Law Enforcement officers today know that there is no substitute for the support of the communities they serve. Budgets come from citizens’ taxes. New programs and enforcement strategies must be accepted by the public if they are to be effective. Unfortunately, we live in a time in which public support for law enforcement is at an all-time low. Due in part to the current alarming trend of large-scale, military-style police operations which often results in the deaths of innocent citizens, many Americans now have a healthy distrust and even a genuine fear of the police. In most cases, such police operations were planned and controlled by federal agents.

In August, 1992, federal agents assaulted a family home in the mountains of Idaho, without a warrant, and killed the mother, Vicki Weaver, and her 14 year-old son, Samuel; all over two shotguns with barrels one-quarter inch short of federal regulations. A U.S. Marshall was also killed. Both the husband and father, Randy Weaver, along with his friend, Kevin Harris, were charged and tried for murder, but acquitted.

In February, 1993, the Branch Davidian complex outside of Waco, Texas, was assaulted by over a hundred federal officers, also because of alleged weapons violations.

The television program '60 Minutes' aired a chilling account of several police operations in which masked commando-style officers killed, wounded, and terrorized citizens in raids which turned out to be cases of mistaken addresses or other bogus information.

Repeated incidents such as these have caused a real deterioration in the relationship between police and the general public. Something needs to be done to change the perception that police are punishers and enforcers, rather than protectors of the people. In many of these cases, tragic deaths could have been avoided, had the local Sheriff taken proper steps to assert his authority. In the Waco case, the senseless deaths would never have happened if only the sheriff had called the compound and explained the situation. This is exactly what was done in 1987 when charges were filed against Koresh (then Vernon Howell) by the McLellan County district attorney, Vic Feazell. According to a story in the March 1st. Houston Chronicle, he recalled, “We had no problems” in making the arrests. The sheriff and a deputy simply called Koresh and told him that he would have to surrender and turn over his weapons. Koresh agreed, and deputies went to the compound. The Davidians voluntarily complied. “We treated them like human beings, rather than storm-trooping the place” Feazell said. “They were extremely polite people. After the trial - although we didn’t agree with everything they believed or said - many of the staff were pretty sympathetic with them.”

The Sheriff has No Superior in His County

According to the extensive and well-recognized legal treatise, Anderson on Sheriffs, the duties and powers of the Sheriff are without equal. This is clearly expressed in the following excerpt:

"…the citizens, their persons, property, health, and morals shall be protected and made safe. In the exercise of executive and administrative functions, in conserving the public law… he (the Sheriff) represents the sovereignty of the state, and he has no superior in his county. Therefore, when a situation arises, it becomes the sheriff’s right, and it is his duty, to determine what the public safety and tranquility demand, and to act accordingly." (Volume 1, page 5.) 

One might ask, “Where was the McLellan County sheriff on February 28, 1993? Did he know that he had the authority to control the plan to arrest Koresh and to serve the warrant? Would not he have been better equipped to communicate with the local people who knew him and did not fear him? Will he ever recover the public trust in the Waco area?”