Sheriff Rejects Body Armor For Deputies To Avoid Cooperating With ICE
themaven.net
by HollyMatkin
2 weeks
-edited
A Texas sheriff refused to sign a letter agreeing to hold arrested illegal immigrants for ICE.
?Austin, TX – Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) deputies lost the opportunity to receive lifesaving ballistic vests, after the department’s sheriff decided it was more important to shield illegal immigrants from federal agents.
The vests were made available through a unanimously approved state Senate bill in 2017, which allocated $25 million to help Texas law enforcement agencies to purchase the gear for their officers in the wake of the July 7, 2016 police ambush in Dallas that left five officers dead, KXAN reported.
In January, Governor Abbot declared that $23 million in grants from the fund would be dispersed to buy 33,000 vests for over 450 law enforcement departments who had applied. Every agency that applied was accepted.
The vests are designed to protect against more powerful rounds than the low-caliber bullet vests commonly issued to Texas law enforcement officers.
The applications, which were due by Sep. 6, 2017, required agency leaders to “sign a letter confirming compliance with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] detainer request both now and during the grant term of at least one year,” Travis County Commissioner’s Court records said, according to KXAN.
Project Manager Valerie Hollier planned to apply for the grant in the amount of $240,000, in order to purchase over 200 rifle-resistant vests for Travis County.
“It is anticipated the number of fatal shootings will be reduced by equipping more officers with type III & IV body armor,” Hollier wrote in her recommendations for seeking the grant.
The only other requirement needed to complete the application was a written commitment from TCSO Sheriff Sally Hernandez, agreeing to hold arrested illegal immigrants for ICE.
But the sheriff refused. ... |
