deputies and all he did was go out and serve a summons once in a while. He never investigated crimes that I know of unless it was murder I guess. We didn't have those so I really don't know who would have investigated.

So how did we keep from having murders with no LEO's??? Because everyone knew that if you pointed a gun at someone their whole family would point guns back at you. It was a great system that worked. People took care of themselves and there was far less trouble then than there is now. Now everyone counts on the LEO's to keep order and no one seems to notice it doesn't work. The county I lived in had the 10th highest crime rate in the country. Within 3 miles of my house (rural area so not that far relatively) there were 3 murders in just a couple of years. Only one was prosecuted and they got the wrong person for it. It was a big time drug dealer who was killed and robbed by another drug dealer. A junkie girlfriend got sent up for life for that job. She didn't have a thing to do with it. They had a witness that said so but he didn't even get to testify. That's how corruption works at the county level. The drug dealers have the money to buy off the courts.

I hate bad mouthing LEO's. I really do. Most of them are fine people doing a tough and dangerous job. And they get very little thanks for it. But a few bad apples make them all look bad unfortunately.

I could describe some operations that go on in my region that would make your hair stand on end. But I prefer to keep breathing for a while at least. Seriously. I KNOW a lot I could say but this isn't the time or the place. Trust me when I say this world is corrupt in many, many ways. And it goes right to the top. I had a US senator move in on our action when me and a partner were making a bunch of money. They took everyone's money in a hurry, the greedy jerks, and ruined the thing for us all. It wasn't illegal to do it or not if you did it right anyway. Too many don't bother living by those rules. I didn't either back then but I was nothing like a lot of people are. Nothing. Still I met a lot of people and learned a LOT of stuff. I didn't do anything that would get me sent to jail even. Let's just say that's nothing compared to what some are willing to do.

The Chief of Police in Detroit told citizens to arm themselves awhile ago. Now on the news im still hearing of home invasions but instead of someone innocent being victimized im seeing more and more intruders shot dead or incapacitated in their tracks.. I absolutely love it.

You gotta love Texas

I got here as fast as I could