A Republican primary candidate in the race for Falls County sheriff may be ineligible for the post because of a long-ago conviction that prevents him from getting a peace officer’s license.
John William Reed, 50, one of two candidates in the race, pleaded no contest to Class A misdemeanor assault in May 1995 in Denton County, according to court records. He was sentenced to 140 days in the county jail, plus a year of community supervision, a $500 fine and 80 hours of community service.
Under state law, that record makes him ineligible for a peace officer license from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, unless the commission grants a waiver in request from a law enforcement agency. Those waivers are granted only from agency administrators on behalf of a candidate the administrator intends to hire, according to TCOLE’s website.
People are also reading…
State law requires a sheriff to possess an active peace officer license, or to be eligible to obtain one and have been a federal special investigator for at least five years or a combat veteran with 10 years of service.
Those who qualify based on law enforcement or military experience must obtain a peace officer license within two years of taking office.
TCOLE records show Reed has never held a peace officer license. Reed said Friday he has no law enforcement background, but he is eligible for office because he served in the Army for 10 years.
He said he plans to petition for a waiver, and if successful, he would have two years to obtain his peace officer license if elected sheriff.
Reed is running against Jason Campbell, who has 23 years of law enforcement experience, most recently as a Texas game warden. The primary winner will face incumbent Sheriff Joe Lopez, a Democrat, in the November general election.
According to court records from Denton County, Reed was charged in November 1994 with assault family violence, a Class A misdemeanor.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers were called to a residence shared by Reed, his brother and his mother, and they found Reed, then 20, had punched his brother in the face following an argument.
The affidavit says Reed’s brother was bleeding and had a swollen lip due to the assault. Reed’s mother told police he had been violent in the past, and officers observed him to be very angry, the affidavit says.
Court records show Reed pleaded no contest to Class A misdemeanor assault, without the family-violence designation.
