Lucio Fiddles While the Sheriff's Department Burns
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
There were moments when it seemed as if Sheriff Omar Lucio would not be the top vote getter in last night's election. However, after all 103 of Cameron County's precincts reported in, Lucio was able to secure a 713 vote lead over former Cameron County Clerk, Eric Garza. Since Lucio was only able to secure 43.1% of the vote, he will have to enter in a runoff election against Eric Garza, who captured 40.9% of the vote.
I was shocked to see someone with limited law enforcement experience come within a few percentage points of being the top vote getter in the election. However, after a conversation with a South Texas law enforcement official, things began to make more sense. It appears the sheriff's office is not what it appears to be on the surface.
The first point this certified peace officer made was an important one. The Cameron County Sheriff does not need to be an experienced SWAT commander with a long resume of felony arrests and busting through doors. The sheriff needs to be an effective administrator who is good at analytics, at managing paperwork, policies, and procedures, and at crafting and managing a budget. He further goes on to hypothesize if Garza were to go on and win the runoff and the subsequent general election, he would replace the current chief deputy and high-ranking members of the sheriff's office and replace them with "his own command staff," a group of experienced law enforcement officers who know the ins and outs of patrol and investigations.
Rumors have been circulating around the sheriff's office for years questioning who the real leader of the sheriff's department is. Sources with knowledge of the inner workings of the sheriff's department tell of a hands-off approach by Sheriff Lucio, who defers to Chief Deputy Gus Reyna. Some say Reyna is the real boss of the sheriff's department. Other sources refer to the higher ranking commanders, majors, captains, and lieutenants as "wildcats who can do whatever they want to do."
Another unconfirmed theory that would have played out, had Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 Mike Trejo won his primary election, had Trejo taking the reigns of the sheriff's department after being appointed by the commissioner's court (with the backing of County Judge Eddie Treviño and Precinct 4 Commissioner Gus Ruiz) after the octogenarian Lucio (who turns 86 this year) would have stepped down due to health reasons, failing to complete his full term as sheriff.
After Trejo's defeat to Assistant District Attorney Janie Jaimez, one wonders if Trejo will seek another elected office, maybe one of the constable positions, to try to get appointed sheriff. Trejo has consistently made headlines for his alleged misconduct, most recently having being issued an official letter of reprimand by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for allegations he frequently dismissed traffic citations as favors for his family and friends.
I have no doubt Sheriff Omar Lucio was once an effective law enforcement officer. His resume lists decades of experience with several Valley law enforcement agencies. However, we have to ask ourselves if an 86 year-old has the mental, and physical, fortitude to serve as the chief uniformed law enforcement official in a county with more than 425,000 people.
The recent issues with inmate security and the jail facilities not being in state compliance lead to questions if Lucio is actually keeping up with the daily operations of the sheriff's office, is he actually at the top of the decision making chain, or is he simply warming his office chair allowing others to do the work for him?
Is Lucio being propped up as the leader of the sheriff's department like Brezhnev would be in the Soviet Union to try and convince the world he was still in power despite losing his mind and the rest of his faculties?
Perhaps a changing of the guard is in order. Perhaps it is time for someone else to captain a ship that, for all intents and purposes, seems to be taking on water.
There were moments when it seemed as if Sheriff Omar Lucio would not be the top vote getter in last night's election. However, after all 103 of Cameron County's precincts reported in, Lucio was able to secure a 713 vote lead over former Cameron County Clerk, Eric Garza. Since Lucio was only able to secure 43.1% of the vote, he will have to enter in a runoff election against Eric Garza, who captured 40.9% of the vote.
I was shocked to see someone with limited law enforcement experience come within a few percentage points of being the top vote getter in the election. However, after a conversation with a South Texas law enforcement official, things began to make more sense. It appears the sheriff's office is not what it appears to be on the surface.
The first point this certified peace officer made was an important one. The Cameron County Sheriff does not need to be an experienced SWAT commander with a long resume of felony arrests and busting through doors. The sheriff needs to be an effective administrator who is good at analytics, at managing paperwork, policies, and procedures, and at crafting and managing a budget. He further goes on to hypothesize if Garza were to go on and win the runoff and the subsequent general election, he would replace the current chief deputy and high-ranking members of the sheriff's office and replace them with "his own command staff," a group of experienced law enforcement officers who know the ins and outs of patrol and investigations.
Rumors have been circulating around the sheriff's office for years questioning who the real leader of the sheriff's department is. Sources with knowledge of the inner workings of the sheriff's department tell of a hands-off approach by Sheriff Lucio, who defers to Chief Deputy Gus Reyna. Some say Reyna is the real boss of the sheriff's department. Other sources refer to the higher ranking commanders, majors, captains, and lieutenants as "wildcats who can do whatever they want to do."
Another unconfirmed theory that would have played out, had Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 Mike Trejo won his primary election, had Trejo taking the reigns of the sheriff's department after being appointed by the commissioner's court (with the backing of County Judge Eddie Treviño and Precinct 4 Commissioner Gus Ruiz) after the octogenarian Lucio (who turns 86 this year) would have stepped down due to health reasons, failing to complete his full term as sheriff.
After Trejo's defeat to Assistant District Attorney Janie Jaimez, one wonders if Trejo will seek another elected office, maybe one of the constable positions, to try to get appointed sheriff. Trejo has consistently made headlines for his alleged misconduct, most recently having being issued an official letter of reprimand by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for allegations he frequently dismissed traffic citations as favors for his family and friends.
I have no doubt Sheriff Omar Lucio was once an effective law enforcement officer. His resume lists decades of experience with several Valley law enforcement agencies. However, we have to ask ourselves if an 86 year-old has the mental, and physical, fortitude to serve as the chief uniformed law enforcement official in a county with more than 425,000 people.
The recent issues with inmate security and the jail facilities not being in state compliance lead to questions if Lucio is actually keeping up with the daily operations of the sheriff's office, is he actually at the top of the decision making chain, or is he simply warming his office chair allowing others to do the work for him?
Is Lucio being propped up as the leader of the sheriff's department like Brezhnev would be in the Soviet Union to try and convince the world he was still in power despite losing his mind and the rest of his faculties?
Perhaps a changing of the guard is in order. Perhaps it is time for someone else to captain a ship that, for all intents and purposes, seems to be taking on water.
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