Sheriff candidate critical of tornado response worked two hours elsewhere

Photo by Dave A. Vance.

Wess Winn

ELLIS COUNTY — Documents provided to Ellis County Citizen reveal Ellis County Sheriff candidate Wess Winn only worked two hours on December 26, 2015, the day the devastating tornado ripped through Ellis County, despite his criticism of the Sheriff's Office. Additionally, Winn did not indicate he volunteered during his time off.

Winn had previously stated he was called in by the Waxahachie Police Department to cover part of the city while other Waxahachie police officers responded to the tornado. Members of Winn's family had stated he left a family Christmas celebration.

Ellis County Citizen sent Winn an email on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 asking for clarification.

"We received a document today that shows you only worked for the WPD for two hours the day of the tornado. Can you explain and provide your duties that day as well describe your off duty activities on the same day?," the Ellis County Citizen email asked Winn. "You also don't appear to have worked the following day for WPD. Can you describe your activities on Dec. 27?"

Winn responded the following day confirming that he only worked for two hours the day of the tornado and did not work the following day. He also did not indicate that he volunteered to help on either day with the devastation caused by the largest tornado to hit Ellis County since March 2000.

"I was scheduled off from December 25-27. I was at a family Christmas party on December 26 when the storm struck," Winn said. "I contacted my on duty Lt. to see if we needed help and she said "Yes" because we had sent units (5) up to the storm area. She asked me to come in because we only had 2 units on the street at the time."

Winn finally admitted the Sheriff's Office responded to the tornado, despite his initial claims, and changed the narrative to state deputies didn't respond quickly enough.

"We had to send units to the area along with Red Oak PD, Midlothian PD and other departments because of the limited respond (sic) from the Sheriff. The first 60-90 minutes in a critical response are important and since Sheriff Brown would not send all available (the 5 at the camp) it was up to the other agencies to pick up the slack until Sheriff Brown could contact deputies from home. Sheriff Brown eventually got more deputies out there but it was well outside the 60-90 minute window," Winn said.

After seeing the document showing Winn only worked two hours on Dec. 26, 2015, Sheriff Brown issued a short statement on Feb. 26, 2016.

"Now you know why I didn't feel the need to respond to my opponents second attempt to clarify his stance on the night in question. I was there and I was helping my fellow citizens," Sheriff Brown wrote.

Comments by Ellis County Citizen readers responding to a teaser in advance of this article have been varied.

"As a retired peace officer, I don't understand how you don't run into the storm to help whether you're on the schedule or not. That's how first responders are wired and why we chose those professions," Burt Lyon wrote.

"As a peace officer myself, the question I have is why is this important? Officers are allowed to celebrate and worship as everyone else does on the schedule provided them," Clad Harping wrote.

"It wouldn't be an issue if accusations weren't made that we didn't respond to the tornado," Diane Moore responded to Harping.

Lieutenant James Saulter of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office weighed in and put the situation into perspective.

"I was off as well, enjoying a movie with my wife at the theatre. I received a call from the Sheriff's Office that a tornado had touched down and the Sheriff was calling for everyone available to come in and help. Not only did I come in for 14 hours but my wife who is a nurse also responded to help with anyone that might have been injured. That's what we do as a family at the Sheriff's Office," Saulter wrote. "It really doesn't matter to me what Wess Winn was doing. I respect him for spending time with his family. I just don't appreciate someone insinuating that the Sheriff's Office didn't respond appropriately."

On February 12, a campaign mailer sent by Winn's campaign began hitting mailboxes that read, "RESPOND immediately when requested to help other first responders. Fire, EMS and other law enforcement agencies can count on me. When a disaster strikes, like the recent tornado, there is no excuse to not respond. I promise to be in the Emergency Operations Center and make our deputies and resources available where needed. Participation isn't optional when public safety is at stake."

As published in a February 13 article on Ellis County Citizen, Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown quickly responded to Winn's attack.

"This crossed the line! As my opponent I expected nothing less than an attack on me but don't ever talk about my county family. The deputies and detention officers at Ellis County are the best employees this county has ever had protecting the citizens of this county," Sheriff Brown said.

"Talk to me man to man sling mud at me all you want I promise you I can handle it. You owe every employee of the Ellis County Sheriffs Office an apology for your insult on their integrity and work ethics."

Lieutenant Saulter joined many deputies and dispatchers refuting Winn's claims.

"I would just say it's a slap in the face to all of our deputies that responded immediately that night after the tornadoes hit. I personally was there for fourteen hours and worked side by side with Sheriff Brown," Saulter said.

Winn attempted to quell the backlash on Feb. 13 by issuing a statement on his campaign Facebook page.

"My letter to the voters is not a criticism of the hardworking Deputies and Jailers of the Sheriff Department. My issue is with the leadership and decisions made by the current Sheriff," Winn wrote.

"On the evening of December 26, 2015 a tornado ripped through northern parts of Ellis county. Almost every neighborhood affected in Ellis County was in the Sheriff Department’s jurisdiction. There were 6 Ellis County Deputies on patrol in Ellis County when the tornado struck. All 6 of those Deputies responded but because of the limited number of Deputies sent to these neighborhoods, other law enforcement agencies were requested by the Incident Commander and Emergency Management. I called my Lieutenant to see if I was needed that night. My Lieutenant requested I come in and cover the City since 5 Waxahachie PD units were sent to the tornado zone, because of the limited response by the Sheriff’s Department."

Winn went on to criticize Sheriff Brown having Mike McKenna represent the Sheriff's Office in the Red Oak Emergency Operations Center as well as publicly post deputy work schedules.

"A Unified Command was established at the Red Oak Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The purpose was for all the department heads of the assisting agencies to be together so the needed resources were given immediately to the Incident Commander and the residents needing help. Instead, the Sheriff sent a subordinate to the EOC that had to get approval for Sheriff department resources from the Sheriff, who was not there. The Sheriff denied some of the request for additional resources," Winn wrote.

Sheriff Brown released a detailed statement on Feb. 19 further disputing Winn's explanation of the claims.

"Recently my opponent mailed out letters claiming my deputies failed to meet the needs of our citizens with a hint that we did not respond in the difficult hours after the December 2015 tornado that struck Ellis County. He went on to support his claim by recklessly posting sensitive operational documents (our patrol schedule and our security schedule) on his campaign’s public Facebook page, creating an opportunity for criminals to learn how we operate on a daily basis. This is shameful, in part, because his effort to get elected does not outweigh the county’s security, but more importantly, his remarks have struck at the heart of my deputies who poured a lot of time and effort into making a difficult situation better for those who were affected. None of my troops ever asked for a pat-on-the-back after the tornado; they sure didn’t deserve what he said," Sheriff Brown wrote.

"In an effort to explain his position, my opponent claims we should’ve pulled deputies from another operation we were tasked with to better serve the tornado victims. This demonstrates an ideology in poor management skills. Regardless of the incident, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, as a professional law enforcement agency, cannot promise its citizens a level of service on one side of the county – and then take that away because of another incident. There was a better way to ensure both were handled in the citizens’ best interest – and your sheriff’s office ensured that all of our responsibilities to you were handled. To me, what he would have done shows poor judgement and is never how we will operate."

Sheriff Brown's response indicated seven deputies, who were already on patrol, responded to the tornado, 22 additional deputies and investigators responded, four reserve deputies responded and Sheriff Brown himself responded.

"One of the reasons we were able to respond so quickly is because when I was first elected in 2009, I increased a proactive presence of law enforcement within our county and issued take-home cars to most of our deputies that reside here in Ellis County. This was a minimal expense to our budget that has paid for itself with quicker response times and an increased deputy presence throughout the county, along with a 60-percent reduction in Part 1 Major Crimes since 2009. On the night of the tornado, not only did our seven deputies who were on patrol respond but 22 additional deputies and investigators, four reserve deputies as well as myself responded immediately from our houses and started helping those in need within minutes after the tornado passed. I also had an additional dispatcher come in to assist with the massive volume of calls we received at the sheriff’s office. Our dispatchers fielded 67 incoming calls related to the tornado in the first hour alone. On top of the tornado-related calls, they also handled 18 incoming calls that were not related to the tornado," Sheriff Brown said.

Other volunteer agencies responded to Sheriff Brown's request for assistance and other agencies responded.

"n addition, I activated the Ellis County Sheriff’s Posse, which is a group of volunteer men and women with specialized training in which nine members came out to help. I also activated the Victim Relief Ministries, “Yellow Shirts” as we call them, which is a group of trained men and women who we partner with that provide counsel, spiritual support and even assist with physical needs of victims of crime or, in this case, a natural disaster. Many other agencies assisted in the effort, including the Waxahachie Police Department, Midlothian Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol, Commissioners’ Precinct personnel, TxDOT personnel and various utility companies, along with the ESD No. 6 and fire departments from the cities of Midlothian, Ovilla, Red Oak, Lancaster, Cedar Hill, Mansfield, Ennis and Waxahachie, and I apologize if I’ve inadvertently failed to mention a responding agency in this list. My heartfelt appreciation extends to everyone who was there and assisted in any way as we worked side by side to take care of our community," Sheriff Brown said.

"Because two of the most affected areas had a Midlothian or Waxahachie address, both of those agencies sent officers to assist until the event was over. This was even the case with the Mansfield Police Department after they learned that one of their own was affected by the event. They sent officers to help and ensure everyone affected was safe. This mutual aid is no different than the way fire departments respond to large fires or rescue operations. When the Magnablend fire became a national news event in 2011, fire departments from all over the county, including those from adjoining counties, responded to help. This is no different than when an agency calls us for help – we respond. Over the past 365 days, your sheriff’s office has responded to 288 mutual aid calls from other agencies that have asked for our help. We have always responded to those calls for assistance. What my opponent has criticized us for with his claiming on his Facebook campaign page that there was a “limited response by the sheriff’s department” is what we and other professional first responders call “mutual aid.” It’s the same type of response that’s used to fight forest fires across the nation and was seen on the biggest scale in our area during the city of West’s fertilizer plant explosion in 2013."

Sheriff Brown called Winn's claim of denying resources false.

"My opponent has also claimed that during the tornado incident that I refused sheriff’s office assets to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) or IC (Incident Commander). This is a falsehood. Every piece of equipment and asset that was available during the event was utilized," Sheriff Brown said.

Sheriff Brown also addressed Winn's criticism of having another deputy staff the Emergency Operations Center. McKenna had previously served for over a year as the acting Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator for Ellis County when Ellis County had not filled the position.

"Another one of his complaints is that I was not personally at the EOC the night the tornado hit and that I sent a subordinate. This is true. What he’s not telling you, the citizens, is that the person I sent to the EOC is my sergeant over the Training Division – who is the most knowledgeable person we have in the Emergency Management arena and who served as the Acting Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator for Ellis County for over a year when the county was without one. He had my full authority to deploy any assets of the sheriff’s office without asking me for permission," Sheriff Brown said.

After launching the attack on the Sheriff's Office, Winn felt the backlash of calling his claims into question by deputies and victims of the tornado. He made an emotional claim of being the victim himself.

"When my family and I began this campaign we had no idea how awful people could be when it came to running for office and protecting the incumbent. I knew I had to show voters what I would do differently and one of those ways was to send out a mailer with specific things I would do. There were FIVE points on the mailer but Mr. Brown took ONE of those and spun it around to take the heat off of himself and make it appear like I was referring to his deputies. This has nothing to do with his deputies, but the leadership. What he did in spinning the story around is what politicians do. I would encourage voters to look into ALL of the points I made," Winn wrote on his campaign Facebook page on Feb. 22.