El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association

January Meeting!!

2012-01-28T18:52:00.003-07:00

The Board would like to thank all the members and retired members who attended the January 2012 meeting. In attendance were two guest speakers both of whom are running for a seat on Commissioners Court. From District 3 (Lower Valley and Far Eastside County), Candidate Dora Oaxaca addressed the membership and answered several questions from members and retired members in reference to her stance on employee insurance, retirees' insurance, privatization of the jails, and consolidation. From District 1 (Eastside), Candidate Carlos Leon (former Police Chief) addressed the membership and spoke of his excellent working relationship with the police union when he was Chief, and also made himself available for questions. Both District 1 and 3 are being vacated by the incumbents and together with the Coalition of Public Safety (C.O.P.S.) we will be announcing endorsments for most of the political races. We ask that each member please update their voter registration prior to this years primary elections. If you need any assistance with this ask one of your Board Members or attend the February Meeting as we will have Francis Munoz there to register or update member's voter registration cards. If you are interested in volunteering your time for this years political functions, please contact one of the P.A.C. members and provide them with your contact information. P.A.C. members to contact are Brian Houston, Mario Marquez, Jose Marrufo, or Louie Silva you can locate their email on the Board members page of the website. Don't wait for others to get things done for you, get involved and make a difference. The two Commissioners elected this term will be there for the next Contract Negotiations for 2014. The C.O.P.S (EPCSOA, EPMPOA, FireFighters Local 51, and Border Patrols Local 1929) is over 7000 members strong and together we will make a difference for our futures!!

Operation Santa!!

2011-12-27T20:47:00.007-07:00

This year the El Paso County Sheriff's Offciers Association at the direction of members request, expanded on last years Christmas toy drive. The association was able to get toys from it membership which were given out at the El Paso Transitional Living Center. On Thursday December 22, 2011 members attended the TLC's annaul Christmas Banquet accompanied by Santa Claus (Lt. Pete Frias) who gave each child a present from Santa. The Association also received numerous donated toys from generous members of our community which were delivered to the Sierra/Providence Childrens Hospital earlier that same day. While at the Hospital, we were joined by Commissioner Sergio Lewis who assisted in giving every child who had to spend the holidays in the Hospital a toy. We were even able to provide toys for any sibling who were visting while we were there. Due to inclement weather the following day we were unable to make it out to the Reynolds House for our 3rd delivery of the year. The Reynolds House will however still be getting a visit from us with a truck load of toys. We would like to thank everyone who donated a toy, volunteered their time, or helped in anyway to make this years Operation Santa such a success. We know that with the generousity and willingness to help the less fortunate of the EPCSOA membership, we can help make it a Merry Christmas for even more children next year. Please contact a Board Member if you are interested in volunteering your time at any of our Charitable events.

Sheriffs Memorial Honors Fallen

2011-12-27T20:38:00.004-07:00

Sgt. Yvonne Villarreal Vann of Bexar County traces Sgt. Kenneth Vann's name in the Sheriffs Memorial Wall

The Texas Sheriffs Officers Memorial held a ceremony honoring Sheriffs Officers across Texas who have given the ultimate sacrifice. The following were honored:

Cesar Arreola, Jailer, El Paso 01-18-2009
Henry C. Banks, Deputy, Hays 11-16-1873
Robert L. Britton, Jr., Deputy, Smith 03-28-2011
Dionicio M. Camacho, Jailer, Harris 10-23-2009
Thomas F. Douglas, Jailer, Harris 03-10-2004
Sherri Jones, Deputy, Bowie 04-18-2011
Odell McDuffie, Jr., Deputy, Liberty 10-25-2010
John Norsworthy, Deputy, Fort Bend 01-04-2011
Tim Olsovsky, Deputy, Victoria 10-07-2009
Bobby E. Pace, Jailer, Dallas 09-24-1998
Sam C. Perez, Deputy Val Verde 11-18-1969
Jacob R. Rayos Deputy, Reeves 04-11-2010
Michael R. Schaefer Deputy, Uvalde 12-25-2010
Clifton L. Taylor, Deputy Johnson 04-23-2011
Charles A. Van Meter, Deputy Brazoria 06-26-11
Kenneth G. Vann, Deputy, Bexar 05-28-2011

Voting Results!!

2011-11-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Membership;

On November 22, 2011 a vote was held to increase Association membership dues. 72% of voting majority of the membership vote to increase Association dues by $6.15, so the change will be from $5.00 bi-weekly to $11.15 bi-weekly. The new dues will go in effect on January 1, 2012. I would like to THANK all the membership for the continue support of the Association and the preservation of its future.

JOSE G. MARRUFO
PRESIDENT-E.P.C.S.O.A

Issue 2 falls, Ohio collective bargaining law repealed

2011-11-09T10:51:00.001-07:00

Posted by Rachel Weiner -->at 09:38 PM ET, 11/08/2011

Ohioans voted Tuesday night to repeal a Republican-backed law that restricted collective bargaining for public workers, a victory for Democrats and labor organizers both nationally and in the state.
AP has declared Issue 2 (as the law was called on the ballot) dead. As of this writing, with about 75 percent of precincts in, repeal led by a whopping 62 to 38 percent margin.
Gov. John Kasich (R) took office in January vowing to curb unions’ power. But he appears to have overstepped his hand in curtailing the rights of 350,000 public workers — including firefighters and police officers — to negotiate over benefits, equipment and other issues.
The backlash against the law began as soon as Kasich signed it, in March. By August, when the governor asked for a compromise with unions, it was too late.
“It’s clear that the people have spoken and my view is, when people speak in a campaign like this you have to listen,” Kasich said in a press conference after the results came in. He said he would “take a deep breath” and think about the results. “But let me be clear, there is no bailout coming” for the state, he said, adding that he would work with local governments to curb costs.
As in other states, the law became a battleground for an ongoing fight between labor and conservative groups over collective bargaining. In Wisconsin, after Gov. Scott Walker (R) eliminated collective bargaining for many public employees, Democrats and labor failed to take back the state Senate in recall elections. Now, unions have their first bonafide win.
By including firefighters and police officers in the legislation, Republicans in Ohio set themselves up for a far more difficult fight. Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law made exceptions for both.
“This was an effort by the entire labor movement in the state,” said Lee Saunders, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “All labor was together.”
Labor groups, led by the National Education Association and the Ohio Education Association, through the group “We Are Ohio,” poured $30 million into the repeal effort. Opponents of repeal, under the banner “Build A Better Ohio,” raised only $7.5 million.
“This was a thrashing in Ohio — a huge overreach by extremist Republicans and an enormous victory for average working families,” said Steve Rosenthal, a longtime Democratic labor strategist. “A sleeping giant may have been awoken in the process. In Ohio nearly 30 percent of the vote in 2012 will come from union households. There is enormous energy coming off this victory.”
Democrats also claimed victory, framing the results as a rebuke to Republican lawmakers across the country after the GOP swept statehouses across the country in 2010. Ohio Democrats were brutally beaten in that election.
In addition to limiting bargaining and banning strikes, the law mandates that public workers pay 15 percent of their health-care benefits and 10 percent of wages into their pensions — something that state, but not county and local workers already do.
Republicans argued that the legislation was not only fair, but necessary to balance the budget. Democrats and unions argued that it was a senseless attack on hardworking public servants.
A separate referendum to bar all health-care mandates, Issue 3, passed by a wide margin — 66 percent to 34 percent with 74 percent reporting.
The constitutional amendment is a rebuke of the Obama administration’s health-care legislation, although even supporters acknowledge that they cannot supersede federal law. It does prevent a Massachusetts-style state health-care mandate. Critics fear the broadly-written measure could bar immunizations or regulation of health insurers.

Collective bargaining rejected for Sheriff's Office in Cameron County!

2011-11-09T10:47:00.003-07:00

November 08, 2011 10:22 PM
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald

Cameron County voters on Tuesday rejected collective bargaining rights for Cameron County deputies and detention officers by a slim margin.

By a vote of 2,321 in favor and 2,639 against, the initiative failed. Initial vote counts had indicated that it would be a tight race.

Cameron County Sheriff’s Deputies Association President Luis Mendita could not be located for comment.

But he, with the help of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), led the effort that would have allowed deputies and detention officers to organize and bargain with the county regarding compensation, hours, and other conditions of employment.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m., drawing 3,266 voters on Election Day, 1,815 votes during the early voting period, and 19 mailed-in votes.

The collective bargaining initiative drew 924 early votes for it and 830 votes against it. A total of seven mail in votes were cast for it and 12 were cast against it.

On Election Day, 1,390 votes were cast in favor and 1,797 votes were cast against. A total of 5,100 votes were cast in the election.

The voter turnout was significantly low. There are 169,950 registered voters.
The returns were not available until 9:50 p.m., because the boxes from Harlingen came in late, a couple of hours after the polls closed at 7 p.m.

This is not the first time that the Harlingen boxes come in later than what would be expected.
But County Election and Voter Registration Administrator Roger Ortiz said, “rather late than wrong.”

Proponents had argued that a collective bargaining agreement would protect deputies and detention officers, providing them adequate pay and other benefits. Opponents, on the other hand, argued that bargaining agreements would deplete funds for the operation and maintenance of the county to detriment of the county’s operation and maintenance and other employees not protected by an agreement.

Commissioners Court was forced to place collective bargaining on the ballot after the association turned in a petition for the referendum containing more than 3,400 signatures.

CLEAT Convention Held in Corpus Christi

2011-11-07T22:01:00.004-07:00

With the defense or public retirement benefits on the minds of most in attendance, members travelled to Corpus Christi for the 35th annual CLEAT convention October 20-22nd.

CLEAT pollster Todd M. Smith and political consultant Nancy Fisher addressed CLEAT leaders at a retirement seminar on Thursday in which the focus was the recent attacks on public pensions. Smith relayed that public attitudes on defined benefit retirements are not as negative as national pundits would have you believe. When those polled learn the facts, such as most public safety employees do not participate in social security and contribute 6 to 14% of their income to their own pension, then polling results were found to be favorable. For example, in the poll commissioned by CLEAT, 95% of those polled believe that police officers deserve a descent retirement and 69% believe it should be higher than those in the private sector.

Nancy Fisher was called in to help during the 2011 legislative session when local “agreed to” pension legislation for Austin Police and Fire came under attack. Opponents attacked the bills with misinformation and the key was educating legislators on the truth. She praised CLEAT for efforts made within the internal political process to overcome the opposition and move the legislation forward.

In the general session on Friday, President Todd Harrison addressed the membership on the state of CLEAT. He reminded members that CLEAT was formed by regular cops 35 years ago to bring rights like civil service, collective bargaining, and arbitration to the rank and file. They did it by organizing and meeting in hotel rooms across the state, including a hotel room in Corpus Christi not far from the current convention hotel. Since then, the membership has grown to over 18,500. Despite tough economic times, CLEAT’s growth and finances are strong, he said. He also reminded members that CLEAT’s books are “open records” to anyone interested in how CLEAT has invested or spent the members money or if you are a CLEAT member with a question, our staff is ready to assist you.

Sean Smoot, of the Illinois Police Benevolent Protective Association addressed the membership. Smoot outlined the fight to defend police pensions and benefits in Illinois. Smoot discussed the PBPA “We are One” campaign and the importance of educating both the public and legislators as to the truth. He explained that organized opposition in all of the national attacks on pension benefits is coordinated through the use of a process known as “astroturfing” which is a form political advocacy that is designed to give the appearance of a “grassroots” movement when in fact the attack is orchestrated by a political group or entity with a predetermined agenda. He pointed out that millionaires like the Koch brothers are behind a lot of these “astroturf” campaigns.

Also, on Friday, members heard from Brent Hatch from Texas’ Division on Workers Compensation. Mr. Hatch discussed the new changes to the Texas Workers Comp system for first responders. These changes were a result of legislation developed and passed by CLEAT during the last legislative session.

On Saturday, members honored those who have made great sacrifices protecting the public the past year. In an emotional presentation, members remembered 20 officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the last 12 months. Medals of Valor were also awarded to Sergeant Patricia Lenoir (Sweetwater), Officer Lee Ortiz (Snyder), and Corporal Darrell Campbell (Snyder).
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst addressed the membership and thanked CLEAT for the support shown over the years. Dewhurst outlined important legislation supported by CLEAT that he we was able to help through the legislative process as the president of the Texas Senate. Dewhurst also addressed the retirement issue and committed to ensuring that officers pensions are secure in the future.

CLEAT also honored the following award winners, Corpus Christi Police Officers Association – CLEAT Local Association of the Year, Brownsville Police Officers Assciation – CLEAT Organizing Award, Wayne Vincent (Austin) – Ludwig Bruno Award, Jose Marrufo (El Paso County) – Douglas Ward Award, Michael Helle (San Antonio) – Reuben Cisneros Award, Edward Garces (Brownsville) – Lifetime Achievement Award, Ron Martin (El Paso) – Brass Balls Award, Edward Martin (Jefferson County) – Legislative Steward Award.

CLEAT’s Regional Directors also awarded Officer of the Year awards to a members from their regions. CLEAT congratulates the following winners: Sergeant Antionio Molina, Jr. (Region 1B), Deputy Cynthia Hooper (Region 2), Detective Michael Helle (Region 3A), Deputy Loudes Najara (Region 3B), Deputy Luis Alva (Region 3C), Officer Henry Rivera (Region 4A), Detention Officer Jean-Claude Drouin (Region 4B), Officer Lee Ortiz (Region 5), Sergeant Landis Cravens (Region 6), Detective Edward Martin (Region 7), Lieutenant Gary Rosch (Region 8A), Sergeant Sam Stock (Region 8B), and Sergeant Brad Meyer (Region 9).

In new business, a number of proposed constitutional amendments were tabled. President Todd Harrison announced that a two-day constitutional convention would be called next year to develop a constitutional changes that can be supported by all groups in CLEAT. Also, an effort to expand the size and membership of the CLEAT executive board was defeated in roll call vote of the board of directors.

Pictures from the convention can be found online here:

http://cleatpomf.shutterfly.com/

Letter to CLEAT from President Marrufo!!

2011-09-14T21:04:00.003-06:00

CLEAT,

Once again you have proven why being part of this great organization pays off. On Tuesday September 6, 2011, CLEAT contract attorney Brock Benjamin, who is filling in for staff attorney Miles McNeal, arbitrated and successfully got a one day suspension overturned with no discipline.
Cpl. Joseph Medina received (1) one day suspension for leaving his post to move his POV for safety and security reasons. Although the officer was verbally counsel by his Lieutenant, as per our departmental policy, the Sheriff felt that further discipline was required. The Sheriff contended that Cpl. Medina left his post unsupervised and without permission from his Lieutenant. Mr. Benjamin present evidence, that clearly showed Cpl. Medina not only acted in a professional manner, but complied with all written and verbal orders.

A one day suspension might no seem like alot, but no officer should be subject to discipline and endure a financial hardship without just cause. CLEAT has a record here in El Paso and around the state, that we can proudly hang our hats on. If Sheriffs and Chiefs around the state are willing to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars of tax payers’ money to fight one day suspensions, it’s comforting to know that local Associations’ along with CLEAT will fight back.

Again great job Mr. Benjamin and CLEAT!!!!!!!!!

Jose G. Marrufo Jr.

President-El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association

2012 Scholarship Applications!!!

2011-08-20T12:12:00.004-06:00

The El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association would like congratulate Deputy Rudy Payan and his son Albert "Scottie" Payan on his selection as the first ever recipient of the EPCSOA Scholarship. Scottie graduated from Burges High School and plans to attend The University Of North Texas where he will Major in Theater with a Minor in Communications. Scottie was a member of the National Honor Society, chosen "Outstanding Citizen" Senior Class, Senior "Class Favorite", and "Top Ten" Senior by teachers and peers at Burges High School. Scottie also participated in athletics while at Burges where he was a member of the Football and Track teams. Scottie describes his awards in Theater as his most important awards as this is the Career he plans to persue. He received the following: Best Actor Award at the District Competition, Best Comic Actor in a play,and the All Star cast. Scottie attributes his leadership and discipline to his years in The Boy Scouts where he achieved Senior Patrol Leader and was awarded the Order of the Arrow, an Honor Group.

Don't forget if you are a current or retired member of the EPCSOA and have a dependent graduating from High school or curently attending a 4 year College or University they are eligible to submit an application for this scholarship.

Application packets must be submitted by January 31st of every year. Incomplete or late packets will not be considered. Any questions or to obtain a scholarship packet please email scholarships@epcsoa.com

Family Tradition!!

2011-08-08T14:32:00.003-06:00

Jesse G. Leyva the son of Detention officer Lucina Silva, and retired Detention Officer Gustavo Leyva, will be sworn in on 08-14-2011 as a new Detention Officer with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Luci is very proud of her son joining the Sheriff's Office following in both Luci's and his father footsteps. Luci herself has been in the department for over 19 years, and gets emotional when talking about her son and reflecting on the years gone by. Luci is very proud of her son Jesse and welcomes him to the Sheriff's Office family. Congratulations Luci and Gus, and good luck to Jesse G. Leyva in your career.

What to Expect if You are Involved in a Critical Incident

2011-07-26T14:38:00.003-06:00

By Fort Worth CLEAT Attorney Craig Driskell

Although most critical police incidents involve shootings, don’t forget that other incidents can generate the same level of investigation and media attention such as: in-custody deaths, fleet accidents involving serious bodily injury/death, etc.
So what do you do if you’re involved in a critical incident? This article is a very brief overview of what to expect in a Q&A format:

Q: What should I do if I’m involved in critical incident?

A: Let me answer this by saying that BEFORE you are involved in a critical incident make sure you are aware of your department’s requirements when you’re involved in an incident. For sure you are supposed to notify dispatch and your supervisor; however, don’t forget to contact your CLEAT attorney. Better yet, your fellow officer should make this call for you by calling 1-800-752-5328. After the CLEAT attorney has been notified, the next thing you should do is sit in your car, or someone’s patrol car, and limit what you say until the attorney shows up. The reason is that whatever you say to fellow officers and supervisors IS NOT privileged communication. Obviously you have to give some explanation as to what just happened – just don’t go into too much detail until your CLEAT attorney shows up and has a chance to advise you.

Q: When should I contact my CLEAT attorney?

A: Sort of answered in the first question, but I don’t mind restating it again, and again – call your CLEAT attorney as soon as you are involved in a critical incident. We have excellent response times and the quicker we get to you and get you debriefed, the faster the investigation will go. Keep in mind, Peer Support officers, CID detectives, IA detectives, Crime Scene personnel, and others are waiting patiently for the CLEAT attorney to finish up with his/her confidential interview with you before they can get started with their respective duties at the scene. It’s all about teamwork!

Q: Who all shows up to the scene?

A: Let’s face it; a critical incident is a big deal not only for you the involved officer but for the department as it quickly gets the attention of the media. Matter of fact when I am driving around looking for the critical incident scene, I look for the news helicopters - seriously. The following are a list of folks who may show up to the scene: your supervisory chain, head of your agency, your association representatives, Crime Scene, Peer Support officers, Public Affairs spokesperson, IA, CID, and of course your attorney.

Q: Who do I have to talk with at the scene?

A: After you’ve had an opportunity to consult with your CLEAT attorney, detectives will do a walk-through of the crime scene. This should be done with your attorney by your side the entire time. Detectives want to know what happened from your perspective. The better trained departments understand that some officers are a bit fuzzy on details due to the stress of the incident; however, do the best you can. In the days that follow, you may have better recall. If you remember important details, contact your attorney who will arrange for the detectives to re-interview you.

Another person who will want to talk with you either at the scene or back at the station, are Peer Support officers or counselors (sometimes referred to as Emergency Response Team Members/Providers). Peer Support officers or counselors are specially trained to provide assistance and guidance to officers involved in traumatic incidents. The good news is that your conversations with these members is confidential under §784.003 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Q: What’s the difference between Garrity and Miranda Warnings?

A: After leaving the critical incident scene, you will probably go back to the station to be interviewed. As a condition of being employed, you have to go through this interview. Your CLEAT attorney is not usually allowed to be present since this is an administrative interview. Since you could possibly make incriminating statements against yourself, the tradeoff is that the U.S. Supreme Court, in Garrity vs. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967), prohibits your statements made during this mandatory interview, from being “used [against you] in subsequent criminal proceedings.”

On the other hand, let’s say things take a turn for the worse and criminal investigators want to talk with you about your critical incident. You still have rights! If anyone from the FBI, the Texas Rangers, or any criminal investigator wants to talk with you, don’t agree to do so without first consulting with your attorney. These folks are the ones who will start your interview off by reading you your Miranda Warnings. Keep in mind, just because you are a police officer you DO NOT have to waive your 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. While you have to cooperate with IA, you don’t have to cooperate with criminal investigators.

Q: When will I get my gun back?

A: At the critical incident scene, the firearm you used will typically be taken from you by Crime Scene. At some point you will be given a replacement weapon, sometimes at the scene and sometimes at the station. Either way, you will lose the firearm for some period of time so ballistics can be done. Just remember that before you go back to work, you will need to qualify with the replacement weapon.

Q: How long does the investigation take?

A: And the answer, to no one’s surprise, is – “It just depends.” I’ve seen investigations get wrapped up in just a few months and others a lot longer. Just depends on the complexity of the critical incident. Your incident will go through legal reviews and chain-of-command reviews.

Q: Will my incident go before a grand jury and do I have to be present?

A: Just depends on your local District Attorney. For example, while the Dallas County DA presents all officer-involved shootings to grand juries, the Tarrant County DA only presents officer-involved shootings resulting in a suspect death.
During my stint as an assistant district attorney in Harris and Tarrant Counties, I found the members of grand juries to be pro-police and often times wished they could hug or thank officers for bravery after hearing about the incident the officer was forced to deal with. So in a word, relax. You will not be called to be a witness before a grand jury. What usually happens is an Assistant DA with the assistance of a detective will present the critical incident to the grand jury, without the officer ever being present. The grand jury then votes in secrecy to either “True Bill” (indict) or “No Bill” the officer. Thankfully grand juries rarely, and I mean rarely, indictment officers for his/her actions during a critical incident.

Q: What happens if I get sued?

A: It does happen occasionally that a family of a suspect will sue a city, the police department, and every single officer who was at the scene of a critical incident involving a fatality. Just goes with the job. The good news is that most of these law suits are frivolous and are dismissed. The main thing to know is that if you do get sued, statute requires the City to provide you legal representation. In the off chance the City denies you legal support, CLEAT is there for you.

CLEAT Opposes HB 41

2011-06-28T20:41:00.002-06:00

For immediate release to all Texas news organizations
Contact: Charley Wilkison, Director of Public Affairs
Office: 512-495-9111, Mobile: 512-633-3501

June 27, 2011

AUSTIN-The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), the State’s largest law enforcement organization is strongly in support of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus’ common sense approach to law enforcement and public safety issues. CLEAT is opposed to HB 41, known as the airport pat-down bill by State Representative David Simpson R-Longview.
Representative Simpson has gone back on his word to accept carefully crafted amendments which would have clarified that the bill does not impact Texas officers and their ability to search suspects under reasonable suspicion. CLEAT believes the result would increase the legal threshold for searches to probable cause.

“International drug cartel leaders have to be laughing this morning,” said Charley Wilkison, Director of Public Affairs for CLEAT. “What they couldn’t get done through the appellate court system with their frivolous legal challenges and highly paid lawyers is being done for them in the hallowed chambers of the Capitol.”

“Whether intentional or inadvertent, the end result will be a chilling effect on Texas police officers’ ability to do their job and protect us from crime and criminals in public building and public places,” he said.

“Drug dealers, gang leaders and criminals of all stripes have longed for this law to be changed for years. If this bill passes in its current form, it will be the green light for criminal defense attorneys to mount a legal challenge to every single search for illegal weapons and drugs in public buildings and public places,” said Wilkison.

“CLEAT is proud of Speaker Joe Straus who showed Texas-sized courage by standing up for the public’s safety and the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to protect the families and communities of this state. Someone needed to bring some common sense to this discussion and slow down this bill with far reaching, and often misunderstood consequences,” he said.

Currently the courts have allowed law enforcement searches under the lower level of reasonable suspicion. Officers have to be able to articulate that they acted reasonably under the circumstances and had a suspicion that the suspect’s behavior or some circumstance gave them reason enough to search the person without consent. Officers are now allowed to follow their training, ask questions and search if they believe they have a reasonable cause to do so.

HB 41 by Rep. Simpson would raise the legal threshold so that officers could no longer question or search a suspicious person and would have to establish the higher legal threshold of probable cause.

“This proposed law would handcuff officers in the field and they would find themselves operating in a legal land of shadows where they would be unable to do their jobs and keep our communities safe,” he said.

“Some of the folks complaining about being searched in the airports were yelling the loudest when the jet flew into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. less than a decade ago,” stated Wilkison.

“I think some of these folks are confusing the inconvenience of fighting international crime and terror with their assumed constitutional rights not to be bothered by the real world,” he said.

In addition, the bill as written, does not just apply to searches at airports. It applies to Texas officers charged with protecting all other public buildings, including courthouses. We have real concerns that the bill will hamper officers’ abilities to respond to security threats, such as bomb threats or other terroristic threats. Unlike the ability of TSA to turn someone away from flying if they do not pass security screening, most people going to a courthouse have a legal obligation to be there. They are either a defendant on trial or they are a subpoenaed witness. On any given day, courts are dealing with murderers, drug dealers, rapists, and thieves. Unfortunately these people and the people they associate with are not your most model citizens.

CLEAT believes that public venues such as large concerts and entertainment events will become places where officers will also be stopped from performing searches. Law enforcement officers, court security personnel and district attorneys are concerned that rival gang members will be allowed to attend court proceedings without a thorough security screening or officers being able to search them properly. We believe this may happen if HB 41 were to become law.

State of the County: Escobar blasts state government role in local matters

2011-06-22T15:50:00.002-06:00

By Marty Schladen / El Paso Times
Posted: 06/22/2011 02:10:09 PM MDT

El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar delivers her State of the County address Wednesday at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

The Texas Legislature is dumping its responsibilities onto county governments and tying their hands when it comes to financing them, County Judge Veronica Escobar said Wednesday.

Escobar delivered the annual State of the County Address to a luncheon crowd at the headquarters of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event.

In a sometimes feisty speech, Escobar listed some of county government's accomplishments during her first year as judge and her six previous as a county commissioner. She also made a little news, telling the audience she didn't anticipate asking for another tax increase for the budget year that starts in 2012.

But Escobar said the state government has made that task exceedingly difficult.

She said the Legislature faces "a $27 billion shortfall created to a large extent by the 2007 Legislature's enactment of tax cuts that they couldn't pay for." That means an anticipated loss of $8.2 million to the county's budget, $46 million to the county Hospital District and $10.4 million to El Paso Mental Health Mental Retardation if the Legislature enacts the budget it's working on now.

"They're basically shifting the burden of financing their constitutional mandates to you all in this room, the local taxpayers," Escobar said.

At the same time, state law constrains county goverments in terms of how much in taxes and fees they can collect. And, because most county departments are headed by elected officials, commissioners courts can have little control over how those departments are operated, Escobar said.

"Even crucial departments like the Purchasing Department don't answer to the Commissioners Court," Escobar said. "By state law, the Purchasing Department is run by a Purchasing Board made up three sitting judges and two commissioners."

Escobar in the past has expressed frustration that the Purchasing Board often is unable to muster a quorum on the rare occasions that it tries to meet.

(Mark Lambie / El Paso Times) Read full text of State of the County address.

County Judge Veronica Escobar:

Good afternoon, and thank you all for being here today to learn more about what's happening in your county. I'd like to thank the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce for hosting this event and for their willingness to be such great partners to me and the county.

Introduce family; introduce interns: Nicole Ruiz (Senior at UTEP, Political Science Major) and

Lorena Rodriguez (Masters in Public Administration from UTEP).

Introduce Celeste Varela and Ruben Vogt.

I know that the majority of you are familiar with what the County of El Paso does for you, the taxpayer, but I'd like to offer a quick primer for those who are not as familiar.

COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Counties in Texas are an extension of state government. Our authority is governed and our work is mandated by the constitution and the legislature, and local citizens turn to us for some of the most critical services in their lives. We handle birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates through our County Clerk, Delia Briones and court records through our District Clerk, Norma Favela. We deliver justice through our multiple Courts; we have 30 elected county and district courts, 10 appointed courts, and specialty dockets like the DWI Courts, the Veterans Court, the Mental Competence Court, Family Courts, Juvenile Courts, and for the first time, thanks to Judge Yahara Lisa Gutierrez, El Paso added a Protective Order

Court. We keep our community safe through Sheriff Richard Wiles, his Department and jail; we promote mental health care through our contributions to El Paso MHMR, and through the courts, the jail, the hospital district emergency room and; and finally, we deliver indigent health care through our world class hospital district, University Medical Center.

We fund all of that and still, El Paso County makes up only 13% of your property tax bill; 92% of our budget funds services mandated by the state of Texas and the essential departments that support delivery of those mandates. Our resources are limited: 75% of our budget is funded by local property taxes and sales taxes. We don't have the flexibility municipalities have in creating fees to help fund services, so we have to do a lot with very little. Despite that, we've kept your taxes stable - in fact, reducing them in some years - since I joined the County in 2007.

County government is also a very complicated organization. We have incredible needs - for example, tremendous poverty in unincorporated areas where we are still working to get water and sewer hookups to our colonia residents - and a state government that provides us with few resources, allows us few tools, and that increasingly is shifting to local government the responsibility of paying for its own state responsibilities.

And when you walk into the Courthouse, know that, while the constitution gives Commissioners Court the power of the purse strings, the majority of our 'department heads' are elected officials - you, the voter, are their boss. Even crucial departments like the Purchasing Department don't answer to Commissioners Court; by state law, the Purchasing Department is run by a Purchasing Board made up of three sitting judges and two commissioners. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we've never had professional management of the County through a County Administrator.

Some would call county government in Texas 'antiquated'; I call it challenging.

Add to that challenge recent events - an historic recession that resulted in a 15% drop in sales tax revenue and a significant drop in fee collections. Just as our revenue shrank, our budget grew because of added courts, the staffing required to support them, and the collective bargaining contract with Sheriff's Department uniformed employees.

That combination created a multi-million dollar problem for the County that we couldn't have navigated without the assistance of our very talented Auditor's Office, headed by Edward Dion and Wallace Hardgrove. The work we did on the budget translates into $15 million worth of cuts over three years. Those cuts came from one major place: Our workforce. We had to take drastic action, and our employees were right there with us during the most challenging times. We didn't just freeze their salaries, our employees dealt with furloughs for three years in a row. We also initiated a hiring freeze, holding vacant over 100 positions, so in addition to furloughs, we asked our employees to do more work with fewer staff. We also, unfortunately, had to initiate a reduction in force to deal with the tight budget. Even with all those cuts, the only thing that prevented us from having to issue tax anticipation notes to pay our bills this year was a modest tax increase of 2 cents/$100 valuation last year. It was unpopular, but it was the right thing to do.

And although the good news this year is that sales tax receipts have been increasing over the last several months, the County is required by the state tax code to put that added revenue toward paying off debt, not towards addressing our general fund needs. That means that while the economy is recovering, we won't enjoy the benefits in this year's budget.

In addition to the challenges I've just discussed, we will have additional challenges going forward. The state legislature, faced with a $27 billion shortfall - created to a large extent by the 2007 legislature's enactment of tax cuts that they couldn't pay for - is further burdening local governments, including County entities. Although we send hundreds of millions of local dollars to the capitol, the current "cuts only" budget the legislature is negotiating will mean cuts over the biennium of $8.2 million to El Paso County, $46 million to the Hospital District, and $10.4 million to El Paso MHMR - all governments or organizations that are historically underfunded to begin with.

To say that your County leadership is faced with tremendous challenges would be an understatement.

NEW LEADERSHIP

I'm very proud to say that your Commissioners Court and other county leaders aren't just dealing with those challenges; we are conquering them with creativity, sacrifice and, when possible, investment.

My colleagues on the court are each working on important areas of county government. Commissioners Anna Perez and Sergio Lewis, among other things, are working on quality of life investments in our two major park assets - the Sportspark and Ascarate Park. Work has already begun on improvements at the Sportspark, and in 18 months, the community will have completely renovated ball fields, batting cages, concessions and restrooms so that we can finally compete with other communities that offer great tournament venues. As we finalize those improvements, Commissioners Court will discuss the option of outsourcing the management of this asset. And at Ascarate, a significant investment in that park that began in 2008 will be complete next spring. What residents will get to enjoy is a completely refreshed quality of life asset - new ball fields, golf course clubhouse, lighting, tennis and handball courts, and a beautiful new entrance. These investments in quality of life make our community more competitive, greener and more attractive.

Commissioner Willie Gandara has taken the lead on the new Tornillo Port of Entry, 17 years in the making, which will be complete in early 2013. This port of entry is more than just a bridge; it's a transportation system that includes adding a major arterial from the border to I-10; it will be an asset that will keep us connected to our economic partners to the south and will create important economic activity and investment in the lower valley.

Commissioner Dan Haggerty has done some great work heading up the hiring freeze committee that has kept 100 positions vacant, saving us $3.7 million, creating important savings for you, the taxpayer. He was a champion of reforming our Border Children's Mental Health Collaborative, turning it from a concept to a full county department, and moving it to a new facility adjacent to our Juvenile Probation Department.

Your Commissioners Court has also demonstrated strong advocacy against ill-conceived and irresponsible legislation and damaging rhetoric. We have, for example, publicly opposed the sanctuary cities bill coming from our state capitol, a bill which threatens to make us less safe and bring significant costs to the local property taxpayer. If the bill passes, El Paso County will seek advice and evaluate all legal options available to us. We've seen bills like this challenged in the courts, and El Paso County may have to join in those challenges. There is simply too much to risk, and one thing that we can't surrender willingly is our consistent ranking as one of America's safest communities.

We've also spoken out against budget cuts at the state and federal level that harm our taxbase; and we even took a certain United States Senator and former presidential candidate from Arizona to task when he attempted to demonize safe and vibrant border communities like ours.

REFORM

Together, your Commissioners Court has also supported important reforms that are changing County government for the better.

One of my first goals, and I began working on it late last year after the general election, was to reconstitute the board of El Paso MHMR. I believed it was critical that we do more as a sponsoring entity to provide strong oversight of and effective leadership to that very important community organization. Thanks to the support of Commissioners Court and the UMC board of directors, especially Dr. Jose Luna, we have a fresh start at MHMR. We have diverse new board members like Commissioner Anna Perez, who, as an assistant county attorney, headed up the mental health unit, and Dr. Michael Escamilla, the new Psychiatric Chair at Texas Tech who brings with him great ideas on how to build a bridge among all the mental health entities in the community. There are a total of seven new board members - all talented and committed El Pasoans who will help us better navigate the challenges we face with growing needs and shrinking funds.

The Ethics Commission, the first of its kind for a county in the state of Texas, created in 2009 through legislation sponsored by Representative Marisa Marquez and Senator Eliot Shapleigh, also saw new leadership earlier this year. The commission will be unveiling a new code of ethics and its plan for training employees, elected officials, lobbyists and vendors on July 18th. This Commission is critical to building community trust and ensuring that there are consequences for both ethics violations and frivolous complaints. It will demonstrate to Texas that El Paso County is leading the way when it comes to bold and significant ethics legislation.

And it is my intention to ensure that we embark on internal reforms that are essential to the success of a modern organization. The Court needs to plan for future capital projects and begin to make meaningful, strategic investment in our aging infrastructure; those at the County in charge of our assets - your assets - need to do a better job of tracking them, and we need to be prepared to provide them with the resources to do so. We also need to be more unified as a Court when it comes to a strategic vision for the County as a whole. These things will take fortitude and commitment to implement, but we will get them done.

INITIATIVES

The Court supported important projects like the ground-breaking we had this spring for our Youth Services Center, which will help us improve the mental health services we provide to young people. We are partnering on a grant for a geothermal project on Fort Bliss that, if awarded by the federal government, will help Ft. Bliss get closer to achieving its goal of being 100% energy sustainable and that could help us with our growing energy needs and costs in the future.

El Paso County, with great support from TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, is also leading the way on a project that has the potential to change the way technology is used at our ports of entry to make us safer, more modern, and more efficient. The Secure Border Trade Demonstration Project, headed by Bob Geyer, will help the maquiladora industry use technology to track trucks, personnel and cargo going north across the border, undisturbed and safe, until it reaches its final destination. We anticipate starting the program September 1st.

And, of course, in 2012 we will all be there as the doors open at our community's very first separately licensed, non-profit children's hospital. El Paso Children's Hospital will create jobs and provide world class healthcare for our mamas and babies, and its presence on the UMC Campus makes El Paso County a major tenant of the Medical Center of the Americas. I was fortunate enough to sit in during the inaugural meeting of the original MCA foundation during Mayor Ray Caballero's term at City Hall. The healthcare hub being created in that area is sure to be one of this region's most lasting and significant economic development drivers, and I am proud that El Paso County is a major stakeholder.

SHARED SERVICES

But how will the County deal with financial challenges that will not disappear anytime soon?

We will do so with creativity and leadership.

The County of El Paso, with other great government partners like the City, University Medical Center and other entities, is leading the way in the most common-sense approach to dealing with growing needs in a challenging economic environment: Shared Services.

In 2008, after presenting the idea and garnering support from every elected body within the county (that's nine school districts, five municipalities, the community college and the hospital district), this community had its first Shared Services Summit. The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce was right there with me from the beginning, helping host and fundraise for it, as was the Texas Comptroller's Office and the Governor's Office, with planning and facilitation support. As a result of the 2008 and 2009 summits, this community's taxpayers are benefitting from significantly increased collaboration and consolidation for smarter, more efficient governments.

These collaboratives have produced projects like the City-County Data Center (a network redundancy building where the City and County are co-habitating). The Data Center is generating $2.4 million worth of immediate savings, and at a minimum, $252,000 in annual savings to the County alone. The City-County Data Center is just one facet of City-County collaboration on information technology that is meant to pave the way for a potential complete consolidation - so that as taxpayers, instead of having to fund two different IT departments at two organizations, you're funding one. This collaboration has earned the City and County the Texas Municipal League's award for collaboration. This victory couldn't have been possible without the tremendous leadership of Peter Cooper, David Garcia, and Cygne Nemir from County Attorney Joanne Bernal's office. I am also grateful to Commissioners Court for its support, as well as that of the Mayor and City Council, City Manager Joyce Wilson, the late Art Armas, and City Attorney staff. It took a village to make this happen.

The County's work on the Shared Services Summits caught the attention of the Texas Senate's Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which invited me to participate last summer in their workgroup on city-county consolidation. The legislation we crafted in that workgroup passed this session; it still has to go to the voters, but if passed by the voters, will make changes in our constitution that will provide permanence to long-term agreements like ours.

Another win for us is the recently opened health clinic in the basement of the county courthouse - a collaboration with our own University Medical Center. Over the years, we have seen a drain on the County's Risk Pool fund (the county is self-insured). In an effort to avoid burdening the taxpayer to fund any shortfalls, we knew we had to stop the problem before it began.

We looked to create a way to incentivize preventive care for our employees. We had an existing clinic, but it was small, located in a separate facility, and was essentially a conference room turned into an ad-hoc clinic. This new clinic, based on the shared services concept, will be staffed by a Nurse Practitioner, a Clinical Specialist and Medical Assistant who will work as a team to provide county employees and their dependants with a medical home. The clinic will give patients with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma access to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

The clinic features three exam rooms and a laboratory draw station. Prescriptions written at the clinic will be filled at UMC's pharmacy and delivered to the County Courthouse.

This is an investment in ourselves that saves taxpayers and employees money. We're working to keep our employees healthy, out of the ER, urgent care clinics and hospitals, keep them at work, and keep everyone's costs down. We built it in-house, thanks to our talented Facilities staff led by Monique Aguilar, Manny Lucero and Jorge Reyes; and we negotiated a great collaborative, thanks to Betsy Keller who heads up our Human Resources Department and Jim Valenti and his team at UMC. The clinic opened two weeks ago. We will be closely monitoring its utilization and the savings to our fund.

There are other collaboratives, such as the Purchasing Alliance led by the City, collaboration between school districts and UMC, and ideas being fleshed out in Human Resources, all intended to save taxpayer money and deal with growing needs and a limited taxbase.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In case you haven't noticed, collaboration is a theme for us, and something we weave into everything we do.

There are other collaborations that we've initiated that we believe will help provide positive change to El Paso. The EcoTourism project, which we initiated in 2007 when I was a County Commissioner, brought together stakeholders - nature advocates and activists, business people, preservationists and philanthropists - and our mission is to make El Paso an eco-tourism hub, a place where visitors and natives alike can take advantage of our great outdoor assets. We started with a strategic planning session, developed a gorgeous brochure, and thanks to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and a generous donation from philanthropist Dr. Richard Teschner, we now have a great website: www.outdoorelpaso.com.

The next task I intend to bring to the EcoTourism committee will be how we turn our River into the asset it deserves to be. In other communities, rivers add beauty and value. Sadly, in El Paso, we've become used to seeing our river as simply an irrigation canal, as anything but a source of pride. Some of us don't see the river at all, and that is tragic. I'd like our EcoTouristas to take up the challenge and join me in changing that - in making our river (from the county line east to west) an attractive, useable asset that we can all be proud of. We face many powerful obstacles: Different jurisdictions, international issues, a lack of resources and that awful, unsightly wall. It will be a hugely difficult and lengthy task. But anything worthwhile is, and this needs to be a priority. We will do everything we can and involve as many people as possible to make it happen.

We are also big believers in economic development collaboration to build on what is already good. At our request, and with the assistance of the Rio Grande Council of Governments, municipalities within the County of El Paso sat down with Bob Cook from REDCO to chart a course for their future economic development. That work is ongoing and will help each small community evaluate its assets and challenges so they can each come up with their own strategies to promote economic development, move away from poverty and be successful. When they win, we all win.

Believe me, there are plenty of reasons why collaboratives like this could fail; and there are people lined up to tell us about why they should fail; but there's one reason why we need to ensure they are successful: The people of this community deserve good government.

2012 FORECAST

These great successes are helping us deal with some of those fiscal challenges outlined earlier in my speech.

You should know El Paso County is also looking at ways to capture every dime of non-property-taxpayer revenue, and one of the most successful has been the Scofflaw program, led by our Domestic Relations Office, our Information Technology Department, and great work from Victor Flores' Tax Office. Residents with unpaid child support or outstanding misdemeanor court costs and fines are unable to renew their auto registration at our Tax Office until they pay their fees.

The program has been so successful that by the end of the year, after sending the state its cut, El Paso County will net $1 million. We don't anticipate sustaining this kind of fee recovery forever, but it sure is helpful now, and it is regarded as a model by TxDOT and other communities across the state. Once again, El Paso County is leading the way.

There are far too many other great programs, initiatives and outstanding County leaders and professionals to discuss here today. I'm just sorry there was not enough time to mention them all.

And about our budget, although we're not out of the woods and we still have a summer's worth of budget meetings, a state budget that will shift a greater burden to you, the local property taxpayer, and an economy that is in a fragile recovery, your Commissioners Court is working toward no tax increase this year.

And while the theme today was collaboration, the greatest collaboration your County government could participate in is ambitiously planning for a better future. We have public and private sector leaders who understand that decades of divestment, administrations with "no new taxes" at any cost attitudes, and a lack of ambition for our community have all contributed to the problems we face today: a loss of talent and competitiveness. For too long, we allowed our leadership to take us into a race to the bottom because we believed that was all we deserved or we were fooled into thinking that was good for us. Not this El Pasoan, not any of you, and not your Commissioners Court.

El Paso is an amazing community. We have the most loving families, the most gorgeous geography, and dedication and passion for our community all around us. All we have lacked is the will to invest in ourselves and to demand the best. That has changed - with great leadership at the City from courageous council members and our mayor, as well as great leadership at the County from the elected officials and professionals I've mentioned (and not mentioned), and from the private sector as well that is helping turn our economy around.

Our most significant collaboration will be what we will do together - as partners and as a family.

I hope that you're as proud of our county as I am.

It's my absolute honor to be your county judge, and I look forward to updating you again next year on what your great County is doing to build a better El Paso.

The 82nd Texas Regular Session of the Texas Legislature: We don't want a rematch!!

2011-06-01T21:21:00.003-06:00

The session has ended. CLEAT has defeated over 40 bad bills. NONE of the bad bills passed. As you all know this was the worst session that anyone has experienced. I am pleased to report that your chubby CLEAT Navy Seals team is reporting no casualties for the home team.

1. Charley’s Legislative BLOG

2. Bad bill graveyard

3. CLEAT bills on their way to the Governor

Texas law enforcement has not seen a legislative session like we’ve just finished, not ever. As I head into my 18th year at CLEAT I believe it’s in order for me to say thank goodness for an organization that has the values and core principles to stand up and fight and avoid being owned by the politicians. Since 1976 CLEAT has avoided becoming conflicted or otherwise entangled with government money and the politicians who dole it out. Being independent allows an organization to fight. And that’s what we had to do every day and every hour since the session began in January.

Every day was a pitched battle. We’ve never seen such vile attacks on working officer’s rights, authority and retirement. The Public Affairs Team spent the majority of our time on defense. The bad bills just kept coming. From new freshman, from experienced legislators and from both political parties. Some legislators had never thought of the unintended consequences to some of their ideas. But the most devastating attacks came from those who knew exactly what the impact would be and were fully intending to pass bad legislation that hurt you and your family.

The good news is that we prevailed. Some bills we were able to kill outright, turn the tide and get our supporters to vote against them. Others we had to develop a strategy of using the ticking clock and working hard to keep bills stuck somewhere. We worked hard and we were prepared and we were fortunate to have well placed relationships that served you well.

A legislator declared that CLEAT had escaped the 82nd Legislative Session “without having a glove laid on you.” He likes the boxing analogies. I explained that just because you leave the ring on your own power doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt. Thank goodness we can report that none of the bad bills passed. (see page 11). But rest assured we’ve been hurt. Wrong ideas have been planted like seeds and they are likely to spring up again. Battles that should have never been fought had to be won on your behalf this session. There is an ugly wind, aimed at the hardworking officer and it is not likely to subside.

For example, CLEAT had to rush to the aide of the Austin Pension System to help pass a local retirement bill that had support from the local mayor, council, chief, and city manager. HB 1285 was dead on so many occasions that I began to refer to it as a Lazarus bill. Even one session ago it would have passed on the local calendar. The bill just placed into statute the retirement agreement the city and the union had reached during negotiations. There was NO good reason to oppose a local bill, but they did.

CLEAT had to work and strategize behind the scenes to help pass SB 1541 that kept funding for the auto theft task forces across the state. The money was already there—it came from the $1 paid by every auto insurance policy holder in the state. It was just incredible as to the number of meetings and strategy sessions we all participated in to do our part to help keep this funding.

Of course we didn’t get to advance our very positive agenda very far. We had to fight everyday to keep the rights and benefits that you already possess. We accomplished that for you and managed to get some good things done as well. As I look back at the five months that have passed I’m very pleased with our progress on worker’s comp as well as other issues.

Knowing the process the way we do it seems semi-miraculous as to some of the problems we were able to fix. I am personally grateful to Chris Jones and Melinda Griffith of our lobby team. Melinda’s mad organizational skills and Chris’ technical expertise always portray professionalism. And thanks to our families for support for absent spouses and missing dad’s for five months.

The CLEAT board of directors and local presidents always responded when we requested backup and we are grateful for all the officers who took a few moments and contacted their legislators. The legislators have had their time and next comes the campaign cycle and it will be our turn to help educate the voters about how the politicians treated their hometown heroes. It should be fun.

Charley Wilkison

CLEAT BAD BILL GRAVEYARD – RIP –

Below are just a few of the bad bills that CLEAT actively opposed and successfully killed. Many bad bills this session attacked retirements, collective bargaining and officers’ ability to participate politically. There were also bills that proposed civilian oversight, restricted use of tasers and even eliminated TCLEOSE as a state agency. The now ‘dead’ bills listed below are just a few examples of how CLEAT is always looking out for your interests and will never stop fighting for your rights. Although these bills are dead it is likely that we will continue to see these kinds of bills filed until legislators understand there are consequences to their actions.

Unfunded mandate bills

There were several of these bills filed in both the House and Senate by Democrats and Republicans. The consequence would have been local city and county bosses claiming that civil service, collective bargaining, changes to state retirements and more would have been illegal since they would have violated the unfunded mandate law. HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 56 by Representative Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton would have prevented the legislature from requiring a local government from providing a benefit unless funded by the legislature. This bill would have destroyed rights and benefits for officers and their families.

HOUSE BILL 1974 by Representative Kenneth Sheets, R- Dallas would have destroyed all the retirement plans in the state including TMRS and TCDRS and changed them to a 401k. This bill was a direct insult to every working officer in Texas.

HOUSE BILL 2506 by Representative Chisum, R-Pampa would have transitioned the Employee Retirement System (state troopers, games wardens, TABC agents, AG peace officers) and the Teachers Retirement System (university and school district peace officers) to a defined contribution plan. This bill was aimed only at working folks like cops and teachers.

HOUSE BILL 2731 by Representative Vicki Truitt, R-Arlington

Want Washington D.C. out of your life? This bill would have tied your local retirement funds to a federal index of performance. Until your local retirement fund performed to the standards of the bureaucrats in D.C. you couldn’t be paid the retirement that you’ve paid into your entire career. This bill would have created a rule that you’re retirement compensation amount could not exceed 125 percent of the amount of the your compensation for the same period occurring five years earlier. It also required that a pension be based on a corporate bond that is a higher standard than required now and requires that a pension system be funded at 80 percent or higher. All three of the above anti-retirement bills did not seek to reform legislator’s retirements.

HOUSE BILL 2986 by Representative Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound would have prohibited a law enforcement association from spending dues money on political purposes, including lobbying or campaigns. It also prohibited automatic payroll deduction for political funds. IT DID NOT PROHIBIT CORPORATIONS OR POLITICAL SUBDVISIONS FROM SPENDING FUNDS FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. It would have effectively silenced the voice of law enforcement if passed.

HOUSE BILL 3617 by Representative Jerry Madden R-Richardson would have abolished TCLEOSE and combined the licensing functions into a new agency that would also license and regulate Jails, and Fire Protection. The new agency would not specialize in any of the three functions and would be hard pressed to fund and provide the services to law enforcement currently provided by TCLEOSE. Professionalism and standards would have suffered.

HOUSE BILL 2451 by Representative Zedler, R-Arlington would have prevented an officer from retiring from one agency and drawing their pension and then going to work for another agency covered by a different pension system or plan.

HOUSE BILL 2158 by Representative Coleman, D-Houston would have prohibited the use of a taser by school district peace officers against public school students. ISD officers would have been greatly hampered in their ability to protect other students and teachers during acts of violence.

HOUSE BILL 1470 by Representative Miles, D-Houston would have created a statewide civilian complaint review board to investigate allegations of peace officer misconduct. There are already a system of checks and balances where all officers ultimately answer to elected officials.

HOUSE BILL 1472 by Representative Miles, D-Houston would have required complaints alleging official oppression against officers to remain on file with employing agency even if unfounded or not sustained. It also would make complaints public information even if they were found to be false.

HOUSE BILL 2348 by Representative Larson, R-San Antonio would have removed prisoners in county jails awaiting transfer to state prison from being regulated by the Commission on Jail Standards. These prisoners wouldn't be counted toward minimum staffing requirements even though they are still in the jail.

Senate Bill 642 by Senator Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo would have allowed a city to adopt or drop a COLA without penalty or catch-up in funds.

To read the list of 40-plus bad bills that CLEAT actively opposed and sought to kill during this session please go to www.cleat.org, go to the drop down menu at PUBLIC AFFAIRS and go to Legislative Agenda. CLEAT members should be proud of our defensive tactics and successful efforts in protecting our members and all law enforcement officers from these bad bills.

CLEAT Bills Head to the Governor

In a session where CLEAT Public Affairs team members spent the majority of time defending the benefits and rights enjoyed by peace officers, CLEAT enjoyed some victories on issues benefiting Texas law enforcement officers and their families.

It should not be forgotten, that pensions and pension benefits and your right to freely participate in a union or be involved in the political process were under a full blown assault this session. Though we beat back these attacks at great expense of time and energy, it should not be forgotten that we were just fortunate that we did not suffer any major defeats. Any of the bad proposals that were filed could have broken through at any time and found their way to the Governor’s desk. With that said, our successes this session are listed below.

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Workers Compensation for First Responders

(HB 2605 by Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Galveston, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB02605

HB 2605 was the Texas Workers’ Compensation Sunset Bill. Each year, the legislature is required to review various agencies that are scheduled for “sunset”. If the legislature does not re-enact the enabling legislation for the agency, then the agency would cease to exist. The Worker’s Compensation Division of the Texas Department of Insurance oversees workers compensation in Texas. The Texas Labor Code contains the various statutes that regulate Texas workers compensation. HB 2605 amended many of these provisions in the Labor Code and reauthorized the authority of TDI to oversee workers compensation. CLEAT had legislation filed to address the problems peace officers have encountered when injured in the line of duty. This legislation stalled in the House Committee on State Affairs. The original bill was filed by Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, and Senator Robert Deuell, R-Greenville. However, when the sunset bill moved to the House floor, CLEAT saw an opportunity to try and address this important issue. We prepared a floor amendment and Rep. Deshotel offered it during the debate on the House floor. There were efforts to kill this amendment, which was opposed by the Texas Municipal League and their workers’ compensation insurance risk pool. A motion to table the amendment was defeated by our supporters by a vote of 78-65. The bill then moved to the Senate where Senator Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, and Senator Deuell worked to keep the amendment in the bill. CLEAT visited with every member of the Texas Senate and obtained a big victory when Senator Huffman, the Senate sponsor, decided not to oppose the first responder amendment. The bill passed the Senate with changes from the original House bill, so the House had to consider these changes. At first, we were led to believe that the House would concur in the Senate amendments, but without warning they did not and the bill went to a conference committee. CLEAT lobbyists had to scramble over the Memorial Day weekend to ensure that our language remained in the final version of the bill called the conference committee report. We were successful and the Legislature adopted the conference committee report on the last day they were able to do so.

HB 2605 creates Sections 504.054, 504.055, and 504.056 of the Labor Code. These sections provide that first responders, including peace officers, who are seriously injured in the line of duty are entitled to expedited consideration of workers compensation claims. The law will require an employer, the Workers Compensation Division, and workers compensation insurance companies to accelerate and give priority to an injured first responder’s claim for medical benefits, including all health care required to cure or relieve the effects from a compensable injury. The law will also provide that the Workers Compensation Division shall also accelerate contested case hearings or appeals submitted by a first responder regarding a denial of a claim for medical benefits. Because of these new provisions, we believe that much of the red tape associated with these claims will be avoided. It will force the parties to review these cases more closely and make sure officers are getting the care they need, when they need it.

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Officer Involved Traffic Accidents

(HB 343 by Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston.)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB343

Current law provides that the drivers license record of a peace officer may not include a traffic accident involving the officer “during an emergency”. This language was problematic because “emergency” is not defined in the law. Accidents involving minor damage and no injuries are generally not reported. However, many law enforcement agencies require any accident involving an agency be investigated and that a report be filed. These minor accidents were then turning up on officers drivers license records when the same accident for any citizen would not have. This has caused many officers insurance rates to increase when they should not have. CLEAT sought legislation to fix this. Rep. Allen Fletcher, a retired Houston police officer filed HB 343. The bill passed and if signed will provide a new exemption for officers involved in a traffic accident. The law will provide that an on-duty accident may not be included on an officer’s drivers record if the accident resulted in damages to property less than $1,000, even if the officer was at fault. Also, the law would provide that an on-duty accident in which the officer is not at fault may not be included on the officers’ drivers record regardless of injury or damages.

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Austin EMS Civil Service

(HB 554 by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB554

Unique to Austin and Travis County, emergency medical service personnel are not part of the Austin Fire Department. These first responders are employed by the City of Austin, but provide EMS and ambulance service to a large part of Travis County. Since these employees are not part of the fire department, they are not covered by civil service and they are not members of the fire fighter union. They came to CLEAT and sought representation and were given special permission to join. CLEAT has worked with these employees to provide them with the protections and benefits enjoyed by other Austin civil service employees. CLEAT helped them pass legislation granting them meet and confer and this session a bill was filed to include them under state civil service. HB 554 passed and would allow an election to be held for the purpose of granting these employees the same civil service protection as police officers and fire fighters.

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Probate Fee Exemption for Surivors Killed in the Line of Duty

(SB 543 by Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, and Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Galveston)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB00543

Last year, CLEAT met with Galveston County Probate Judge Kimberly Sullivan how had a great idea. She suggested that the family of a peace officer killed in the line of duty should not have to pay the probate fees associated with probating the will and estate of the officer. Thus, SB 543 was born. CLEAT worked with Sen. Hegar and Rep. Taylor to see this bill to the Governor’s desk. Though other organizations have claimed this bill as their own, CLEAT was the only law enforcement organization to sign up and testify for SB 543 when it was considered by the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. CLEAT also met with Judge Sullivan during the legislative session and went with her to various legislative offices to lobby for passage of this bill.

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Escape when Lawfully Detained

(SB 844 by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-, and Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB844

CLEAT discovered appellate court opinion a few years ago that raised the question whether or not a person could be charged with the offense of escape if they escaped when lawfully detained. The court case referred to the “evading arrest or detention” statute and pointed out that the lawfully detained element was not included in the “escape”. For example, if a person is lawfully detained and placed in the back of a police vehicle while the officer conducts an investigation and the officer returns to find that the person has broken out and fled, could the person be charged with escape since the person was not technically “under arrest” for a specific offense at the time. SB 844 addressed this concern by including the “lawfully detained” element into the escape statute. The bill also clarified that a person could be charged with escape if the escape from a “law enforcement facility” that may or may not be a “secure correctional facility” which is currently in the law. This bill ran into numerous road blocks from defense lawyers and civil liberty organizations throughout the session, but we were able to craft a bill that addressed some concerns and this bill passed during the last week of the session.

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Peace Officers Working Extra Jobs for Private Security Companies

(SB 1600 by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford)

After the start of the session, CLEAT learned of a problem in Arlington involving officers working extra employment at Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers games. These officers were being required to register with the Private Security Board because they were technically employed by a private security company. These employees were being paid by a subsidiary company of the Cowboys or Rangers that employed all of the event staff, including private security officers that work these events. These companies had to be licensed as security companies since they employ security staff. Current law did not include an exemption for officers employed by security companies. This same problem existed in Houston and Senator Whitmire filed SB 1600 to address it. CLEAT worked with Senator Whitmire and testified about the problem in Arlington during the committee hearing. The bill passed, and if signed will make it clear that these officers are exempt from the Private Security Act.

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Pension Information Tracking for School District and University Peace Officers

(SB 1671 by Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB1671

CLEAT has worked for the last several session to try improve pension benefits for officers working for universities and school districts who are members of the Teachers Retirement System (TRS). They are not included in the 20-year law enforcement retirement fund currently in the Employee Retirement System of Texas. One of the road blocks associated with trying to seek change was the fact that the TRS does not keep records identifying which members of the system are peace officers. Because of this, TRS is unable to accurately determine the fiscal impact of changing these officers retirement or moving them into the ERS fund. Senator Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, filed SB 464 which would have required that TRS track this information. At the request of Senator Lucio, this requirement was added into an omnibus TRS bill, SB 1671. SB 1671 passed and was sent to the Governor.

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Bill Already Signed

Survivor Health Care Clarification and Death Benefit Filings

(SB 423 by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, and Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio)

Link to bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB423

Several bills have been passed in the past to provide health insurance for the families of officers killed in the line of duty. SB 872 was passed last session that clarified the families were entitled to insurance at the same premium rate paid by active employees. It provided that families could re-apply for insurance coverage, however some employers refused to allow families to re-apply if they were not on the employer’s insurance plan at the time of death. Some spouses were on their own employer’s insurance instead of the officers. SB 423 was filed to further clarify that the families could apply for coverage if they were eligible for coverage at the time of death, even if they were not on the plan at the time. The bill also provided another opportunity for survivors to re-apply for coverage, until September 1, 2012. As this bill moved the process, we discovered another problems. We were advised of a case out of Harris County where the sheriff’s department failed to file for the state death benefit for the survivors of a deputy killed in the line of duty and that the state was now denying payment. We discovered that the law did not make it clear that the employing agency was responsible for filing the death benefit. Trying to file for death benefits is the last thing a surviving spouse or family has on their mind when these tragedies occur. CLEAT prepared an amendment to SB 423 to make it clear that the department must file the claim. The amendment also allows a survivor who did not receive death benefits because the claim was not timely filed to re-apply for death benefits until September 30, 2011. This bill passed and was signed by the Governor on May 12, 2011. It took effect immediately.

===============================================================

Charley Wilkison

Director of Public Affairs

CLEAT/POMF

St Pius X Special Needs Group Donation!!

2011-05-23T18:59:00.004-06:00

On Sunday 05-22-2011 Deputy Louie Silva and Detention Officer Eulogio Munoz attended a Mass and Awards ceremony at St Pius X Catholic Church in honor of the St Pius X Special Needs Group. While at the Awards ceremony, they presented the Special Needs Group with a check for $2,500.00 donated to the athletes who were going to participate at this years Special Olympics in Arlington, Texas. Pastor Arturo Banuelos and Special Needs group Director Richard Couder were overjoyed with the donation and expressed their gratitude to the members of the El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association. They requested the membership be thanked on behalf of the Church and the Special Needs group.

The Board would also like to thank the membership for their support with the Raffle fundraiser which provided the money to make this donation. With the memberships support, the EPCSOA will be able to make similar contributions in the future to needy organizations in our community. Congratulations to you all for your hard work and unselfish support for others. If you would like to be personally involved in future charitable functions please contact one of the board members so you can be added to a call list for future events.

DETENTION OFFICER JUAN PEREZ

2011-05-20T21:41:00.002-06:00

On March 18 2011, at about 0015 hours an exercise was conducted at the downtown jail. The exercise consisted of a simulated attack of the jail by armed assailants. The assailants were played by the Sheriff's Office Strike Team. Officer Perez, Juan was the information officer. Perez's sidearm was replaced with a blank pistol. Once Officer Perez realized that the security of the facility was in jeopardy, he took action by jumping over the counter behind the information desk, low-crawled around the info desk remaining under the cover of the info desk. Using the info desk as cover, Perez waited for the assailants to attack. The assailants came in the front door. Officer Perez discharged his firearm and shot both assailants, therefore eliminating the threat of the security of the facility. Although the exercise continued, Officer Perez was more than prepared to maintain the security of the facility. Job well done Officer Perez.

Brian Houston
Director

Govenor Perry Signs SB 423 into Law!!

2011-05-17T18:55:00.004-06:00

On January 27, 2011 Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. (D) Brownsville introduced Senate Bill 423 (Relating to health insurance coverage and financial assistance for eligible survivors of certain public servants killed in the line of duty) which he authored into the Texas Senate. This bill was Coauthored by Senator Glenn Heger Jr. (R) Katy, Senator Leticia Van De Putte (D) San Antonio, and sponsored by Representative Jose Mendez (D) San Antonio. Today we are proud to report that on May 12, 2011, Govenor Rick Perry Signed SB 423 into law effective immediately!!!

To read the Bill and view the process in which it was introduced and processed through the State Senate and House of Representatives... CLICK HERE!!!

Charities Raffle Winners

2011-05-11T20:28:00.000-06:00

The EPCSOA would like to thank everyone who supported our effort to raise money through our weapons raffle. The money raised will be given directly to various local charities throughout the year. The prize winners this year were:

1st Prize - DPMS .223 Caliber AR-15 went to Marcos Chavez

2nd Prize - Cash option $400.00 went to Cpl. Gordon Sanchez

3rd Prize - Remington 870 Tactical Shotgun went to Leticia Martinez

Once again Thank You all for your support!!!

Detention Officer Cesar Arreola Honored at the POMF!

2011-05-04T20:11:00.008-06:00

This year the POMF's three day event was special for us here at the EPCSOA as they were honoring one of our very own Detention Officer Cesar Arreola. The association was proud to assist D.O. Arreola's wife Martha, and her two children Jasmin and Angel with Airfare to the event. The association also assisted Corporal Cesar Rodriguez (Honor Guard), Detention Officer Victor Anchieta (Honor Guard), Deputy Victor Cordero (Motors) and Deputy Robert C. Rojas (Motors) with either airfare, hotel, or per diem while at the event. Association President Jose Marrufo and Secretary Federico Castillo along with the other members who attended represented the Association and the Sheriff's Office in paying tribute to Detention Officer Cesar Arreola and other officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The Association would like to thank these members for their support and professionalism at this event, you made us proud to be members of the El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association.

Special Needs Group Easter Egg Hunt!!

2011-04-28T20:28:00.003-06:00

On Saturday April 23, 2011 members of the EPCSOA along with their family volunteered their time to help make a successful Easter Egg Hunt for the Special Needs Group and several other under priviledged childrens groups from around El Paso. The Association donated and cooked Hamburgers and Hotdogs for over 400 people. Members also dontated toys which were given out as door prizes during the event. This was a very successful event and a wonderful experience for the Board members and their families who volunteered their time. We plan to keep up the volunteer work for our community and would welcome members to join in, the experience will leave you wanting to do more for your community. Contact any Board Member for information on future events.

CLEAT Attorney Jim Jopling wins arbitration hearing!

2011-04-28T20:10:00.003-06:00

CLEAT has won another victory for a member of The El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association. Detention Officer Alfredo Eggenhafer started 2011 by getting a termination notice from the Sheriff. Despite some tough facts, CLEAT attorney Jim Jopling was able to convince an arbitrator to reinstate Officer Eggenhafer. Thanks to CLEAT, another member is back on the job.

"We will either find a way, or make one."
by: Hannibal Hannibal

Worker’s Compensation: “It’s Bad You Know”

2011-04-26T20:41:00.002-06:00

By Charley Wilkison
Director of Public Affairs

Last week the Texas House voted 78-65 to amend the Worker’s Compensation Sunset Bill and expedite first responder cases to the front of the line. The amendment removed some of the obstacles to helping officers get well faster and return to work sooner.

What was stunning wasn’t that the vote was so close or that we barely pulled it off. It’s been that kind of legislative session. In fact I would recommend you get on YOUTUBE and listen to R.L. Burnside sing “It’s Bad You Know” as a kind of background to this article.
What was stunning is that we’d have to run with an amendment to fix issues that should never have happened in Texas. What was amazing is that anyone would be opposed to it, get up on the floor of the Texas House and argue against it. After all, this was not an employment rights bill or a labor union issue or a retirement measure. This amendment wasn’t some radical attempt to limit gun ownership nor a secret attempt to promote gay marriage. This was about badly needed medical care for cops and firefighters who had been seriously injured in the line of duty.

We had worked hard to get two bills filed, SB 1174 by Senator Bob Deuell, MD., R-Greenville and HB 1961 by Representative Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont. Only one bill has been heard and neither one is moving through the process.

The one hearing that did occur in the House Committee on State Affairs was very adversarial with the Texas Municipal League pointing out that the bill would cost cities too much money and other city employees regularly faced the same amount of danger on their jobs. Equating first responders to city sewer workers the General Counsel of the TML shot down the need for the bill and many lobbyists and interest groups signed up against the bill. Even the next week the bill hadn’t been brought up for a vote and we began eyeing the Worker’s Comp Sunset bill as a possible legislative vehicle to solve the problem.

When Worker’s Comp was reformed during the last decade it was intended as a conservative fix to what many considered lawsuit abuse. But nobody intended to shut cops and firefighters out of timely medical care did they? Surely that was not the intention of the insurance companies, political subdivisions or the traveling medical shows they employ as physicians.

As my grandmother used to say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and whether intended or not first responders, whose injuries are more serious, wound up getting the shaft.

What’s wrong with the Worker’s Comp System?

That’s a question that would deserve a large book to answer but I first heard of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff Ed Martin I was sure that there was some kind of mistake. He was shot at point blank range with a 12-gauge while answering an open 911 call. Somehow he survived only to have the Texas Worker’s Compensation system fail him at every turn.

I asked our lawyers to check over his paperwork to see if there was some kind of error. There wasn’t. I went through every kind of scenario that I could think of but there was nothing to point to a mistake. When I first met him, saw his injuries, heard about his physical battle to recover and return to work and began wondering why he was the only one having these problems. I began asking officers around the state, local union presidents, and field representatives if there were other officers suffering from the same problem?

Law enforcement officers were having giant problems all across the state but were suffering in silence and thinking somehow they had done something wrong or just gotten the wrong doctor. Melinda Griffith and I organized a statewide meeting about the issue at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel here in Austin and many CLEAT representatives and injured officers gathered to share information and tell their stories.

From Laredo to the Panhandle came the stories of physical suffering, denied surgeries, accusations as to the need of the medical care and as Deputy Martin pointed out—Worker’s Comp challenged the need and the cost of the helicopter Care Flight that obviously saved his life.

In the end, our Chris Jones wrote an amendment and Chairman Deshotel and his staff performed heroically to get the amendment on the bill. We had hoped to make it an acceptable, friendly amendment that would be acceptable to the author, Rep. Larry Taylor R-Friendswood, but it was not and our friends on the floor had to fight for us.

We had a plan in place and there were many heroes on the floor that day that fought for Texas officers. It was a narrow, squeak of a victory that your enemies did not expect and we were pleasantly pleased in the end result. Chairman Deshotel was able to re-word his amendment so that it finally was accepted with a voice vote.

However, it was the 78-65 vote that was extremely telling. 47 Democrats voted with 31 Republicans to create the majority. Those who voted with us when we were under fire and being accused of costing more taxpayer money should be given special consideration when your local unions are thinking about future races and consideration. It should not be the only important vote considered this session—but it sure should be considered.

The Sunset bill is headed to the Senate for consideration and it will be interesting to see if anyone in the upper chamber will seek to strip it out or fight to remove our language or substantively change the bill.

We have worked hard, we have listened and we have compromised to get to where we are on this important issue. There is no middle ground on this important issue. It is a time for us to remember our friends and also those who are attempting to hurt injured officers who are fighting to regain their health and their careers.

Below is the actual vote on the motion to table our amendment. Opponents voted yes to table, friends of law enforcement voted not to table.

ON THE MOTION TO TABLE THE AMENDMENT
A “YES” VOTE IS A VOTE AGAINST THE CLEAT AMENDMENT
RV# 417 — Unofficial Totals: 65 Yeas, 78 Nays, 1 Present, not voting

Yeas – Aliseda; Anchia; Anderson, C.; Anderson, R.; Aycock; Beck; Berman; Bonnen; Branch; Cain; Callegari; Carter; Chisum; Christian; Cook; Craddick; Crownover; Darby; Davis, J.; Davis, S.; Eissler; Flynn; Frullo; Garza; Gonzales, L.; Gooden; Hamilton; Hancock; Harless; Hopson; Howard, C.; Hunter; Isaac; King, P.; Kleinschmidt; Landtroop; Laubenberg; Lavender; Legler; Lewis; Lyne; Madden; Margo; Murphy; Nash; Orr; Otto; Patrick; Paxton; Perry; Phillips; Pitts; Price; Ritter; Schwertner; Scott; Sheffield; Shelton; Simpson; Smith, W.; Smithee; Taylor, L.; Torres; Truitt; Weber

Nays – Allen; Alonzo; Alvarado; Bohac; Brown; Burkett; Burnam; Button; Castro; Coleman; Creighton; Davis, Y.; Deshotel; Driver; Dukes; Dutton; Eiland; Elkins; Farias; Farrar; Fletcher; Gallego; Geren; Giddings; Gonzales, V.; Gonzalez; Guillen; Gutierrez; Hardcastle; Harper-Brown; Hartnett; Hernandez Luna; Hilderbran; Hochberg; Howard, D.; Huberty; Hughes; Jackson; Johnson; King, S.; King, T.; Kolkhorst; Kuempel; Larson; Lozano; Lucio; Mallory Caraway; Marquez; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McClendon; Menendez; Miles; Miller, D.; Miller, S.; Muñoz; Naishtat; Oliveira; Parker; Pickett; Quintanilla; Reynolds; Riddle; Rodriguez; Sheets; Smith, T.; Solomons; Strama; Taylor, V.; Thompson; Turner; Veasey; Vo; Walle; White; Workman; Zedler; Zerwas

Present, not voting – Mr. Speaker(C)

Absent, Excused – Morrison; Woolley

Absent – Keffer; Peña; Raymond; Villarreal

LEGISLATIVE ALERT : 1st Responder Worker's Comp Amendment

2011-04-20T20:05:00.008-06:00

On Sunday April 17, 2011 CLEAT Director of Public Affairs Charley Wilkison asked CLEAT Executive Board members and Local President's to flood the State Capital with calls to our State Representatives Monday morning, April 18, 2011, asking them to support an amendment to the Worker’s Comp Sunset Bill, HB 2605 by Larry Taylor R-Friendswood. Together with Locals from across the State, CLEAT was able to rally support in passing the amendment through the HOUSE benefiting First Responders seriously injured in the line of duty.

This is an example of how there is strength in numbers, remember that "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"!

1st Request from Charley:

We need each local president and regional board member to call all of their local state representatives in the morning, MONDAY, April, 18, 2011 and ask them to support an amendment to the Worker’s Comp Sunset Bill, HB 2605 by Larry Taylor R-Friendswood. The amendment will be offered on the floor by Rep. Joseph Deshotel D-Beaumont after the House of Representatives go in session sometime after 1 P.M. tomorrow. We will not have an amendment number until the amendment is laid out for discussion on the floor. It will be simply known as the Deshotel amendment to HB 2605.

As all of you know, we’ve had reports of serious issues with the worker’s comp system and the institutionalized unfairness to all workers, especially law enforcement personnel. We held an extra day of meetings regarding this issue during our biennial CLEAT Legislative Workshop in December, 2010 at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. We heard horror stories of officers shot and injured in the line of duty who were systematically declined lifesaving and career saving medical treatment because of the unscrupulous doctors and scams operated by cities and others within the worker’s comp system.

Governor Perry, Speaker Strauss, Lt. Governor Dewhurst and Chairman Taylor are aware of the amendment and we are hopeful that it will be accepted by the author. However, in case it is sent to the floor for a record vote YOUR legislators should know that the amendment is CLEAT’s effort to help injured first responders, who are seriously injured in the line of duty, by expediting them through the worker’s comp system.

We have two bills already filed, one by Senator Bob Deuell R-Greenville, and one by Representative Joe Deshotel (mentioned above). The Worker’s Comp Sunset bill is guaranteed passage and we are attempting to amend with our language in case one of our worker’s comp bills get’s log jammed in the legislative process.

This is our Hail Mary attempt to gain legitimate coverage for all Texas first responders in the worst session of my career. Any help and assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Highest Regards,

Charley Wilkison
Director of Public Affairs
CLEAT

PS: We just got the amendment back from Legislative Council and it was filed by the 1pm deadline today (Sunday).

We have met with Rep. Taylor and his staff and asked that they accept the amendment. The amendment is the committee substitute we worked out on HB 1961 with the Texas Department of Insurance and the TML Risk Pool. Chairman Deshotel took their recommended changes after the hearing.

The bill/amendment would basically do the following:

1) Define responders as peace officers, fire fighters and EMS personnel.
2) Only apply to injuries sustained by first responders in the course and scope of duty.
3) Treat first responders differently when they file a worker’s compensation claim. First responder cases would be expedited through the process. This would force the administrators who deal with the paperwork to look at the case and process it first. By doing this we believe that routine denials will be avoided and if a claim or treatment recommendation is denied, it would ensure that the appeal is processed as rapidly as possible.
4) Allow the Insurance commissioner to extend the 104-week time limit currently in the law for a MMI rating (maximum medical improvement). This would allow a physician to request an extension of time based on medical evidence in severe cases only and on a case by case basis only.

2nd Response after getting the Amendment through the House:

Thanks for all the calls to legislators from members, local presidents and e-board.

The author of the bill, Rep. Larry Taylor R-Friendswood, opposed the CLEAT amendment and sought to defeat it with a motion to table. Most motions to table this session have passed by 100 or more. However, the CLEAT Amendment #12 by Rep. Deshotel narrowly passed by 13 votes.

Opponents became alarmed and asked the author to temporarily withdraw the amendment and change the language to insure that the injuries were serious and received in-the-line-of-duty. Rep. Deshotel re-wrote the amendment and it passed.

This is a terrible session and we only achieved our narrow victory because of our tenacious door to door lobbying and the calls from members.

TML and the Texas Department of Insurance are madder 'n hell and wondering what happened to their super majority :) We are now headed to the Texas Senate and one more step closer to reforming an unscrupulous worker's comp system.

Charley Wilkison
Director of Public Affairs
CLEAT

Peace Officer Memorial Events, SAVE THE DATES

2011-04-07T09:06:00.002-06:00

The first week of May is the week to honor fallen peace officers nationwide. Texas leads the nation in officer deaths. Beginning on the morning of April 30th, the Ride of the Fallen, a motorcycle ride, will begin at the Harley Davidson location and end at the State Memorial in Austin. Sunday, May 1st starting at 7:30 pm, a candlelight vigil will be held at the Memorial. And on May 2nd, the statewide memorial service will begin at 11:00 at the South steps of the Capitol. For more information, go to www.pomf.org.

Private Prison Promises Leave Texas Towns In Trouble

2011-03-29T22:21:00.002-06:00

The country with the highest incarceration rate in the world — the United States — is supporting a $3 billion private prison industry. In Texas, where free enterprise meets law and order, there are more for-profit prisons than any other state. But because of a growing inmate shortage, some private jails cannot fill empty cells, leaving some towns wishing they'd never gotten in the prison business.

It seemed like a good idea at the time when the west Texas farming town of Littlefield borrowed $10 million and built the Bill Clayton Detention Center in a cotton field south of town in 2000. The charmless steel-and-cement-block buildings ringed with razor wire would provide jobs to keep young people from moving to Lubbock or Dallas.

For eight years, the prison was a good employer. Idaho and Wyoming paid for prisoners to serve time there. But two years ago, Idaho pulled out all of its contract inmates because of a budget crunch at home. There was also a scandal surrounding the suicide of an inmate.

Shortly afterward, the for-profit operator, GEO Group, gave notice that it was leaving, too. One hundred prison jobs disappeared. The facility has been empty ever since.

A Hard Sell

"Maybe ... he'll help us to find somebody," says Littlefield City Manager Danny Davis good-naturedly when a reporter shows up for a tour.

For sale or contract: a 372-bed, medium-security prison with double security fences, state-of-the-art control room, gymnasium, law library, classrooms and five living pods.

Davis opens the gray steel door to a barren cell with bunk beds and stainless-steel furniture.

"You can see the facility here. [It's] pretty austere, but from what I understand from a prison standpoint, it's better than most," he says, still trying to close the sale.

For the past two years, Littlefield has had to come up with $65,000 a month to pay the note on the prison. That's $10 per resident of this little city.

A Resident Burden

Is the empty prison a big white elephant for the city of Littlefield?

"Is it something we have that we'd rather not have? Well, today that would probably be the case," Davis says.

To avoid defaulting on the loan, Littlefield has raised property taxes, increased water and sewer fees, laid off city employees and held off buying a new police car. Still, the city's bond rating has tanked.

The village elders drinking coffee at the White Kitchen cafe are not happy about the way things have turned out.

"It was never voted on by the citizens of Littlefield; [it] is stuck in their craw," says Carl Enloe, retired from Atmos Energy. "They have to pay for it. And the people who's got it going are all up and gone and they left us ... "

"... Holdin' the bag!" says Tommy Kelton, another Atmos retiree, completing the sentence.

The Declining Prison Population

The same thing has happened to communities across Texas. Once upon a time, it seems every small town wanted to be a prison town. But the 20-year private prison building boom is over.

Some prisons are struggling outside Texas, too.

Hardin, Mont., defaulted on its bond payments after trying, so far unsuccessfully, to fill its 464-bed minimum security prison. And a prison in Huerfano County, Colo., closed after Arizona pulled out its 700 inmates.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the total correctional population in the United States is declining for the first time in three decades. Among the reasons: The crime rate is falling, sentencing alternatives mean fewer felons doing hard time and states everywhere are slashing budgets.

The Texas Legislature, looking for budget cuts, is contemplating shedding 2,000 contract prison beds. Statewide, more than half of all privately operated county jail beds are empty, according to figures from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

"Too many times we've seen jails that have got into it and tried to make it a profitable business to make money off of it and they end up fallin' on their face," says Shannon Herklotz, assistant director of the commission.

The packages look sweet. A town gets a new detention center without costing the taxpayers anything. The private operator finances, constructs and operates an oversized facility. The contract inmates pay off the debt and generate extra revenue.

The economic model works fine until they can't find inmates.

In Waco, McLennan County borrowed $49 million to build an 816-bed jail and charge day rates for bunk space. But today because of the convict shortage, the fortress east of town remains more than half empty. The sheriff and county judge, once champions of the new jail, now decline to comment on it.

Former McLennan County Deputy Rick White, who opposed the jail, had this to say about the prison developers who put the deal together: "They get the corporations formed, they get the bonds sold, they get the facility built, their money is front-loaded, they take their money out. And then there's no reason for them to support the success of the facility."

Two of Texas' busiest private prison consultants — James Parkey and Herb Bristow — declined repeated requests for interviews.

The Inmate Market

Private prison companies insist their future is sunny.

A spokesman for the GEO Group declined to speak about the Littlefield prison, but he sent along a slew of press releases highlighting the company's new inmate contracts and prison expansions across the country.

Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest private prison operator, says the demand for its facilities remains strong, particularly for federal immigration detainees.

New Jersey-based Community Education Centers, which has been pulling out of unprofitable jails across Texas, issued a statement that "the current [jail] population fluctuation" is cyclical.

One of the places where CEC is canceling its contract is Falls County, in central Texas, where a for-profit jail addition is losing money. Now it's up to Falls County Judge Steve Sharp to hustle up jailbirds: "If somebody is out there charging $30 a day for an inmate, we need to charge $28. We really don't have a choice of not filling those beds," he said.

Another place where they're desperate for inmates is Anson, the little town north of Abilene, Texas, once famous for its no-dancing law. Today, Jones County owns a brand-new $34 million prison and an $8 million county jail, both of which sit empty. The prison developers made their money and left. Then the Texas Department of Criminal Justice reneged on a contract to fill the new prison with parole violators. The county's Public Facility Corp., which borrowed the money to build the lockups, owes $314,000 a month — with no paying inmates. They've got a year's worth of bond service payments set aside before county officials start to sweat.

"The market has changed nationwide in the last 18 months or two years. It's certainly a different picture than when we started this project. And so we're continuing to work the problem," Jones County Judge Dale Spurgin says.

Grayson County, north of Dallas, said no to privatizing its jail. Two years ago, the county was all set to build a $30 million, 750-bed behemoth twice as big as was needed. But the public got queasy and county officials ultimately scuttled the deal.

"When you put the profit motive into a private jail, by design, in order to increase your dollars, your revenues, your profits, you need more folks in there and they need to stay longer," says Bill Magers, mayor of the county seat of Sherman, a leading opponent.

When the supply of prison beds exceeds the demand for prison beds, there are beneficiaries.

The overcrowded Harris County Jail in Houston, the nation's third largest, farms out about 1,000 prisoners to private jails. Littlefield and most other underoccupied facilities in Texas have all been in touch with Houston.

"It really is a buyer's market right now, especially a county our size," says Capt. Robin Konetzke, who is in charge of inmate processing for the Harris County Sheriffs Department. "They're really wanting to get our business. So, we're getting good deals."

Nearby, disheveled and unsmiling men are brought from a holding cell to stand before a booking officer for their intake interviews. The detainees are wholly unaware that they may soon become the newest commodities of the volatile inmate market.

Mose Buchele, of member station KUT, and Aarti Shahani contributed to this NPR News investigation and report

You can read Part 1: Town Relies On Troubled Youth Prison For Profits

TEXPERS 2011 Annual Conference Focuses on Future of Public Pensions

2011-03-29T22:15:00.002-06:00

AUSTIN, Texas, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 480 representatives of city, state and local pension plans for police, fire fighters and municipal workers attended today the annual conference of the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems, focusing on the question of "Where Do We Go From Here?"

"While all our conferences offer detailed training on investment opportunities, ethics and pension administration, we're also discussing how we can responsibly work with city, county and state governments which are facing fiscal constraints," said Eyna Canales-Zarate, the President of the TEXPERS Board of Directors. "Texas law has a system providing local control of pension investment and administration and it has worked well in providing low cost benefits to public employees.

"We're engaged with our members in a process of ensuring that retirement benefits contribute to the competitiveness of employment in the public sector while not exceeding taxpayers' abilities to fund them," Canales-Zarate said.

During the conference, TEXPERS released the findings of its Asset Allocation and Investment Performance Survey. The 56 respondents had $21.7 billion in market-valued assets at the end of September 2010, with an average investment performance of 8.9% per year over a 20-year period. That rate exceeded the average actuarial investment return assumption of 8.2% needed to maintain benefit commitments.

"We judge pension plan investment performance on long-term basis because today's new hire will probably work at least 20 years before benefits are paid," said Max Patterson, the executive director of TEXPERS. "We're encouraged by the results of the study because solid investment performance is a key factor in keeping taxpayer contributions to public employees' retirement benefits as low as possible."

The study showed that survey respondents had an average asset allocation of 26.9% percent in U.S. equity, 19.3% in non-U.S. equity, 28.3% in fixed income, 9.1% in real estate, 6.4% in private equity and 10.0% in other asset classes.

About TEXPERs

The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) is a statewide voluntary nonprofit association to provide quality education to trustees, administrators, professional service providers and employee groups and associations engaged or interested in the management of public employee retirement systems. Today, TEXPERS' member systems represent approximately 416,000 active and retired participants and approximately $475 billion in assets. Learn more at www.TEXPERS.org or www.TEXPERS.blogspot.com.

SOURCE Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems

IF YOU ARE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN TEXAS, THEN YOU’D BETTER BE PAYING ATTENTION TO DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGISLATURE

2011-02-28T14:33:00.002-07:00

By John Burpo, CLEAT Executive Director

If you are thinking that like past sessions the CLEAT lobby team will simply walk in and put more notches on our incredible scoreboard of labor legislative victories, think again!

CLEAT’s lobbyist Charley Wilkison advises that the word floating around the Capitol is that with the dramatic change in the Legislature, it is now time to go after public sector pension benefits and law enforcement civil service and collective bargaining rights. We are also hearing from our members in the field that management officials are falling all over themselves with excitement over having an opportunity to gut the few gains we have made over the past 35 years.

If you have been following the world outside of Texas, then you know that there are scary trends taking place: the private sector labor movement has effectively collapsed and is no longer relevant to the national conversation on employee benefits and rights – that is why private sector union membership is now down around 5% of the national workforce. Private sector employee health care benefits are being stripped or eliminated; pension benefits are going the way of the dinosaur and being replaced by 410(k)’s.

For the first time ever, public officials are taking aim at public employee benefits and rights – and law enforcement officers are included in this assault! The news is full of sad stories from across the nation about police pay and benefit give backs, stripped health care and pension plans, and most incredibly, layoffs. I have been doing this work going back many years and this is the first time ever I have seen layoffs of public essential services.

The rhetoric attacking law enforcement benefits and rights has little basis in fact. This attack has more to do with public officials taking monetary advantage of the recent recession (now passed) so they can plead poverty. It has to do with these same public officials seeing an opportunity to challenge public sector unions that, hypocritically, they have called on for support for so long. And sadly, it has to do with the citizens we serve who are having a bad case of “benefit envy;” that is, in their jobs – if they even have a job in these tough times, they have lower pay, high premium-high deductible health insurance plans, no pension plan and instead a meager 401(k).

Sound like a tough situation? You bet, it really is grim. But it is not a hopeless – we have many options to deal with elected officials and with public perceptions. So here go a number of suggestions for how we go about facing this crisis; and the use of the word “we” includes every member reading this article. CLEAT can take on this fight only with the help of every local leader and member!

First, State Representatives and Senators need to contacted by CLEAT local leaders and members and reminded that you are the first line defense in every Texas community. Our elected officials must be reminded that next to our military, law enforcement officers are the most essential service in this country. To even talk about any kind of benefit reduction or elimination of a right is a betrayal to the officers who put their lives on the line for citizens every day.

Local leaders and members are encouraged to pay attention to CLEAT’s website and check on legislation that adversely affects our members. And you should contact your legislators by e-mail, phone call, or letter to let them know about your discontent. This is not the year to sit on the sidelines – get involved and be a part of helping your fellow officers maintain the tremendous workplace benefits and rights that we have so hard to achieve over the years.

Second, keep improving your local political action program. Endorse – and work for, those local officials who support the maintenance/improvement of your rights and benefits; and oppose those who do not. In other words, reward your friends and punish your enemies. In keeping with this principle, build up your association political action committee, because money is the mother’s milk of politics – your political friends will appreciate your endorsement; they will be wildly enthusiastic about your financial contribution!

Lastly, remember that the citizens in your community are the ones whom you must ultimately convince that pay and benefit reductions, layoffs, and elimination of workplace rights are not in the best interest of the community. Remind them that public safety officers – police, deputies, detention, and EMS, are the workers who make the difference between a safe community and chaos. The best way to talk to your citizens is through public service ads, billboards, direct mail, and coalitions/meetings with key community groups and leaders. The CLEAT Public Affairs Division can assist our local leadership with ideas to effectively communicate to citizens about the importance of public safety and the necessity for the maintenance or improvement of pay, benefits and working conditions.

To contact John Burpo about this article: john.burpo@cleat.org

Attacks on Collective Bargining across the nation!!

2011-02-26T06:41:00.002-07:00

CLEAT Members,

Due to the attacks that are going on across the nation on collective bargaining and meet and confer, I just wanted to let everyone know our Legislative Staff is on high alert in the Capitol. They are watching to ensure that if it spreads to Texas we are not caught unaware. Charley, Chris and Melinda are working long hours and staying on top of the situation. We had staff attend the rally at the Capitol in support of the Wisc workers and have started to work on relationships in case anything gets filed here.

I want to thank everyone for their help last week at the Capitol and just let you know if bad things happen we will be calling for help.

Todd Harrison

President

Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas

POMF License Plate Launches on Friday!

2011-02-08T14:03:00.002-07:00

On Friday, My Plates, a company that sells specialty license plates will launch the plate specifically designed for the Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation (POMF). Proceeds from purchases will go to the POMF, a 501(c)(3) charity founded by CLEAT.

“This idea was brought to us by one of our own, Janet Cole,” said Dwight Tiller, CLEAT Director of Field Services. “It is a great cause and a wonderful messaging tool for the POMF. Every day, people that we might not be able to reach will now see the plate out there on the road,” said Tiller.

For more information, or to help support the cause, click here.

State Representative Lucio Plans to File Legislation for Fallen Officers' Families

2011-02-04T16:32:00.002-07:00

AUSTIN- State Representative Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, has agreed to author legislation allowing families of fallen officers to be able to make a victim's impact statement before prosecutors accept any plea bargain or strike any deal with criminals who kill Texas peace officers.

"This is a great law and order bill and would allow the voices of families of fallen officers to be heard prior to any decision of leniency or plea bargaining regarding a murder or death of an officer", said Charley Wilkison, CLEAT Director of Public Affairs.

EPCSOA welcomes new members!!

2011-01-25T20:10:00.002-07:00

On January 17th the EPCSOA and CLEAT welcomed aboard their newest members. Twenty-two El Paso County Correction Officers joined the El Paso County Sheriff's Offciers Association and CLEAT after a grueling academy. "We have one of the best Law Enforcement Academies in the State of Texas", said President Marrufo. "We are proud to have the caliber of Deputies and Correction Officers here in El Paso, and even prouder to have them members of our Association and CLEAT."

CLEAT is the only statewide organization to treat all sheriff department employees fairly. CLEAT members are full members regardless of their work assignment or whether or not they are in a certain clique within the sheriff’s department. Other statewide organizations force some sheriff deputies into the status of “auxiliary members”, charge them the same dues as other members and then refuse to allow them to vote or participate in the governance of the union where they pay dues.

At CLEAT, all members get the same protection, same legal service and are treated like valued colleagues.

Sgt. Ruben Orozco 8K Law Enforcement Torch Run/2 Mile Walk

2011-01-13T17:28:00.004-07:00

April 10, 2011
Corner of Cincinnati and Stanton El Paso, TX

Competitive 8K Run and Fun 2 Mile Walk
8K Starts at 8:00 am 2 Mile Walk Starts at 8:15 a.m.
Start and Finish on the corner of Stanton and Cincinnati

Entry Fee:
Early Registration until April 1, 2011 $20
After April 2nd, 2011 $25
Military discount: $5 must present military id at packet pick up.
Teams of 10 or more: $15 per team member until April 1, 2011. $20 from April 1, 2011 until April 6, 2011.
Fee Includes: 100% Long sleeve Signature t-shirt

Awards: Trophies awarded to top three masters males/females and top three overall males/females. Medals will be awarded to top three finishers males/females in the following age groups: 9-under, 10-14, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-over

R.O. 8K Traveling Trophy Team Challenge
R.O.8.K. will be having the team challenge again this year SWAT, SRT, M.P.'S, Army, High School or any other groups that would like to take on the challenge....The traveling trophy will go to the winning team along with the bragging rights.... last years winner was the El Paso Police Department SWAT.

The RULES are as follows:
-Team will consist of (4) four members no more no less
-Team can be coed
-All team members must cross the finish line within 30 seconds of each other. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
-Any team with less than four will be disqualified.
-Team will designate a team captain/representative
-Team registrations must be turned in together and have name of team and team captiain on each form.

"R.O. 8K Largest Team tTrophy" will be awarded to the team with the most entries. All team entries must be turned in together (minimum of 10 per team is required in order to qualify for this category).

Raffle prizes and special awards will be given away at the end of race. "Must be present to win"

Proceed to benefit Special Olympics Texas

Contact: Andrea Schiechl 915.533.8229 or Mike Coulter 915.274.5222

Sponsored by: El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association and El Paso Municipal Police Officers Association

Texas Leads The Nation in 2010 Law Enforcement Officer Deaths

2011-01-08T22:18:00.008-07:00

National Line-of-Duty-Deaths Are Up 40 Percent!!

Top to Bottom: The 3 most recent peace officers killed in the line of duty: Deputy Michael Schaefer, Officer Jillian Smith and Deputy John Norsworthy

By: Charley Wilkison

America's law enforcement officer deaths are at an all time high and Texas holds the sad distinction of having lost the largest number of law enforcement officers in the line of duty than any other state.

160 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty during the past year according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).

Fifty-nine officers have been shot and killed during the past year, which is a 20 percent increase over the 49 killed by gunfire in 2009. Traffic-related incidents remained the number one cause of death among the nation's law enforcement officers for the 13th consecutive year. Seventy three officers have been killed in traffic related incidents compared to 51 in 2009, representing a 43 percent increase.

"Our law enforcment officers are being asked to do more today with less, and it is putting their lives at risk," said Craig W. Floyd, Chair of the NLEOMF. "In addition to their conventional crimefighting responsibilities, our law enforcment officers are on the front lines in the war against terror here at home. Yet, there are fewer officers on the street and other precious resources, such as training and equipment dollars are also being cut as a result of the economic downtown," he said.

In addition to the officers killed by firearms or in traffic related incidents, 19 officers died as a direct result of job related illnesses, two were beaten, two drowned, two officers suffered fatal falls, two died in aircraft crashes and one died in a boating incident.

In Texas, there have been 18 line-of-duty deaths this year, 30 in the past 24 months and 1, 755 officers killed in the line of duty since statehood.

The last week of the year was one of the most deadly of 2010 with Officer Ann O'Donnell, University of Houston Police Department being killed in a vehicle pursuit on December 24, Uvalde County Deputy Micheal Schaefer suffering a fatal heart attack on Christmas Day while struggling to subdue and arrest a suspect, and Arlington Police Department Officer Jillian Smith was shot to death on December 28th while protecting a 9 year old child during a family violence incident.

The Peace Officers Memorial Foundation, the charitable arm of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas is tasked each year with developing and funding a memorial service to honor Texas fallen officers for the past bienniem at the Texas Capitol in Austin. This year the candlelight vigil will be held at the Texas Peace Officer's monument on Sunday evening, May 1, 2011 and the memorial service will be held the following day on the south steps of the state Capitol at 11 AM. The public is welcome to attend. To learn more go to www.pomf.org

CLEAT Announces Education Alliance with Capella University

2011-01-08T22:09:00.002-07:00

CLEAT is pleased to announce an education alliance with Capella University. Through the alliance, CLEAT employees, members and their immediate family members are eligible receive a 5% tuition discount. Visit www.capella.edu/cleat to learn more!
Capella University offers a range of online bachelor’s, master’s and MBA and PhD programs through its Schools of Business, Public Safety, Education, Psychology and Human Services.

You’ll also benefit from:

CLEAT Tuition Grant $500 grant for all new students starting courses between February and July 2010.

• Capella’s Professional Development Webinar Series with new topics posted quarterly
• Capella University ’s commitment to deliver academic excellence—online
• Experienced, expert teaching faculty who are actively working in your field of study
• Flexible class schedules to accommodate your personal learning needs
• Transfer credit for prior coursework at regionally or internationally accredited institutions
• Check out our Public Safety Blog http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/

Programs that might be of interest to you:

• Criminal Justice (BS, MS, PhD and Graduate Certificate)
• Emergency Management (BS, MS and PhD)
• Public Safety Leadership (MS and PhD)
• Homeland Security (BS and Graduate Concentration)
• Forensics (Graduate Concentration)
• Security Management (Undergraduate Concentration)
• Fire Service Administration (Graduate Concentration)

For more information, visit www.capella.edu/cleat or contact a Capella University enrollment counselor at 1-888-227-9896.

Christmas Giving

2011-01-02T21:38:00.004-07:00

The EPCSOA and it members brought some Christmas magic this year to the El Paso Transitional Living Center. The membership came together and provided enough gifts for 103 children, and 40 mothers who were all being housed at this facility. We showed up to surprise the families while they were enjoying their Christmas dinner. They were indeed surprised when Santa Clause (Liggins) walked in with his elves (association members) carrying bags full of toys for the children. After handing out the toys to the children and letting them take a picture with Santa, we handed out the gifts to the mothers who were very thankful. This is just a small example of what this association and its membership is capable of doing to help less fortune families in El Paso County. Let this be the beginning of many more heartfelt contributions the EPCSOA makes to benefit the citizens of El Paso County. The Association Board would like to thank each and every member, as well as their family members, who showed up to assist with the delivery. A special Thank You to those of you who provided gifts for the children, this was a huge success.

If You Mess With One of Us, You Get Us All

2010-12-15T20:41:00.002-07:00

CLEAT

If You Mess With One of Us, You Get Us All

Click here to see video!

By John Burpo, CLEAT Executive Director

The highlight of the CLEAT Convention in Fort Worth this past October was the 9 minute film about CLEAT developed by our talented Director of Public Affairs Charley Wilkison. Told from the viewpoint of past and present leaders and staff, the film expresses the heart of CLEAT’s philosophy: “If you mess with one of us, you get us all.”

This theme ties into the CLEAT motto: “Strength, Justice, Unity.” We are strong because we fight together. We seek justice by taking on our opponents together. And we win our battles by staying unified. When you think about CLEAT, think about 18,000 members (that’s right, we are now over 18,000!) marching together for the benefit of each individual member.

Here are 3 instances in 2010 that clearly showcase the point “If you mess with one of us, you get us all:”

Grayson County CLEAT members called CLEAT for help in taking on County Judge Drue Bynum and like-minded Commissioner’s who were forcing an ill-advised attempt to privatize the jail. The members formed the Grayson County Law Enforcement Association to represent all employees of the Sheriff’s Department and President Karen Bruton led the members in the fight against privatization. CLEAT marshaled staff resources to force the County Judge to back down and insure that Karen and the 90 other detention officers didn’t lose their jobs. By the way, Karen was the recipient this year of the prestigious Ludwig Bruno award at the convention for her great work in this campaign.

Del Rio City Manager Frances Rodriguez, along with some former city commission members, made the incredibly stupid decision to revoke the meet and confer rights between City leaders and the Del Rio POA. So the POA called in the full forces of CLEAT to assist in taking an initiative to the citizens of Del Rio that allowed for the community to decide on collective bargaining rights for Del Rio police officers. The POA won bargaining rights overwhelmingly and now rather than the optional meet and confer process, our Del Rio members and the citizens can enjoy the full benefit of collective bargaining.

Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman learned this year about CLEAT’s ferocity in defending our members. He terminated a group of officers for allegedly tampering with governmental records when working a housing authority extra job and at the same time showing work at the police department on their time sheets. To add insult to injury, the City had 10 officers arrested for a criminal offense, all of whom were ultimately no-billed by the Grand Jury. The officers all vehemently argued that they were guilty of poor record keeping but not of administrative or criminal misconduct. CLEAT represented 4 officers in arbitration and 8 officers in the criminal proceedings. In one of the arbitration proceedings under cross-examination by top CLEAT attorney Jannice Joseph, Chief Stroman began producing crocodile tears when testifying about maintaining the integrity and public trust of the police department. The arbitrator saw through this masquerade however, finding that there had been a systematic practice from the top to bottom of the police department allowing officers to reflect time worked at the department while performing outside work or engaging in personal matters; and that this practice extended far beyond the officers who had been fired and criminally charged. The final result of the 4 arbitrations: 1 officer reinstated with no discipline, another reinstated with minimal discipline, and the other 2 settled prior to hearing with minimum discipline.

CLEAT has come to the aid of so many members and locals in 2010 that space simply does not permit citing every example. But a special thank you goes out to Grayson County Commissioner Drue Bynum, former Del Rio City Manager Frances Rodriguez, and Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman for making the job of illustrating the “don’t mess with us” point so simple.

Here is the bottom line: every police chief, sheriff, city manager, council member and county commissioner should be on notice that if you mess with one us, you get us all. And the consequence is that when you mess with any of us, your professional life will become an ongoing nightmare.

NAPO’s TOP COPS Awards Nomination Deadline is Approaching

2010-12-15T20:26:00.002-07:00

NAPO’s TOP COPS Awards Nomination Deadline is Approaching

The deadline for TOP COPS nominations is January 11, 2011.

Click here for nomination form.

This year will mark the eighteenth year NAPO has produced the TOP COPS Awards. With your help and partnership, TOP COPS will be a tremendous success.

The ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 12, 2011. Thank you in advance for your support.

Christmas Gift Donations!!

2010-12-06T19:22:00.005-07:00

The EPCSOA membership has requested that we reach out to the community this holiday season. At your direction, the Board has made contact with the El Paso Transitional Living Center and made arrangements for the EPCSOA members to make this Christmas a Christmas to remember for the children currently staying at their facility. If you are interested in taking part and making this Christmas a memorable one for a local child in need, please contact one of your board members and request a child. We have 103 children to provide gifts for and I know with the generosity and willingness to help others by association members we"ll have no problem getting all 103 children a gift they can enjoy. Check the Board members page on your association website to email your interest to one of the board.

Pre-paid Legal Services Available!!!

2010-11-23T20:47:00.002-07:00

Here are some bullet points of coverage with your Life Events Legal Plan and Identity Theft Shield: (typically any size family one low rate $26.70 a MONTH or less) and this can be deducted from your pay as a County Employee.

-UNLIMITED CONSULTATION
-LETTERS/PHONE CALLS ON YOUR BEHALF
-CONTRACT/DOCUMENT REVIEW
-MOVING VIOLATION CONSULTATION/REPRESENTATION
-SERIOUS ACCIDENT REPRESENTATION (MUST BE DRIVING LEGAL)
-TRIAL DEFENSE
-IRS AUDIT PROTECTION
-UNCONTESTED DIVORCE/SEPARATION/NAME CHANGE/ADOPTION
-WILL PREPARATION
-LIVING WILL
-HEALTHCARE POWER OF ATTORNEY
-CREDIT REPORTING
-CREDIT MONITORING
-CREDIT RESTORATION
-SAFEGUARD FOR MINORS (IF YOUR MINOR CHILD FALLS VICTIM TO IDENTITY THEFT)
-25% PREFERRED MEMBER DISCOUNT

For more information please contact your Pre Paid Legal account representatives:

Melissa Wilder 915-751-8858
Christine Seelig 915-253-9217 .

Awards Banquet!!!

2010-11-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

You are invited to the
E.P.C.S.O.A. Annual
Awards Banquet
Friday, December 3, 2010
At
“The Firefighters Hall
3112 Forney Drive
6:30pm – 1:00am
Dinner at 7:00 pm
Disco Dress
9:00pm to 1:00am Semi-Formal – no ball caps etc.
Limited Seating. To reserve your place you MUST call
ED at 202-6209 before December 01, 2010 5pm
Beer and set-ups will be provided. Bring your own hard liquor. Wine may be
purchased at hall. Do not bring your own beer or wine.
Officer and One guest only. No children under 12years permitted.

CLEAT Benefits Plan!

2010-09-29T15:12:00.000-06:00

CLEAT Benefit Plan
Dental / Vision
El Paso County Open Enrollment 2010

The month of October will be open enrollment for members covered under the Collective Bargaining Agreement in the CLEAT Dental and Vision Plan. During October you will be able to visit the CLEAT office during business hours and complete a change form to update your information. In addition, CLEAT representatives will be on site at the following dates and times

October 20, 2010 - Jail Annex 7:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
October 21, 2010 - Downtown Jail – 7:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
October 22, 2010 - SO Administration – 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon
October 22, 2010 - CLEAT office 1:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.

• Changes will be effective December 1st, 2010

You will be able to:
• Verify current coverage
• Add or terminate coverage for dependents
• Change name
• Change address
• Update beneficiary / $15,000 AD&D policy included with each covered member
Dentemax.com for dental PPO providers

Visit CLEAT.org
• Print dental & vision claim forms
• Print or view a CLEAT Benefit Plan Summary of coverage
• Fill out and submit a will online – processed at no charge for CLEAT members
• TIPP ( temporary income protection ) Application
• Update membership
• CLEAT Legal Plan
• Latest news

ELECTION RESULTS!!!

2010-09-28T20:59:00.002-06:00

DEPUTY DIRECTORS ran unopposed

Marvin Ryals
Mario Marquez
Louie Silva

DETENTION OFFICER DIRECTORS

Brian Houston 192
Eulugio Munoz 166
Roger Carreon 148

Pedro Mora 106
Marco Camarrillo 67

Board of Director Voting Locations and Times!!!

2010-09-24T22:33:00.002-06:00

Reminder the vote for Board of Directors is on Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010.

The schedule is as follows;

Jail-Annex from 0600 hrs till 1700 hrs

Downtown Jail from 0600 hrs till 1700 hrs

All candidates are welcome to witness the counting of the votes at the CLEAT office. Although the board deputies are running unopposed a few ballots will be printed to keep the integrity of the voting process.

CLEAT Attorney Miles McNeal on Anthony Jackson!!

2010-09-23T21:56:00.005-06:00

On August 12, 2008, the District Attorney’s Office presented a case against Deputy Anthony Jackson. Holding true to the old District Attorney’s saying, “I could indict a ham sandwich.” The Grand Jury returned a True Bill against Mr. Jackson. The charge was Tampering with a Government Record, a 2nd Degree Felony (2-20 years). In a nut shell, the State said that Mr. Jackson swore he had served an individual, and that it was impossible that he served that person on that day.

My involvement in the case began in January of 2010. After reviewing the file it became VERY clear that the State could not prove the felony case against Mr. Jackson. So, I immediately set the case for trial on February 23, 2010. On the trial date the Prosecutor was forced to admit that they could not prove the felony. He then dismissed the case. But what does the DA’s office do next? They re-file it as a misdemeanor and issue another arrest warrant! I immediately set up a hearing with the Judge and the prosecutor, the Judge then recalled the warrant.

The earliest trial date available was September 13, 2010. On that day, with the help of my co-counsel Brock Benjamin, we began the trial. The State presented three witnesses against Mr. Jackson, upon cross-examination; no witness was able to say whether Mr. Jackson had done what the State had alleged. The State then rested. Mr. Jackson then took the stand and testified. He testified to what he remembered. It was also brought up that during his time at the Sheriff’s Department, he was commended for saving the life of a citizen, and he had one of the Patrol Division’s largest marijuana busts, and went above and beyond the call of duty when he provided assistance to the family of a murder victim.

The Jury quickly returned a verdict of Not Guilty. Mr. Jackson went back to thank the Jury for their service. The Jury would not accept Mr. Jackson’s thank you, they instead wanted to apologize on behalf of the State. They felt that it was a miscarriage of justice by even bringing this case and that it was a waste of valuable resources in a time of County deficit and told Mr. Jackson that they were thankful for his service to the People of El Paso County.

Amendment to the Articles of Agreement

2010-09-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

AMENDMENT NO. TWO
TO THE
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE
COUNTY OF EL PASO
AND THE
EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION

Effective upon execution of this Amendment to the Articles of Agreement between the County of El Paso and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers’ Association effective October 1, 2007 (OP-07-139 executed on October 12, 2007 and KK-10-414 Amendment executed on October 1, 2009), the following provisions shall be added, deleted or amended as set forth herein:

All the provisions and benefits granted under Article Ten, Holidays, shall be eliminated for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2010 and ending September 30, 2011.

In return for the Association’s agreement to eliminate all of provisions and benefits under Article Ten, Holidays, for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2010 and ending September 30, 2011, the County agrees to reinstate the 22 detention sergeant positions eliminated during the FY2011 budget meetings and to forego its right to eliminate positions covered by the Agreement until September 30, 2011.

The Association further agrees that as a result of the reinstatement of the sergeants’ positions, the Association will dismiss the case styled El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers’ Association, Inc. v. The County of El Paso, Texas and Richard Wiles, in his official capacity as Sheriff of El Paso County, Texas, Cause No. 2010-3493.

Finally, the Association agrees to waive any right to pursue any other litigation or arbitration related to any matter which is the subject of this amendment.

EXECUTED this 15th day of September, 2010.

EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION, INC.

By: __________________________________
Jose Maruffo, President

EL PASO COUNTY, TEXAS

By: ___________________________________
Anthony Cobos, County Judge

ATTEST:

By: ___________________________________
Delia Briones, County Clerk

PRESIDENT'S WORD

2010-09-23T21:38:00.004-06:00

Membership;

The vote that you cast over this weekend addressed a very important issue, the issue was how secure are our jobs in the future? Although we cannot predict what the future holds for us, we do have a Contract with the County that guarantees us a 1.5% COLA increase every six months, 5% increase on our annual step and all our soft monies till 2014 with an evergreen clause till 2015. We will resume getting holiday pay next October 2011. All of you had a very difficult decision to make; there was no wrong or right way to vote. It was not an easy decision for the board to bring this proposal to you for a vote. The fact remained that you the member wanted a vote on any salary concession. The membership will always have the final say and vote on how their Association proceeds.

Those members who want the Association to keep fighting for our rights; rest assured that the vote has not altered the way the board feels. Although the fight is no longer going to happen in arbitration, the association will explore other options to address this issue. The Association will do its due diligence and prepare throughout the year for this or any other battle the county is willing to bring to our door step.

The question of will the Association fight as hard for our jobs as they did for the Sgt’s position. The Association is committed to fight for any and all job classifications and member who loses his/her job. The association has proven it in the past few months, a deputy that got terminated got his job back, another deputy got acquitted on a felony case, a detention officer had his criminal case dismissed and there are still many more cases the Association is fighting. The Association does not see rank or the color of the uniform when it comes to its membership. All members are seen as equals in the Association.

There are some questions on how this will affect the membership; does the vote mean we have to take furlough days? No furlough days. If the holiday falls on your day off you will not receive an extra 8 hours of holiday pay. If you’re scheduled Monday thru Friday and the holiday falls during the week you will have to submit vacation time to get it off or work it. If you are brought in on O.T. you will receive O.T. pay. Will the National holidays be affected? All holidays covered under the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) will be affected. The proposal will start Oct. 1, 2010 and end on September 30, 2011; this would be for fiscal year 2011.

If you have more questions, please contact me or address them on the QNA tab on the website.

JMarrufo
President-EPCSOA

VOTING RESULTS

2010-09-20T14:34:00.005-06:00

********************VOTING RESULTS*********************

The vote to accept or decline the Amendment proposed by the

County Commissioners has been passed to ACCEPT. This results in

all employees who fall under the Collective Bargaining Agreement

with the County to forfeit their 7 Holidays and 3 Personal days for

fiscal year 2011 in exchange the County will reinstate the

22 Detention Sergeants and 22 Courporals to their

postions for fiscal year 2011.

Concessions Briefing's and Voting Times!

2010-09-17T06:56:00.002-06:00

The Board will be conducting briefing to members at the following times and locations.

Downtown Detention Facility
Friday, September 17th
-Day Shift
-Swing Shift
-Graveyard Shift
-8 to 5 officers will be briefed at 0900 hrs.

Jail Annex
Friday September 17th
-8 to 5 officers will be briefed at 1130 hrs.

Saturday September 18th
-Day Shift
-Swing Shift
-Graveyard Shift

Lower Valley and Upper Valley Patrol
Saturday September 18th
-Briefings will be held during regular shift briefings.

********VOTING POLL LOCATIONS********

Academy (or Jail Annex, TBD)
-Sunday Sept. 19th - 0600 hrs to 1700 hrs
-Monday Sept. 20th - 0600 hrs to 1200 hrs

Downtown Detention Facility
-Sunday Sept. 19th - 0600 hrs to 1700 hrs
-Monday Sept. 20th - 0600 hrs to 1200 hrs

***All jail shift briefing will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of shift.***

Upper Valley Patrol Station
-Sunday Sept. 19th - Swing shift and Graveyard Briefing's
-Monday Sept. 20th - 0600 hrs to 0900 hrs

Sheriff's Office Headquarters
-Monday Sept. 20th - 0700 hrs to 1200 hrs

Wednesday’s general membership meeting

2010-08-27T07:08:00.000-06:00

Membership,

I am glad to report that at Wednesday’s general membership meeting, we finally had a quorum. Commissioner Willie Gandara was in attendance to speak about the County’s financial situation. While the Commissioner took the blame for the County’s deficit and apologized to the membership for having to come and ask for help again, the members gave the Commissioner an ear full. The meeting was civil and the healthy discussion between the membership and the Commissioner was very productive.

The meeting continued after the Commissioner left. The board briefed the members on the chain of events that lead to the Commissioner addressing them. There were several ideas about how the board should handle any situation that might arise in the near future concerning the County’s budget woes.

Nominations for Class II board of the Directors for both Detention Officers and Deputies were held. Nominations are as follows;

Detention Officers Nominated;

Brian Houston

Eulogio Munoz

Pedro Mora

Roger Carreon

Marco Camarillo (As of Thursday morning, officer has not accepted the nomination)

Deputy Nominations;

Marvin Ryals

Mario Marquez

Louie Silva

*********Deputies will be running unopposed**********

Elections are tentative scheduled for Tuesday September 28, 2010 pending board approval.

Finally I would like to take the opportunity to thank Lt. Pedro Frias, who will not be running for re-election, for all the hard work and time he has dedicated for the membership well being. He has served on the board in one capacity or another thru out his career with the Sheriff’s Office. Again thanks Pete!!!

The board will continue to monitor the County’s meeting and keep the membership informed on any new developments.

Respectfully,

JOSE G. MARRUFO JR.

PRESIDENT-EPCSOA

General Membership Meeting

2010-08-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

The General Membership Meeting will be held on
Wednesday August 25, 2010 at the Firefighters Hall @ 7:00 p.m.
Located at 3112 Forney, El Paso Tx 79935

Items on the Agenda include;

Nominations for the Board of Directors:
Three (3) Deputy Directors
Three (3) Detention officer Directors

Nomination requirement as approved by the Board of Directors:

"Should the nominee not be present, it shall be the duty of the nomination member to notify the nominee, of the nominee’s duty to notify the Association Secretary of his/her acceptance within 72 hours of the nomination"

Also a representative of SAM’s club will be in attendance with a special promotion for the membership.

The El Paso Diablos

2010-07-28T18:39:00.001-06:00

The El Paso County Sheriff’s officers Association
Proudly invites you and your family
To The Association Member Appreciation night at

The El Paso Diablos on
Friday August 13th @ 6:00 p.m

Association Member plus 1 guest get in free. Additional tickets can be purchase for $5.00.

Seating will be at the Hard Ball Cafe
Free Hot Dogs, Free Hamburgers, Free Chips, Free Sodas
Gates open at 6:00pm game starts at 7pm
Food starts at 6:30 pm and goes till 8:30pm
Drinks stop at top of 7th inning
$1.00 beer till top of 7th inning

Get your tickets at the CLEAT building @ 747 E. San Antonio Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. ONLY!!!!!!!

A limited amount of tickets will be available. Tickets available on a first come, first serve basis.
Tickets go on sale on Monday August 2nd at the CLEAT office.

Association’s Annual Picnic at WET-N-WILD.

2010-07-22T18:12:00.001-06:00

Membership:
I would like to thank all of the Association members and their families that made it out to the Association’s Annual Picnic at WET-N-WILD. This year’s picnic was enjoyed by more than 800 members and families. There was food, drinks and enough beer for all the adults. Special thanks to the board members who help organize this event, Pete Frias, Rudy Liggins, Fred Castillo, Brian Houston and Eulogio Munoz. Also thanks to Jose Mascorro and family for volunteering to help set up and help with serving the food. Officer Drouin was also out there taking pictures on behalf of the Association.
The event provides us with the perfect opportunity to see old friends and make new friends. The Association has over 850 members which come from both the law enforcement bureau and the detention bureau, some of which would have never met. The picnic gives us the outlet to relax and enjoy a day with our families and friends. A huge thanks to the officers who could not make out because they had to work, we missed them this time around but hope to see them at the next Association event.

County Commissioners meeting with the Association board

2010-07-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

Membership;
As you are already aware, the County Commissioners request a meeting with the Association board to discuss salary concessions for FY 2011 back in May. The County is claiming that they are going to have another short fall in the budget. The Association notified the County that it would meet with them but only after the board did its due diligence and researched the county’s finances.
The Association was finally ready and met with the County on July 14, 2010. The County’s committee was made up Comm. Anna Perez, County Auditor Ed Dion, County HR Betsy Keller and County Attorney Holley Lyghtl. The Association Board and Ron Delord from CLEAT represented the Association. Comm. Perez formally requested that the members of the Association give up our COLA’s and step increase for FY 2011 and the money the County still owes the membership in October 2010.
The Association reminded the County that we had met our obligations by giving up our COLA’s for FY 2010 and now we want them to meet their obligation. The County had no counter proposal on why we should again give up our COLA’s, but insisted we do so because we are public servants. The County’s position is that they are in a deficit crunch and they need help with their budget. The Association disagrees with the County’s position and had an independent source research and analyze the County’s financial status and report back to us.
The Association’s report shows that the County’s problems are not significant enough to warrant its membership giving up another set of COLA’s for FY 2011. The County wants the Association membership to give up about $4.5 million in October, in return for non-monetary items in the contract. The Association told the County that their request was unreasonable and should fulfill their previous agreement before any other request by them is to be considered by the Association.
The Association Board has not agreed to any request the County has made and can not do so with prior approval from the MEMBERSHIP!!!
If any member has a question or concerns please feel free to contact me or any board member for additional information.

EPMPOA Ron Martin, Gov. Rick Perry and Marvin Ryals.

2010-07-21T19:13:00.002-06:00

Our Annual Picnic Sunday July 18th, 2010

2010-06-25T19:00:00.001-06:00

Our Annual Picnic
Wet And Wild Public Safety Day
Sunday July 18th, 2010

Picnic starts at 11:00 am thru 8:00 pm
Free Hamburgers, Hotdogs and Beverages
Music Starts at 11 AM
Tickets will be sold at cleat office and gates.
Members-Free
Family and non-members employees - $10.95 each
Toddlers : $3.25 each
For more info call 544-4251

Two Day Street Survival Seminar

2010-06-24T17:42:00.001-06:00

Two Day Street Survival Seminar
Sponsored by CLEAT

Event Dates: Monday September 20, 2010 to Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Location: Renaissance Casa De Palmas Hotel, 101 N. Main, McAllen, Texas 78501
Price: Normal cost is $215 per officer, $75 for spouse.

Current and new CLEAT members, $165 per officer, $50 for spouse if registration is received by
9/13/2010

Register for class by: 09/15/2010 by logging onto www.CLEAT.org
For inquiries contact:
Contact Name: Rick Self, CLEAT Director of Special Projects
Contact Email: Rick.Self@cleat.org
Contact Phone: 1-800-752-5328 or 210-393-6866

Description:
On September 20-21, 2010, CLEAT will be sponsoring a 2-day seminar presented by Calibre Press. Calibre Press will present a dynamic, two day Street Survival Seminar in the McAllen, TX. Don't miss this opportunity to attend the most riveting and eye opening experience available in Law Enforcement training today.

For 30 years the Calibre Press "Street Survival" seminar has been the ultimate police training experience. A dynamic team of police trainers will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire two days. The Street Survival seminar will motivate, inspire, and teach officers not only to survive but to WIN! TCLEOSE credit will be available.
The Street Survival Seminar will help you:
• Develop the values, inner strength & winning mind-set you need to keep yourself motivated, effective and safe on the street.
• Gain valuable insight into new less-lethal options available to you.
• Learn to use crisis rehearsal and mental preparation strategies to prepare yourself for virtually any situation you may face on the job...or off.
• Prepare yourself and your family to take immediate, potentially life-saving action during an unexpected off-duty encounter.
• Overcome the "routine" nature of the job and avoid one of the deadliest enemies in law enforcement: Complacency.
• Navigate the frustrations of working within a bureaucracy & the stress of working your beat.
• Develop the perceptive skills needed to effectively hunt terrorists in your own back yard.
• Gain the mental edge you need to survive and WIN.

Host Hotel: Marriott Renaissance Casa De Palmas Hotel, 101 North Main, McAllen Texas 78501

CLEAT has a standing discount rate at the host hotel. King Room $89, Queen/Queen Room $89.

FOR THE DISCOUNTED RATE, BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THE HOTEL BY SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2010 AND REQUEST THE CLEAT RATE.

Call directly to the hotel and request the CLEAT rate: 956-631-1101.

Seminar Sponsor: Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas

El Paso Diablos

2010-06-14T17:59:00.002-06:00

The El Paso County Sheriff’s officers Association

Proudly invites you and your family

To Association Member Appreciation night at the

El Paso Diablos this

Friday June 18th @ 6:00 p.m

Association Member

1 guest get in free. Additional tickets can be purchase for $5.00. Seating will be at the

Hard Ball Cafe

Free Hot Dogs, Free Hamburgers, Free Chips, Free Sodas

Gates open at 6:00pm game starts at 7pm

Food starts at 6:30 pm and goes till 8:30pm

Drinks stop at top of 7th inning

$1.00 beer till top of 7th inning

Get your tickets at the CLEAT building @ 747 E. San Antonio Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

ONLY!!!!!!!

Tickets available on a first come, first serve basis.

Response To Mr Ellis

2010-03-06T08:17:00.002-07:00

Membership,

I am never disappointed; leave it to Bill to educate us feeble minded officers on how the county might come at the Association. The Association is more than capable of figuring out what the county might be up to. Ellis is premature on his view that this issue will go to the voters. Ellis is entitled to his opinions but the fact is that the Association does not like to be strong-armed or threaten. Historically the Association has been able to come to terms with the county on contract issues. The Association has no reason to believe otherwise.

As I mentioned before the Association’s E-Board is working together with CLEAT in anticipation of the county’s request. The E-Board will take its time to analyze and weigh all our options before making any decisions that affect our membership. We will formulate and execute a well thought out strategy in order to come up with a solution for any request the county makes. The Association would be irresponsible if we made a move without membership approval and input.

The Board and I appreciate all the calls we have received over the past few days. I hope we have managed to answer the questions you have. Some answers we do not have because the county has not made any request on exactly what they want from us.

The Board will hold an emergency meeting as early as Monday, March 15th. The hope is that the county will have made contact by then so we can present their request to the membership and get input.

The Association will not be threatened or coerced into making hasty decisions, as for Bill "It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage that we move on to better things"

Jose G Marrufo
President-EPCSOA

County commissioner’s court agenda

2010-03-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

Membership;

The Association Executive board found out last week that there was an item placed on the county commissioner’s court agenda to re-open our collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the county. After consulting with CLEAT, I called an emergency meeting of the E-Board late Friday afternoon to discuss our options. The E-Board and CLEAT are on the same page at this point. No matter what action the commissioners have taken we will not re-open the contract for any type of negotiation.

The Members of the EPCSOA have a CBA till 2014 with an evergreen clause to 2015. There is no good reason why the Association would come to the table with the county to discuss the re-opening of the CBA.

As you are already aware the only way the E-Board can re-open the contract is by a majority of the voting membership. The E-Board has not intentions on talking with the county without membership approval. As of Wednesday the 3rd the board has yet to be notified of the county’s intent.

The county commissioners will not nickel and dime us like they have done to the county employees. The solution to county’s problems will not be solved by making the county employees, to include us, pay for the county’s budget deficit.

The Association will continue to monitor the county’s budget talks and will report any other request they make to the membership. If you have any questions about this issue please do not hesitate to contact me or any of your Association reps.

Jose G. Marrufo
President-EPCSOA

Vote for Adrian Pina

2009-11-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Members;

You received a letter from CLEAT in its contents was a voting ballot and instructions on how to vote. CLEAT is currently holding elections for its Vice-President. I am proud to announce that a member of the EPPD is running for one of the three vice-president spots. His name is Adrian Pina and for the past 7 years he has been on the CLEAT board as Regional Director 4A. The Association is supporting Adrian because we need his type of leadership in Austin. Adrian works closely with Marvin who is our Regional Director for region 4B. Adrian has El Paso’s CLEAT member’s best interest when making decisions as a CLEAT board member.

The Association and Mr. Pina will be raffling off a handgun as an incentive for you to cast your vote. All you have to do, if you still have not voted, is give your mail in ballot along with the pre-paid envelope to any Association board member and in return you will receive a raffle ticket for the handgun.

If you have already voted via phone or electronically, just let the board member know and you will still receive a ticket. The deadline for obtaining a raffle ticket will be Dec 1st. We will hold the drawing on Dec 4th at our annual banquet. Once the winner has been selected we will verify with CLEAT if the winner did vote in the election.

So simply cast your vote and get a raffle ticket for a chance to win a handgun. GOOD LUCK!!!

JOSE G. MARRUFO
PRESIDENT-EPCSOA

Annual Awards Banquet

2009-11-12T06:57:00.001-07:00

THE EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MEMBERSHIP
Cordially invites you to attend the
Annual Awards Banquet
Dinner and Dance
Friday, December 4, 2009
From 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 pm
At The
Firefighters Hall
3112 Forney Drive El Paso, Texas
RSVP 269-1624
By December 1, 2009
Door prizes ranging from $25 cash to $100 cash to be given away; also Members who attended 4 or more General Meetings in a year are eligible for a drawing to win a trip to Las Vegas.
Plus Members who contribute $5 or more to PAC will be eligible to win an over and under 12 gauge shot gun!!!
So make plans to attend!!!

Membership Meeting

2009-11-12T06:55:00.002-07:00

THE EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Invites you to attend the

The November General
Membership meeting

Wednesday 25, 2009

From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 pm

At The

Firefighters Hall

3112 Forney Drive

El Paso, Texas

Door Prizes include (5) gift certificates from the Honey Glaze Co.
There will be drawings for (2) $25 checks and (2) $50 checks so make plans to Attend!!!

CLEAT Benefit Plan Dental/Vision 2009

2009-10-06T18:14:00.000-06:00

CLEAT Benefit Plan
Dental / Vision
El Paso County Open Enrollment 2009

The month of October will be open enrollment for El Paso County participants in the CLEAT Dental and Vision Plan. During October you will be able to visit the CLEAT office during business hours and complete a change form to update your information. In addition, a representative will be on site at both the downtown jail and at the annex at the following dates and times

Tuesday October 20th 7:00 A.M – 4:00 P.M - Annex
Wednesday October 21st 7:00 A.M – 3:00 P.M. - Downtown

· Changes will be effective December 1st, 2009

· Verify current coverage
· Add or terminate coverage for dependents
· Verify current coverage
· Change name
· Change address
· Update beneficiary / $15,000 AD&D policy included with each covered member

Dentemax.org for dental PPO

Visit CLEAT.org

· Print dental & vision claim forms
· Print or view a CLEAT Benefit Plan Summary of coverage
· Fill out and submit a will online – processed at no charge for CLEAT members
· TIPP ( temporary income protection ) Application
· Update membership
· CLEAT Legal Plan
· Latest news

Election Results

2009-09-30T22:15:00.001-06:00

The board and I would like to thank all of you for your continued support and patience during the past few months. The department has gone thru a lot of changes since the beginning of the year. I would personally like to thank all of you for maintaining a professional and positive attitude during these months. There are many issues and concerns the Association is currently addressing with the Sheriff and the County. The Association and Sheriff have a good working relationship which continues to improve as the months go by.

On Sept. 2nd, commissioners Anna Perez, Willie Gandara, the County Auditor, County Attorney and the County HR contacted the Association and asked EPCSOA membership to make some salary concessions. The County needed help with a $13 million dollar shortfall.

The Association’s bargaining committee formulated a proposal that would benefit its membership and in the process help out the county. The Association’s committee offered to assist the county in saving 1.2 million dollars in return for a 2 year extension of the Articles of Agreement between the County and the EPCSOA. The Association would do this by asking its members to delay/postpone their COLA’s in FY 2010 which is (1.5%) in October 2009 and (1.5%) in April 2010. In Oct of 2010 we will resume getting our regular schedule COLAs at the step we should be at. Officers will still continue to receive their step increase and all other monies that they currently get now under the contract.

The County accepted the Association’s offer on Sept14, 2009 during a regular county meeting. The membership would have the final word on this issue and only you could decide if this is a fair offer. The vote to ratify the amendment to the Articles of Agreement was held today.
I would like to thank all of you that voted in today’s ratification and election. There are over 800 members in the Association and more than 500 members went to the polls to cast their votes.

The following are the official results:
The vote to accept the amendment to the Article of Agreement between the County and the Association- PASSED BY 84%
The vote to increase Association membership dues- Did not PASS
The vote to amend the Association’s constitution- PASSED
The vote for Association President/Vice President- The slate of Jose G. Marrufo –President and Dan Watling-Vice-President WON!!!

Again thank you all for your great support. I will continue to serve you and do what is best for all the members of the Association.

Respectfully,
Jose G. Marrufo Jr.
President-El Paso County
Sheriff’s Officers Association

Association’s bargaining committee proposal

2009-09-26T10:38:00.001-06:00

Membership;
The board would like to thank all of you for your continued support and patience during the past few months. The department has gone thru a lot of changes since the beginning of the year. I would personally like to thank all of you for maintaining a professional and positive attitude during these months. There are many issues and concerns the Association is currently addressing with the Sheriff. The Association and Sheriff have a good working relationship which continues to improve as the months go by.

On Sept. 3rd, commissioners Anna Perez, Willie Gandara, the County Auditor, County Attorney and the County HR contacted the Association and asked EPCSOA membership to make some salary concessions. The County requested that the membership give up 2.9 million dollars in salary concessions for fiscal year 2010.

The Association’s bargaining committee, made up Kevin Quinn, Robert Vasquez, Gabriel Bustamante, Federico Castillo, Brian Houston and Ron DeLord from CLEAT, came up with a proposal that it presented to the County. The Association offered to assist the county in saving 1.2 million dollars in return for a 2 year extension of the Articles of Agreement between the County and the EPCSOA. The Association would do this by asking its members to forego the COLA’s in FY 2010 which is (1.5%) in October 2009 and (1.5%) in April 2010. Officers will still continue to receive their step increase and all other monies that they get now under the contract.

The County accepted the Association’s offer on Sept14, 2009 during a regular county meeting. The board members and I have been going around informing the membership how this will have an impact on their future. The membership has the final word on this issue and only you can decide if this is a fair offer. The vote to ratify the amendment to the Articles of Agreement will be on Sept 29 during our Executive board elections.
Remember this only to amendment to the contract. The board has not opened our contract and cannot do so without membership approval. If you have any questions about the offer please feel free to contact me at the office or e-mail me.

Jose G. Marrufo Jr.
President-El Paso CountySheriff’s Officers Association

2009-09-08T19:52:00.000-06:00

Members here are the candidates that will be running for the Executive Board. The candidates must run on a slate of one deputy and one detention officer.

The slate for President and Vice-President will be:

Robert Vasquez and Kevin Quinn-President/Vice- President
Jose G. Marrufo and Dan Watling-President/Vice-President

The slate for Treasurer and Secretary will be:
Running unopposed
Rudy Liggins for Treasurer and Federico Castillo for Secretary

Voting will take place on Tuesday September 29, 2009 at these locations:

Vinton: 0600 hrs to 1500 hrs
Sub-station/ Academy- 0600 hrs to 1700 hrs
Administration cafeteria 0600 hrs to 1700 hrs
D.T. Facility- 0600 hrs to 1700 hrs

ALL VOTES WILL BE COUNTED AT THE CLEAT BUILDING.

IMPORTANT

2009-08-19T19:24:00.000-06:00

E.P.C.S.O.A. General Membership will be on 8/26/09 @ 7:00 PM
ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED:
THE COUNTY’S REQUEST FOR SALARY CONCESSIONS
NOMINATIONS FOR EPCSOA EXECUTIVE BOARD WILL BE HELD
VOTING IS SET FOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
LOCATIONS ARE- THE S.O. ACADEMY, ADMINISTRATION, THE EPCDF AND VINTON STATION.
VOTING TIME: FROM 0600 HRS TO 1700 HRS
MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND AND BE PART OF THE ANY DECISION MAKING

Wet N Wild

2009-06-23T20:38:00.000-06:00

Sunday July 19th, 2009
Free Hamburgers, Hotdogs and Beverages
Picnic starts at 11:00 am through 8:00 pm
Music starts at 12 noon DJ
Promise Coalition Rock Band @ 4pm
Members Free
Family and non-member employees - $10.50 each
Toddlers - $2.50 each

2009-05-11T18:07:00.002-06:00

Civil Service Rule 5/4/9

6. ITEM
Discuss and take appropriate action concerning changes to the list of requirements in Section 11.3.02 of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Civil Service Commission Rules and Regulations.
Submitted by: Sheriff Richard D. Wiles, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office

11.3.02 Requirements, include:
1. Be employed as a permanent detention officer, having completed at least 12 months of continuous service in that capacity, or be a peace officer licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and employed for at least five consecutive years with a law enforcement agency of at least 50 peace officers, the number of individuals so appointed not to exceed 25% of first time deputy appointments per calendar year.

Section 11.3.02 would allow the Sheriff to accept lateral transfers from peace officers from other Agencies directly into any deputy position without going thru the Academy or serving 12 months in the Detention Bureau. The Association strongly opposed this change to Civil Service. After the Commission heard from the Sheriff and the Association, they decided postponed their decision till next month. The Sheriff agreed to contact Marrufo and come up a solution to this issue.

The Association suggest and request that any and all members affected by this change attend Civil Service on June 1st. The Sheriff’s position is that D/O’s do not want to go out to patrol. Last year the department had about 80 D/O’s test for 25 deputy positions at academy. After all was said and done, 40 D/O’s were eligible for the Academy. So D/O’s do want to become Deputies. The Association is not willing to give 1 out every 4 deputy positions to an outside agency.

9. ITEM
To review and consider, pursuant to Rule 2.1.01B., the Sheriff’s change to the job description of Detention Officer, wherein the Sheriff has lowered the minimum age for eligibility from: twenty (20) years or eighteen (18) years upon successful completion of military reserve basic training; to eighteen (18) years.
Submitted by: Jim Jopling, CLEAT

12. ITEM
Discuss and take appropriate action regarding the age requirement to become a Detention Officer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Submitted by: Sheriff Richard D. Wiles, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office

Items 9 was placed by the Association and Item 12 was posted by the Sheriff and are the same. This allowed the Sheriff to lower the age requirement to become a detention officer from 20 years to 18 years old. The Association again was opposed this change. The commission ruled in favor of the Sheriff with the stipulation the item would be revisited in a year. The Association does not have to wait a year to oppose the change again. The Association will attempt to change it back to 20 years, later this year.

Members please be advice, next to your CBA with the County and the Sheriff, Civil Service Rule is a very important benefit we enjoy. The Association will continue to monitor any proposed changes to CSR to make sure that your rights are protected.

Retirement Planning

2009-04-11T06:37:00.001-06:00

Retirement Planning available
for all El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association members

Joe Alexander of ALEXANDER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
will be available at the EPMPOA Hallor at the Firefighter’s Hall
for one-on-one consultations regarding your retirement planning.

Retire safely and don’t run out of money.

Appointments will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on April 14th through April 17th, 2009

For appointments call or email :
Joe’s cell: 972-896-5600
Joe’s e-mail: joe@alexfm.com

Alexander Financial Management is a CLEAT Preferred Provider

Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone CapitalManagement LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

“Donation of Vacation Day”

2009-03-18T19:46:00.000-06:00

Dear Member,
The Association negotiated a new contract in 2007. The Association was aware about a concern the members had which was donating 8 hours of their vacation to the Association leave pool. The Association’s solution for resolving this issue was to increase the number of personal leave days from (1) day a year to (3) days a year and reduce the hours that are donated.
The Association first negotiated to have (2) personal days a year for its members after Oct. 31, 2008. Effective Oct 1, 2010 members will receive (3) personal days. The association also reduced the number hours which a member can donate from 8 hours to 4 hours.
The Association also negotiated in its contract to have the association’s President on detached duties. This meant that the El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association would have the first full time President in its 30 year history. El Paso County was also the first County to have a full time President in Texas. Having a full time President has proven to be a valuable asset to members of the Association.
In Sept. of 2008, 95% of Associations members failed to comply with Article 26 Section 2 of the Articles of Agreement between the County and the Association. Specifically the part “except that should any member so notify the Association after September 1 and no later than September 15th of any applicable year that no deduction shall be made from his credited vacation time”.

The Association understands that there might have been some confusion on what the procedure was since last year’s form stated a “Donation of Vacation Day”. So to avoid future problems, the Association will require that any member that does not wish to donate 4 hours of their vacation must fill out the correct form which was approved by the Association’s Executive Board. The official form can be downloaded from the Association’s website or can be picked up at the Assoc’s office. No other form will be accepted. Members must have the President of the Association sign off on the form in order for the County Auditor to accept it. The Association provided the County Commissioners and the County Auditor with a copy of the approved form. Any form turned into the County Auditor without the Association’s knowledge will not be accepted. Failure to follow the correct procedure and use the correct form will result in the donation of 4 hours of leave time.

Jose G. Marrufo
President- EPCSOA

Association Grievance Form

2009-03-18T19:45:00.000-06:00

Dear Member,
The Association would like to thank all of you for taking an active role in your union. If it wasn’t for you, the Association could not perform its job properly. Issues that concern our CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) both with the County and the Sheriff have been presented to the Assoc by you. This helps us keep within time limits which are contained in both CBA’s when filing a Grievance.
The Association has created a grievance form for you to complete when you have a grievance. This will ensure that your grievance is heard by the Grievance committee and there is documentation we can show just in case Management tries to say otherwise. This form can be printed off the Assoc’s website from the benefits tab. Once you fill it out you can mail it or leave it at the Association’s office. Thank you again for your support and I encourage every member to continue to fight for their rights under collective bargaining.

Jose G. Marrufo
President- EPCSOA

Word from the President

2009-01-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Members;
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your new CBA with the Sheriff. The vote to ratify the CBA was held on Jan. 26th and you passed it by an overwhelming 91.2% of the vote. I commend the members of the Association for having faith in your board representative’s ability to negotiate a good CBA that benefits all its members.
The Association is now better equipped to serve and protect its members if any disputes arise in their work environment. I would like to thank CLEAT for their part in negotiating this contract. Ron DeLord and Jim Jopling were there from day one. With Ron’s skills and experience this contract was agreed to in no time at all. Jim’s legal knowledge about many of the issues put the final touches in what the Board believes to be the best contract we have had in over twenty years. I would also like to thank Ron Schweitz and Robert Vasquez for being part of the bargaining team that helped the Association obtain this four year contract.
A special thanks to Sheriff Wiles for giving the Association members a four year contract that is fair and practical. Again CONGRATULATIONS to all the Association members on their new CBA!

Jose Marrufo
President-EPCSOA

CONGRATULATIONS to all the new Deputy Sheriff’s

2009-01-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Member;
On Dec12, 2008, 22 detention officers successfully complete the Deputies academy. The Association Board would like to congratulate each and every officer for their outstanding performance and the sacrifice they went through to accomplish their goal of becoming a Deputy Sheriff. The Association would also like to thank the families of the officers for the patience and support they gave their love ones during the long six month training.
The Association is confident that all the new Deputy Cadets will succeed in their new appointment. The Association wishes all the Deputies good luck in their training phases.

Again CONGRATULATIONS to all the new Deputy Sheriff’s;

Jose Aguilera Juan Mendez Omar Montoya
Roman Diaz Christian Pierce Robert Prospero
Martin Fernandez Felipe Ramos Joe Rodriguez
Sergio Juarez Jerome Washington Martha Esparza
Patricia Majercyk Mario Flores Fernando Medina
Pedro Marrero Fernando Munoz Juan Ordonez
Eric Martinez Alfonso Orona Edward Ortega
Joel Padilla

JOSE G. MARRUFO JR.
EPCSOA-President

Association Annual Awards Banquet 2008

2008-12-22T22:28:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I like to thank everyone who attended this year’s Association Annual Awards Banquet which was held on Dec. 5th. I know the officers who received this year’s awards were happy to see all the support their peers gave them. I wish every member of the Association could attend but I understand that our jails need to be staffed and our communities need protecting. That is way I would also like to thank all of those officers who could not attend, for their continue support of the Association and what it is trying to accomplish.

This year’s Banquet also marked our 30th anniversary as an Association. The Association board was proud to recognize the first members of the Association as well as the class of 1988 for their 20 years of service in the Sheriff’s office and members of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association. The Association also recognizes the civilians that have worked for 20 years or more that have work for the Sheriff’s Department. They have provided the support behind the scenes for 20 years. It was also nice to see the retirees come back and be honored by the Association for their long years of service in the Sheriff’s office and membership in the Association.

I wish every member of the Association a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God keep all members and their families in good health and safe in 2009.

Here are the names of the officers who received awards of recognition from the Association.

1. 30th Anniversary Officers-
a) Neil Baker
b) Arturo Montoya
c) Ezperanza Gomez
d) Marvin Ryals
e) Hector Lara
f) Daniel Diaz
g) Ruben Lopez
h) Raul Segura
i) Edward Lechuga
j) Alfredo Armendariz

2. 20th Anniversary Officers;
a) Maria Gonzalez
b) Sidney Brandenburg
c) Lance Brown
d) Francisco Chavez
e) Raymond Hernandez
f) Rosie Lopez
g) Theodore Goff
h) Irene Anchondo
i) Pedro Mora
j) Eulogio Munoz
k) Santiago Jimmy Apodaca
l) Juan Montelongo

Association Member of the Year- Juan Archuleta

Appreciation for Attorneys- Jim Jopling & Patrick Lara

Board Member of the Year- Brian Houston

Sgt Ruben Orozco Award- Marcy Gil

3. No Guts No Glory Award- Search and Rescue Team
a) Armando Alvarez
b) Jorge Andrade
c) Angel Lopez
d) Ellen Thomson
e) Carlos Azcarate
f) Rafael Gallardo
g) William Kirtley
h) Robert Salas
i) Roger Arreola
j) Carlos Wittke
k) Mario Correa
l) Lorenzo Escandon
m) Federico Castillo

4. Sgt Marianne Paladino Award- Luis Trevino

5. Association Team Award- Special Olympics Torch Runners
a) Eddie Placencia
b) Jorge Andrade
c) Federico Castillo
d) Armando Gutierrez
e) Jose Mascorro
f) Armando Alvarez
g) Fernando Aguilar
h) Omar Gonzalez
i) Matthew Macias

6. Appreciation Award- Veronica Escobar, Judge Cobos, Miguel Teran, Norma Chavez.

7. Presidents Award- Marvin Ryals

8. 20 year Civilians

a) Ruben Villa
b) Anna Torres
c) Amy Briones
d) Elena Najera
e) Patricia Baeza
f) Horst Graefe
g) Gerardo Avila
h) Patricia Wallace
i) Sonia Gallardo
j) Javier Zarariega
k) Joseph Padilla
l) Belinda Castro
m) Sonia Fuentes

9. Retires we are honoring;
1) Retired Assistant Chief Ralph Mitchell
2) Retired Detective Neil Baker
3) Retired Detective Haywood Coulter
4) Retired Dep. Sgt. Don Marshall
5) Retired Cpl Dionico Ronquillo
6) Retired Detention Officer Franklin Munoz

JOSE G. MARRUFO JR.
PRESIDENT- E.P.C.S.O.A.

Several Issues

2008-10-21T18:58:00.001-06:00

Dear Members;
The Association Board is currently addressing several issues and concerns that you have brought up to the board’s attention. Another year is coming to an end. As we look ahead for new leadership, I feel confident that the Association and its members are ready for any changes that will come when the new administration takes office in January. The new Sheriff will bring positive as well negative change depending on your views. The Association must continue and will continue to work hard to assure that our members/officers receive the best working and living conditions they deserve. But the Association board cannot do it by itself, we need your help. The Association has only had a quorum 3 out of the past 4 months. The average attendance at the general membership meetings is about 29 members including the board. There are 800 members in the Association; all members should be able to attend at least one or two meetings a year.
The Board’s goal for next year is to increase attendance to the general membership meeting. The board is committed to representing all members in their fight to achieve respect and gain recognition for their hard work in the Sheriff’s Office. Remember this is YOUR Association, be part of the decision making. Attend the next General membership meeting.

Jose G. Marrufo Jr.
President-EPCSOA

Deputy up for promotion paid fellow officer to retire early

2008-10-14T15:44:00.000-06:00

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/07/1007deputy.html

Enrollment for the Benefit Trust

2008-10-13T20:57:00.001-06:00

Dear Member:
CLEAT will be having open enrollment for the Benefit Trust which is your pre paid Dental/Eye Vision plan. This is your one opportunity to update your information about your dependants. If you miss one of the dates and locations below you can still go by the CLEAT office. Open enrollment will last till the end of October. Please make plans to attend one of the two sessions or go by the CLEAT office because the next open enrollment is not till next year.

Jose G. Marrufo Jr.
President-EPCSOA

Thursday Oct. 16th at the County Courthouse From 0800 hrs to1200 hrs
Friday Oct. 17th at the Sheriff’s Office Training Academy from 0800 hrs to 1200 hrs

Website is finally up !

2008-09-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

Dear Member; The Association website is finally up. I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while the Association worked on the problem. I will be updating the website in the next couple of days. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the board members. Again thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
JOSE G. MARRUFO JR.
President- EL Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association

Appreciation night at the Diablos

2008-07-02T21:10:00.000-06:00

Membership,
The Association appreciation night at the Diablos on Friday was a great success again. The Association Board will like to thank the 57 members of the Association and their guest for making the event such a great success. Members and their families got to enjoy a great game while they ate hotdogs and hamburgers.
The Board is looking to celebrate its 30th Anniversary in July by having the following events. The Association Board will have the last member appreciation night at the Diablos Friday July 18th. The Board will also give away a Skybox at the Diablos, as a door prize, to one member who attended the General membership meeting in April, May and June, for Saturday July 19th. Three members plus four family or friends will get to enjoy the game in luxury, food and drinks will be provided for them. The celebration will end with the Association Picnic at Wet-N-Wild on Sunday July 20th.
The Board hopes to see all EPCSOA members attend the celebrations in July. The Board understands that members enjoy the time they spend with their love ones, so make plans to have some fun with your family and take them to the ball game or Wet-n-Wild.

Jose G. Marrufo Jr
President-EPCSOA

SOA membership appreciation night

2008-06-02T13:57:00.003-06:00

The first SOA membership appreciation night at the EL Paso Diablos was enjoyed by more than 150 officers and their families. The officers and their families were provided with free hot dogs, hamburgers and cokes. Some officers even enjoyed a cold drink at a discounted price. This was the first of 3 nights we are going to have at the El Paso Diablos. Dates and times are posted on the “Upcoming Events” tab.

Officers who attended Friday’s event not only enjoyed a great game but had a chance to see some old friends and make some new ones. This was a great opportunity for officers from the Jail-Annex, D.T Jail, Patrol, Academy and Admin to just relax and enjoy each other’s company.

I like to thank board members Rudy Liggins, Brian Houston and Fred Castillo for helping hand out the tickets to the members and their families. A Special thanks to Rudy who made sure we had enough tickets, food and drinks for everyone who attended the game. I hope to see an even bigger crowd of officers and their families on June 27th. I have posted some of the pictures, of the officers and their families enjoying the game, in the Media Gallery.

JOSE G. MARRUFO JR.
E.P.C.S.O.A. President

Welcome

2008-04-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome

The County Attorney’s office

2008-04-07T23:00:00.000-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, The County Attorney’s office has finally received the 207k exemption checks from the County Auditors’ office. They have forwarded me the first 100 releases for the checks. The recipients of these checks need to come by the CLEAT building, located @ 747 E. San Antonio suite 103 El Paso, TX 79901 on Wednesday or Thursday between 1:30 pm and 5:00 pm , and sign a notarized release. I will deliver the check releases to the County Attorney’s office on Friday in exchange for the checks. I will make arrangements with you to pick up the checks on Saturday morning at the CLEAT office. If you are unable to make one the dates please do not hesitate to contact me so I can reschedule you for another date. Below the names of the first 100 officers that need to make arrangements to come by the CLEAT office and sign the check release.

Jose G. Marrufo
EPCSOA President
Office# 544-4251

members need to contact the Cleat secretary

2008-04-06T22:14:00.002-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The following members need to contact the Cleat secretary @ 533-4924 and update your address. You may be missing out on vital information concerning Cleat. So please contact your local Cleat office and verify your current address.

Armendariz,Cesar
Baxter ,Stephen
Campos ,Estella
Campos ,Luis
Carreon ,Graciela
Chavez ,Jesus
Chavez ,Ricardo
Cortez ,Javier
Galaviz ,Alma
Gallardo ,Jeannie
Gardea ,Mauricio
Gaxiola ,Adalberto
Hernandez ,Alvino
Hinojos ,Alfonso
Huerta ,Fabian
Luna ,Javier
Macias ,Matthew
Marquez ,Enrique
Martinez ,Ernesto
Medina ,Fernando
Moomau ,Scott
Morales ,Jose
Naylor ,Jesus
Ortiz ,Victor
Perez ,Carolina
Pineira ,Paul
Rodriguez ,Johnny
Sanchez ,Mario
Segoviano ,Giovanni
Ybarra ,Jerry
Zapata ,Richard

Christmas 2007 Party

2007-12-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2007
The awards banquet was again a success and well attended by the membership. The hall was filled with about 260 members and spouse. Congrats to all the recipients of the twenty year ring, a small token of appreciation for all your years of service and loyalty to the Association. A very special thanks to all the members of the Association for their continue support of this event. Congratulations to this year’s recipient of the Deputy Sgt. Ruben Orozco Association member of the year Sgt. Scott Mann and the Detention Sgt. M. Paladino Association member of the year Jose Marrufo. I look forward to seeing all of you at next year’s banquet.

Love of a Son

2007-11-01T20:23:00.000-06:00

Love of a Son
On July 20, 1994, Sgt. Rudy Tabbutt retired from the El Paso Police Department after twenty one years of service to the citizens of El Paso Texas. Sgt. Tabbutt started working as the Law Enforcement teacher at Socorro High School. During his time on the police department, he was married to Martha Silva Tabbutt and has been for thirty seven years.
Sgt. Tabbutt also has three children Randy, Sarah, and Edward. While on P.D. Randy always saw his dad in his costume as he called the police uniform. Randy went to Bel Air High School (El Paso, TX) and took the Law Enforcement class under retired Detective John Seglig. After a few years at UT El Paso he joined the El Paso Sheriffs Department as a Detention Officer. Randy then became a Deputy in 1995 with Sheriff Leo Samaniego, allowing his dad to pin on his badge.
After two years at Socorro HS, Rudy Tabbutt moved to the Criminal Justice program at Montwood High School. While at Montwood, Rudy worked as a Sheriffs reversist unit under Hut Brown.
In 2003 Rudy had to go on kidney dialysis because of kidney failure. After several operations and many hours of dialysis with his family by his side, Rudy was placed on a kidney donation list. On November 2006, Randy asked what it would take to donate a kidney. After contacting the El Paso Transplant Center, Randy started testing to see if he could donate a kidney to his father. In May of 2007 everything started coming together. After the Transplant Center said that Randy was a match, an appointment was made for the transplant for July 26th. The transplant went well and Rudy and Randy are recovering at home. Randy donated a kidney for the love of his father and his father appreciates the love of his son.
Rudy and Randy want to thank all the Doctors, Nurses and staff at DeVita dialysis Center. Also deserving a thanks are the nurses and staff at Sierra Medical Hospital for caring for them while at the hospital. Dad and son want to thank their wife’s (Martha & Eden) and all family members that had special prayers, for all to go well. A well deserved thanks to all deputies and police officers that had Rudy and Randy in their prayers.
There is a special thanks to GOD that has taken care of Rudy and Randy.
Rudy M. Tabbutt and Randy M. Tabbutt

El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association

January Meeting!!

Operation Santa!!

Sheriffs Memorial Honors Fallen

Voting Results!!

Issue 2 falls, Ohio collective bargaining law repealed

Collective bargaining rejected for Sheriff's Office in Cameron County!

CLEAT Convention Held in Corpus Christi

Letter to CLEAT from President Marrufo!!

2012 Scholarship Applications!!!

Family Tradition!!

What to Expect if You are Involved in a Critical Incident

CLEAT Opposes HB 41

State of the County: Escobar blasts state government role in local matters

The 82nd Texas Regular Session of the Texas Legislature: We don't want a rematch!!

St Pius X Special Needs Group Donation!!

DETENTION OFFICER JUAN PEREZ

Govenor Perry Signs SB 423 into Law!!

Charities Raffle Winners

Detention Officer Cesar Arreola Honored at the POMF!

Special Needs Group Easter Egg Hunt!!

CLEAT Attorney Jim Jopling wins arbitration hearing!

Worker’s Compensation: “It’s Bad You Know”

LEGISLATIVE ALERT : 1st Responder Worker's Comp Amendment

Peace Officer Memorial Events, SAVE THE DATES

Private Prison Promises Leave Texas Towns In Trouble

TEXPERS 2011 Annual Conference Focuses on Future of Public Pensions

IF YOU ARE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN TEXAS, THEN YOU’D BETTER BE PAYING ATTENTION TO DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGISLATURE

Attacks on Collective Bargining across the nation!!

POMF License Plate Launches on Friday!

State Representative Lucio Plans to File Legislation for Fallen Officers' Families

EPCSOA welcomes new members!!

Sgt. Ruben Orozco 8K Law Enforcement Torch Run/2 Mile Walk

Texas Leads The Nation in 2010 Law Enforcement Officer Deaths

CLEAT Announces Education Alliance with Capella University

Christmas Giving

If You Mess With One of Us, You Get Us All

NAPO’s TOP COPS Awards Nomination Deadline is Approaching

Christmas Gift Donations!!

Pre-paid Legal Services Available!!!

Awards Banquet!!!

CLEAT Benefits Plan!

ELECTION RESULTS!!!

Board of Director Voting Locations and Times!!!

CLEAT Attorney Miles McNeal on Anthony Jackson!!

Amendment to the Articles of Agreement

PRESIDENT'S WORD

VOTING RESULTS

Concessions Briefing's and Voting Times!

Wednesday’s general membership meeting

General Membership Meeting

The El Paso Diablos

Association’s Annual Picnic at WET-N-WILD.

County Commissioners meeting with the Association board

EPMPOA Ron Martin, Gov. Rick Perry and Marvin Ryals.

Our Annual Picnic Sunday July 18th, 2010

Two Day Street Survival Seminar

El Paso Diablos

Response To Mr Ellis

County commissioner’s court agenda

Vote for Adrian Pina

Annual Awards Banquet

Membership Meeting

CLEAT Benefit Plan Dental/Vision 2009

Election Results

Association’s bargaining committee proposal

**IMPORTANT**

Wet N Wild

Retirement Planning

“Donation of Vacation Day”

Association Grievance Form

Word from the President

CONGRATULATIONS to all the new Deputy Sheriff’s

Association Annual Awards Banquet 2008

Several Issues

Deputy up for promotion paid fellow officer to retire early

Enrollment for the Benefit Trust

Website is finally up !

Appreciation night at the Diablos

SOA membership appreciation night

IMPORTANT