Name: Carlos Leon     

Age: 56           

Occupation: Retired EPPD Chief of Police, Director of Support Services for University Behavioral Health Center, Consultant for the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Website: www.LEONFORSHERIFF.com

Residence (East Side, West Side, Northeast, Central, Lower Valley, County): East Side

Relevant Experience (for print, will be edited 100 words max): I served for nearly 30 years with the El Paso Police Department. Throughout my career, I served in every rank of the department and I have experience in every facet of law enforcement. This will allow me as Sheriff to accurately find the roots of problems facing the county. As Chief, I administered a $89 million budget and led 1,100 uniformed officers and 300 civilian personnel. Under my tenure, El Paso was the second safest city in the nation. I also dealt with various levels of government when seeking state and federal grants and trying to build strong professional relationships.

 

 

1. What role would you direct the Sheriff's Department to take with immigration enforcement?

 

The department should not be involved in programs in which the ultimate goal is to check for immigration status. Individuals who come into contact in the course of an investigation with the department will be identified, and if they are undocumented immigrants and have no criminal or civil warrants they will be turned over to the Border Patrol.

 

 2. What is your position on consolidation of police and sheriff? If you support it, what specific steps will you commit to?

 

 There are three areas in which consolidation is possible in a reasonable time frame:

 

            1. Communication – The SheriffÕs Department currently does not participate in the

                new 911 call center.  I will ensure the department has representation in the

                center immediately. All emergency calls within the county go directly to the 911

                center then to the SheriffÕs communication center, housed in a different

                location, which means that valuable seconds are lost in the process.

            2. Training – This was part of my platform four years ago; both departments can

                and should be training within the ÒregionalÓ training academy, which the Sheriff

                Department maintains. Currently, the police and sheriffÕs departments do not

                train together.

            3. Records Management – It is very inefficient and costly to maintain two separate

                records departments. 

 

There are other units that can increase efficiency and effectiveness such as the S.W.A.T Teams, forensic units, school resource officers, and narcotic units. 

 

3. What is your position on privatizing prisons in general, and El Paso's in specific?

 

    The SheriffÕs Department has a great staff employed in both jail facilities.  I am not in

    favor of privatizing our jails. It may be considered in another region that may be

    having problems, but not in El Paso.

 

4. What is your position on the new state law that allows officers the discretion to write a ticket for possession of marijuana under 4 ounces? Should such discretion be exercised in El Paso?

 

I would to direct the department to continue arresting those in possession of the drug. The cost and time saved in issuing a citation is miniscule compared to possible incidents such as DUI, Family Violence, Sexual Assault, Property Crimes, etc., that could occur if the possessor would be let free. I am not in favor of exercising this option at this time.

 

5. Do you support citizen review committees? If so, what powers or authority do you support?

 

I do favor citizen review committees; one of my previous ranks with the El Paso Police Department was as the Internal Affairs Commander, and I encouraged community members to participate in the more serious disciplinary cases. This was very effective and helped to Òopen the doorÓ to the community. I favor civilians being involved in the disciplinary process of the department, and I also favor Citizen Advisory Boards throughout the county to provide more input into the very diverse needs of each region. 

 

6. How would you balance using confiscated funds to bolster the budget and the potential to abuse confiscation to bolster the budget? What controls are or should be in place?

 

Confiscated funds and cases that produce such funds will be reviewed by the County AttorneyÕs Office to ensure no abuse or misuse is occurring. These funds should be used in the purchase of equipment such as vehicles, computers, and bulletproof vests. The funds can also be used for training programs and to bolster youth based programs such as the DARE Program.

 

7. What is the current relationship between the union and the command? What should the relationship be?

 

I think the current relationship is strained. There should exist a professional relationship between the command staff and the union recognizing the needs of the deputies, but at the same time meeting the communitiesÕ expectations of a professional and accessible department.   

 

8. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing the department?

 

A gap has developed between the community and the department. Segments of our community feel they do not have a voice in their SheriffÕs Department. One of my plans is to establish citizen advisory boards throughout the county to share regional concerns and to add the very critical citizen input into the direction of the department. There are man, many issues facing the department, but without citizen inclusiveness success will be much more elusive, if not impossible, to achieve.