Lewisville mayoral candidate claims solutions for what ails police department.
In the latest screed on mayoral candidate Winston Edmondson’s website, the candidate offered some ideas on fixing what he calls “areas where our police officers feel they aren't getting the support and resources that they need.”
Edmonson addressed several things he claims to have heard from local officers: • The police think the I.C.E. 287(g) program will help in dealing with illegal immigrants. • The new jail is under-staffed. • The police are “denied tools to deal with gangs”. • The police station roof leaks and they need new chairs and desks, which can be provided by donations. • Police would have better morale if they had more patches on their uniforms. (A section later removed from the original posting)
287(g) Yearnings
The 287(g) program essentially allows specially trained police officers to utilize immigration databases to check legal status on individuals who have been arrested, or who have been detained in a criminal investigation. If a suspect is not in the country legally, police must jail the individual and process them at city expense.
The program is controversial because it transfers federal responsibility and costs to the local level, and there have been lawsuits and allegations of racial profiling in using this access in the course of normal traffic stops. Lewisville currently cooperates with I.C.E. by having I.C.E. check its prisoners’ status. Over 600 Lewisville prisoners have been flagged by I.C.E. for detention. Under this current program, the federal government pays for the detention and assumes all liability.
The Lewisville jail, opened just last year is a 16 bed facility used primarily for temporary holding. We have no information about staffing at this point.
Gang Officer
The Lewisville Police Department has one officer assigned specifically to keep track of gangs and coordinate intelligence on their activities and hangouts. The Police Department website identifies officer Michael Hernandez as the “Gang Intelligence Officer”:
His duties are to compile information on gangs in the area that may affect the citizens of Lewisville. Officer Hernandez works closely with officers of our department as well as area departments to compile and share intelligence. He also works closely with detectives when gang members are accused of committing crimes.
According to Chief of Police Russ Kerbow, the 140 figure as the number of listed gang members is about right. Gang members do not register with the police, but police do follow strict state guidelines in placing individuals on a list when it is determined through admission or investigation that a person is a member of a gang. Certain criminal offenses are “enhanced” when perpetrated by a gang, in some cases raising the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony. Kerbow notes that “All of us [Lewisville Officers] are our gang unit”
Edmondson asserts that many of the gangs are extensions of Mexican gangs, and that lax immigration enforcement exacerbates the problem.
Leaky Roof, Chairs and Desks to be covered by donors
Rejecting the idea that his ideas will cost money, Edmondson calls that the “old way of thinking” and believes he can go to his former sponsors of his radio show and solicit donations to cover these items. Edmondson gives the following example of a pitch to a potential donor:
“I’m trying to raise money for some items that would really help raise the morale of the Lewisville Police. The police station is an older building and when it rains, the roof leaks. I'd like to get it completely fixed. Also, if you can help me get our guys some new desks and chairs...they have some nice leather chairs on sale at Cosco's [sic] right now… I would really appreciate it”
Chief Kerbow said that most of the roof was repaired recently, and that the last round of rain storms did not result in any leaks. Kerbow explained that a major renovation is scheduled for the Police Department beginning late this year. He further explained that there are procedures in place to replace unserviceable desks and chairs, and that he was unaware of any complaints of that nature. Kerbow said that when items such as desks and chairs are needed, the city just buys replacements.
In this video from "Reno 911", the Sheriff's Department gets a corporate sponsor:
Department heads in the city do have authority to accept donations up to a certain level, with the city manager having authority to accept higher value donations. The City Council must vote to accept donations of a certain level, but approval must happen before a solicitation is made. Unsolicited gifts are handled carefully, especially in regards to the police department. Says Kerbow: “Contributors may not always have our best interests in mind, so we look at these things carefully to determine whether there might be some other motive.”
Service Stripe “Patches”
The first version of Edmondson’s post showed a picture of a female police officer with Corporal chevrons on her upper right sleeve. Edmondson erroneously referred to these stripes as indicating years of service with the police department. Chief Kerbow explained that it is Lewisville’s policy to allow officers one “service stripe” hash mark on the lower left sleeve of long-sleeve uniforms for each 5 years of service with the City of Lewisville.
Edmondson had recommended reducing the requirements to 3 years to increase morale in the department. Kerbow explained that most local departments with service stripes award them for 5 years of service. Lewisville officers receive a service “bar” to display above the right breast pocket for each 5 years of service. Having separate requirements for the service bar and service stripes would cause confusion.
It has come to our attention that some people lack the ability to pick up on subtle clues that the rhetorical devices of sarcasm and satire are being used.
Although most of the people I've heard back from on this article, including the police chief, think it's funny, at least one person said this post was "ridiculing the police".
Although we reserve the right to ridicule the police when it's appropriate, please be assured that we were ridiculing the candidate for his idea to go out and beg for sponsorships for the police department.
Remember, it's impossible to be ridiculed unless you're being ridiculous.
The Zig Zag advertisement on the police car is priceless!
Edmondson is simply now out of control. He's in way over his head but is sadly oblivious to that reality.
I can only trust the voters this year maintain the sensibility they have shown in recent years and reject those who have potential to do damage to our city and its reputation.
We can take nothing for granted, however. I'm beginning to have uneasy flashbacks to the days of B.C. Groves. That's the last time Lewisville's City Hall hosted a circus.
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Lewisville mayoral candidate claims solutions for what ails police department.
Sarcasm and Satire
Re: Gangs, Patches, and Chairs - Oh My!
