Once again the “specialness” of Travis County Officials costs taxpayers money. This time it was Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez refusal to follow state and local immigration law that was the culprit.
Gov. Greg Abbott approved a $23 million grant to give rifle resistant vests to police departments across the state. Roughly 33,000 vests were purchased for more than 450 departments.
Travis County, however, refused to apply for the grant. Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez declined to apply because the Governor made it a condition that law enforcement agencies receiving state equipment cooperate in the enforcement of state and national immigration laws.
For instance, local police departments would be required to detain illegal aliens identified by federal immigration authorities for deportation. Hernandez called the requirement “arbitrary and capricious,” and sought an alternate way to fund vests for Travis County officers.
Sheriff Hernandez decided that the needs of “undocumented Democrats” outweighed free life-saving protection for her officers.
In March, the sheriff’s office approached the county commissioners court with a proposal. “The TCSO has identified one time internal resources to provide 574 vests at $500 each for a total cost of $287,000,” wrote Alan Miller, assistant budget director for the county’s planning and budget office.
Hernandez echoed that amount in her own memo. “The vest that my staff has agreed on costs approximately $500 each, including carrier, plates, ID panel, and pouches… at this price, the overall cost to Travis County to equip all appropriate TCSO staff and including the number of vests requested by other county departments during grant preparations will total about $287,000.”
Texas Scorecard requested records related to the purchase and discovered the sheriff’s office spent almost $200,000 more than what they had publicly stated. The vests turned out to cost upwards of $800 each, not the $500 that was quoted.
This story seems emblematic of the modern Democratic Party, with elected officials choosing illegal aliens over police and taxpayers…
Tags: Border Controls, Democrats, Sally Hernandez, Texas, Travis County