COLUMN: About the ECSO Civil/Warrants Division

Submitted photo.

Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown.

In this week’s column, I’d like to share with you some of the tasks handled by our Civil/Warrants Division. Sheriff’s Offices in Texas do more than enforce criminal laws; we’re also responsible for a number of duties associated with the civil process in this state.

Your Sheriff’s Office’s Civil Division has three Deputies assigned to handle the civil process work coming out of our District, County and JP courts. Two of these Deputies serve the criminal and civil subpoenas, summonses, citations, protective orders and attorney general documents, while the third Deputy handles the writs, which include writs of execution, attachment, garnishment and possession. The third deputy also is responsible for Sheriff sales, tax sales and impounded livestock sales.

In 2014, these three Deputies served more than 1,800 civil process papers. More than 500 of those were subpoenas and almost 700 were citations that, for the most part, represented the first step in a lawsuit. All of these papers have specific guidelines that dictate how they’re to be handled. To ensure we’re in compliance, we send our writ Deputy and one of the other two Deputies to a 40-hour class every year that’s taught by TCOLE’s expert on civil process. This way they can stay abreast of the legislative updates that have occurred and any changes that have been made to the civil process.

Two Deputies are assigned to our Warrants Division, where they’re responsible for searching out and apprehending people wanted by our District and County Courts. They also work with other agencies nationwide that have issued a warrant that needs serving within Ellis County.

Other areas included within our Civil/Warrants Division is the Fugitive Transport Division, which has one full-time and five part-time Deputy Sheriffs assigned to transport fugitives back to Ellis County that have fled to other counties or states to avoid justice. These Deputies also handle the transport of fugitives from other agencies, the transport of mental health consumers who are under court order to and from their court hearings and the transport of juveniles who are being held at a detention facility to and from their court hearings.

Eight Deputies are assigned to our Judicial Division, which is responsible for court security and bailiff assignments. Their duties include the operation of the X-ray machine and metal detectors, weapons screening, maintaining courtroom decorum and providing the public safety and law enforcement services needed to ensure our court environments are safe and secure.

We have two full-time Deputies assigned to our Animal Control Division. Over the past 11 months, they’ve answered 2,916 calls for service. Those calls included 492 reports of loose livestock calls and 88 reports involving animal bites, along with the impoundment of 74 head of livestock and the transport of 745 strays to the SPCA. If you have an animal control-related call, contact our non-emergency dispatch number at 972-937-6060.

I want to personally thank all of our Deputies for a job well done with the memorial service Thursday for Lt. Jason Westmoreland, who lost his battle with cancer Sept. 17. A special thank you also goes to Waxahachie PD for their help with traffic that day. We appreciate everyone who attended the celebration of Jason’s life, along with all of the support that’s been expressed to his family since his passing.

Please, everyone, let’s keep our military and service personnel in our thoughts and prayers. We enjoy our rights and freedoms because of their service and safekeeping of our great nation. Y’all have a Blessed Week.

Johnny Brown has served as Sheriff of Ellis County since Jan. 1, 2009, and is a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute. He has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years and holds a Master’s Peace Officer’s Certificate with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.