MEET DARRELL
NEW LEADERSHIP DELIVERING RESULTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY
I am a Galveston County native. I was born and raised on Galveston Island. I attended Alamo elementary school, Weis, Central, and graduated from Ball High school in 1994. My parents still live in the house I was raised in on 53rd and Ave Q. Throughout high school, my brothers and I played golf for the Ball High varsity team under the late and great Coach Henry Paysse. I spent my summers working at the old driving range on Stewart Rd under the late Paul Hershey or pulling part-time shifts at the old municipal golf course. I married my high school sweetheart, and we have two sons, ages 21 and 17. I was raised in the Catholic church and received communion from St. Patrick’s Church on Broadway.
While completing my undergraduate degree in 1997 from Sam Houston State University, I started my career in law enforcement as a Patrol Officer with the City of Willis, Texas. I worked for the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Fe Police Department, and the Webster Police Department before joining the League City Police Department in 2008. I have a TCOLE Master Peace Officer license, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice/Police Science from Sam Houston State University, and a Masters Degree from Sam Houston State University in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management. In my career, I have served in nearly every capacity of police work. I have managed a Criminal Investigation Division, property/evidence room management, emergency dispatch centers, detention facilities, employee evaluation projects, and staffing analysis. I have traveled the country to provide public safety consulting services.
I currently serve the League City Police Department’s Support Services Division as the Bureau Commander / Reserve Captain. The duties of this position include supervision of the Department’s communication center, records division, crime analysis unit, statistical reporting, mandated State/Federal reporting, Stratified Policing initiative, and the Department’s reserve police officer unit. I am also the system administrator over the Department’s multi-agency Records Management Reporting Software that provides software and training to over 60 agencies in the gulf coast region.
I come from a proud family of law enforcement professionals who have provided over 170 years of combined service to the citizens of Galveston County. My father retired as a Captain from the Port of Galveston Police Department with 42 years of service. My twin brother is currently serving as a Commander over the criminal investigations division at the Conroe Police Department with 25 years of service. Unfortunately, he lost his eye after being shot in the face on duty. Nevertheless, James returned to patrol duty shortly after. My younger brother is a detective with the Texas City Police Department. In addition, I have numerous other cousins serving as law enforcement professionals at the League City Police Department, La Marque Police Department, La Porte Police Department, and Texas City Police Department.
This is my first time running for public office and I am not a politician. However, I plan to disrupt the status quo. I am running for Galveston County Sheriff because I believe I am the best candidate to lead the Office into the 21st century of public safety. I will use my vast background in law enforcement management as a transformational leader to identify areas of operation that may benefit from new business practices.
I will:
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Conduct a comprehensive staffing analysis
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Reform the promotional process to ensure fairness and equality. (Based on leadership development and credentials)
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Streamline reporting processes by realigning standard business practices.
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Create a countywide real-time crime center to target crime patterns
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Target violent repeat offenders
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Implement a new model of policing, accountability, and transparency
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Move/Join Sheriff’s Office reporting platform to the existing GRID public safety software consortium. Allowing seamless data sharing across all county agencies.
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Expand the county’s Mental Health response capacity with a countywide intervention strategy
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Produce a comprehensive annual report to the citizens of Galveston County to inform them how their tax dollars are being invested in law enforcement.
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Advocate for deputy pay increases, better working conditions, and diversity within the Sheriff’s Office.
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Advocate for a regional law enforcement training center and academy on the mainland.
Where I stand on current National issues:
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I am a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment, an avid outdoorsman, and gun owner.
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I support the border enforcement program and I believe the current administration has absolutely failed in it's responsibly to protect the border. However, I also believe Galveston County has a more pressing need for an increased Law Enforcement presence given the challenges we currently face.
SERVICE AWARDS AND CREDENTIALS:
A PROVEN RECORD OF LEADERSHIP ACROSS THE REGION
