Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sheriff McNamara to back DA 'any way we can...'



Packs strong second amendment message

Waco – In the coming courthouse war, players and pundits will push programs of doom and gloom, clamoring for a change in procedures, but one thing will remain constant, it's clear.

The law enforcement, crime-fighting partnership between the Sheriff's Office and the people's law firm, the Criminal District Attorney of McLennan County, will stand as one of the all-time hang-tough success stories of Jerusalem-on-the-Brazos.

Sheriff Parnell McNamara has seen them come and go, many a prosecutor and DA, because he has worked as a law man since before he got out of high school, when he helped his father, Deputy U.S. Marshal in Charge Thomas Parnell McNamara, Sr., transport prisoners to federal lockups all over North America as a youthful guard.

When he stood up before the Waco Tea Party at Sam's on the Square Tuesday evening, he pointed out the obvious:

  • An increased presence in felony investigations throughout the county, in all its cities;
  • A new drug task force that has made drug raids in Moody, Mart, McGregor, and assisted in Waco;
  • Nine new black Tahoe patrol cars emblazoned with the gold shield and the words, “Your safety comes first;”
  • More than 730 arrests since January 1, many of them for drugs. “The stats are just going up and up and up;”
  • A jail inspection in which the county lockup “passed with flying colors.”

As he predicted on the campaign trail, “Most of the crimes we investigate have something to do with drugs.”

He recalled with sadness a recent case in which his men responded to a call at a $450,000 house on Rock Creek Road where “a young woman of 28 had drowned in this much water in the bathtub because of a heroin OD and this goof ball sat in the living room playing the guitar while we waited for the crime scene investigators and medical examiner.”

He sounded even more appalled when he mentioned that happened on a Wednesday, and when the narcotics task force returned on Friday, they found kids of 18 shooting the deadly drug, only to serve an arrest warrant the next day and again finding more kids of that age using drugs at the same address.

On a daily basis, he mentioned, people ask “What in the world is the Sheriff's Department doing coming after us in the city?”
There's an answer to that question, too, he reminded his audience.

The Sheriff's Department is the only law enforcement outfit that is headed by an elected official. Cops, DPS, federal officials - and all the rest - are all appointed.

What's more, he has given the patrol division much more investigative authority. They no longer “just fill out a report and turn it over to the detectives.”

The big enchilada is this. Both he and the DA, Abel Reyna, are doing exactly what they told the voters they would be doing.

The first term DA is drawing heavy fire for his get-tough policies on prosecution and an aggressive posture of seeking indictments at a rate that doubles that of his predecessor.

Said Sheriff McNamara, “I want to compliment you, Abel, on the job you're doing, and we're going to back you up any way we can.”

But there is something else he promised, and he intends to make good on that promise.

Second Amendment issues are “so clear,” he emphasized. It states, quite simply, that the right of the people to keep and bear arms “shall not be infringed.”

He recalled his original oath, the one he took so long ago as Deputy U.S. Marshal, to uphold and defend the Constitution.

“I'm going to stand my ground on it...to uphold the Constitution of the U.S. and this state.”

There is one thing the people of McLennan County will never see.

“Every human being has the right to defend themselves...You will never look up at your front door and see the Sheriff's Department come to disarm you and take away your guns.”

6 comments:

  1. http://www.wacotrib.com/news/police/sheriff-s-deputies-find-drugs-guns-mushroom-growing-operation-near/article_4ee2913f-ce9a-597a-b8f8-14e1d6724e79.html


    I am all for taking the drugs and guns off the street. My question is why were no arrests made in this bust. As sheriff if you serve a warrant, find guns, drugs and cash, where are the arrests.

    That was unclear in this story. I feel you can shed some light on this issue. You write very well.

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  2. On another note. All of the people who had to live through the nightmare of the murders committed by Ed Graf we are very concerned about him walking free. This is a dangerous man.

    We have great faith in the D.A.. This will be the most prominent trial in the country should District Attorney Reyna take this to court. National news is gearing up for this trial once our D.A. announces his decision. There is so much more evidence that clearly shows he killed those poor children. If the bank he stole so much money from had prosecuted Graf those boys would be alive today. We need the Sheriff and his expertise to help the D.A. pull this case together and take it back to court. The files are in tack, the witnesses are still here, and Judge Allen and the appeals court only questioned the arson evidence which was not a lie but the science that was not good. Graf had that shed removed right after the fire and carried to the dump. He had insurance policies on his wife and the two boys. He had gone to work for an insurance company and had recently taken an arson course and bragged about how much he knew about getting away with setting a fire. The decision to give him a new trial did not state he did not murder these precious children. The court did not overturn that life term conviction.

    CBS is already looking into a full blown series with extensive coverage. This will be a huge case and we want Graf to remain in prison for what he did. Our DA can keep him in prison. A high profile case like this will not shake our D.A.'s vigilance to see justice done. He works very well under pressure. We pray that our new Sheriff will help in this investigation and the trial.

    Ed Graf will kill again. He has been in prison for 25 years for murder, he is guilty, he has a life sentence and needs to remain there to keep our community safe.

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  3. Again, I ask for your opinion:

    http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/family-mourns-man-killed-in-officer-involved-shoot/nWfbD/

    All of this fear mongering about people having their guns taken away is creating a tragic situation. I am pleased that our new Sheriff has tried to explain that he will not be taking away law abiding citizen's weapons away. I thought you may want to read this story and explain how this new Sheriff intends to enforce the law in the event there is a shooting and the gun owner refuses to put the gun down when a shooting has taken place.. Whether on private property or not the man was asked to put the gun down.


    Family mourns man killed in officer-involved shooting


    Updated: 10:35 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 2013 | Posted: 5:10 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 2013

    John Schaefer was killed Friday in an incident with a police officer.
    By Ciara O'Rourke

    American-Statesman Staff
    Here is a piece of the article:

    It was there on Friday that a police officer shot and killed John Schaefer after he refused to surrender his gun and then aimed his weapon at the officer, officials said.

    His family is grappling with the loss of a man Victoria Schaefer called a rule follower, a U.S. Navy veteran who never broke the law.

    She tried to paint a picture of the man now well-known for the circumstances of his death and not the life he led.

    He always voted, she said, and cared about certain political issues, such as gun rights.

    He was a gun enthusiast who belonged to area gun clubs, she said, including the Austin Rifle Club, where he was an instructor. He went the shooting range on Tuesdays.

    “He was an elderly, nice, peaceful man,” she said.

    It’s also a perspective that diverges from the way police described his actions leading up to Friday’s fatal shooting.

    Schaefer called 911 about 7:20 a.m. to report that he had shot and killed a pit bull that attacked him, Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference that morning.

    Officers asked dispatchers to call Schaefer back and tell him to put his gun in the house before officers arrived. He refused, Acevedo said, and he refused again when officer Jonathan Whitted got to the residence and asked Schaefer to hand over the pistol he saw tucked in his waistband.

    When Whitted went to take the gun, Schaefer pulled it out and aimed it at the officer, Acevedo said. Whitted then shot and killed Schaefer.

    Neighbors, including one man who said he witnessed the incident, said they heard two shots.

    Lt. Ely Reyes said Friday that it’s not unusual for an officer to separate an unknown person from a firearm when responding to a situation, even if that person is legally allowed to carry a weapon.

    If officers pull over someone who has a concealed handgun license, for example, and learn that a gun is in the vehicle, they often ask the person to step outside to check for a weapon, he said.

    But after hearing Acevedo’s explanation of what happened Friday, two neighbors questioned whether it was wrong for Schaefer to hold onto his gun on his own property.

    Records show he has owned the lot with his mother since 1997, but his daughter-in-law said he lived alone in the duplex after his mother died. Her death was hard on him, she said.

    They had worked together at Southwestern Bell, where he was a lineman and later held an office job, she said. On Sundays, he took her to church, she said. They were Baptists.

    “He was just the most devoted son,” she said, her voice cracking, “and was with her every day until the day she passed.”

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    Replies
    1. Why would an officer require someone to exit a vehicle just for the purpose of confirming a legally owned handgun is in a car owned by a chl holder after the chl holder shows the licence and verbally confirms the presence of a pistol? Never heard of that one.

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  4. What about Ashley Rogers & her children? Why is it that her murderer is not being investigated full throttle? She was a good person. She was a good mother. She loved her children. She just got strung out on drugs. But she was not a bad person. Please tell me why her story ain't on the news?

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  5. I wanna say that I think its great that the D.A & the law enforcement officers are cleaning up Waco. We talk about how drugs are most of the problem in waco... yeah its probly a big part. But I have to comment on here because I feel like nobody is asking about the effect it has on the family members whom still have no closure for the unsolved cases of victims murdered by the McLennan county confidential informants. Why is it that everyone is so focused on busting small time drug addicts but yet the baby raping murderers who work for the police are still running the street making threats to the family of the victims they burned alive on Feb.16th 2012? I know that drugs are most of the problem nowadays. But those same murderers sale drugs & they are not locked up. Why because they work for the police? I cry every day. I hurt so bad for my sister and her children. I'm not a bad person. If I was those ppl responsible for my sisters death would be dead. I could never take another life. My heart is good. My sister also had a good heart. The drugs make ppl change. Makes them do things they wouldn't usually do. Some ppl need help to change. I as trying to change my life. Now I don't have a life. Ihave an emptiness that makes me wish I was dead. But I hold on tight in hope for justice for my sister & her children. Those ppl who are working for the police & they murdered my sister & her children. She was human too. Why is it a year later my their deaths don't matter. I'm not perfect but I try to be a good person. I just don't understand why? Those men who murdered my sister are evil. Why are they free. Risking other women & children being raped

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