OPINION: Pinal County safety not for inexperienced

Professional deployment of law enforcement resources is absolutely essential for a safe community and one of the basic tenets of a professional, proactive thinking and high-performing law enforcement agency.

Professional cops got into the profession to put “bad guys” in jail and rid our communities of lawbreakers. Let’s move our resources back to the communities in our county to keep our families safe.

Full disclosure, I am all for safety at the border and I agree, Washington, D.C., has dropped the ball, especially as it pertains to Arizona. However, I am more concerned with the safety and security of our residents in Pinal County… right now! My heart goes out to the families, friends and loved ones of our teenaged youth community members in the San Tan community and most recently in Casa Grande who were recently senselessly killed in shootings. I can’t begin to imagine what they are going through. How many more counselors do we need to send to the high schools to help our students deal with the wave of tragedies?

How many more lives are we willing to lose? My Police Chief experience tells me that a task force needs to be formed and deployed immediately in the San Tan community.  Trust me, I’m sure the law enforcement professionals want to put an end to the violence going on.  We need to provide them the tools, resources and manpower to address this violence safely. The San Tan residents deserve to be safe and secure in their neighborhoods. All Pinal County residents deserve to be safe and secure in their neighborhoods. I believe in the rule of law and that means addressing crime head-on!

With operational law enforcement experience encompassing almost four decades in municipal-, tribal- and county-accredited law enforcement agencies, a safety task force needs to be formed, implemented and deployed immediately, for our safety and the safety of our kids, our families, neighbors and friends.

The future helm of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office should not be held by someone who is learning or experimenting while on the job. The future sheriff should be an experienced law enforcement professional with a proven, documented law enforcement history capable and professionally competent to make difficult decisions even when it involves unpopular issues.

Promoting proactive, professional and high-performing law enforcement should be at the forefront of our next sheriff’s crime-fighting strategy.

Like you, Pinal County is my forever home. When my family moved to Pinal County almost 20 years ago, I saw Pinal County as a place to live, flourish and raise my family. The safety and security of our community is at stake here in Pinal County and we need to act now and take action for our future to avoid further future deadly consequences.

Nineteen years of my experience is at the police chief, deputy chief, and command staff levels. I have worn stars on my collar at the fifth-largest police department in the country, tribal country police department, in multiple states and at the fourth-largest sheriff’s office in the country. I have experience enhancing and developing crime fighting professionals and providing them with the resources they need to keep our community safe.

Let’s get a handle on this crime wave and keep our kids, our families and our communities safe!

Check out my website to learn more about my crime-fighting strategies for a safer Pinal County.

Just my opinion.