The fourth in a series of “Behind the Badges” gatherings hosted by Daisetta Police Department and Chief Mike Parrish was held on Oct. 15, 2018. The meeting this week spotlighted the Liberty County Precinct #2 Constable’s Office. The meeting was held at the Hull-Daisetta Volunteer Fire Department.
Constable Les Hulsey initially addressed Liberty County residents of the origin of constables and explained that constables are the oldest form of law enforcement in the history of the world and also within the United States. The position originated from the Eastern Roman Empire. History records constables in France in the beginning of the fifth century, when they were known as the Counts of the King’s Stables, which was later merged into “Counstables.”
“In America, before we were known as the United States, the first constable was appointed in the Plymouth Colony in 1632 and, during that time, the top law enforcement official was the justice of the peace. The constable enforced the orders of Colonial and County officials in both civil and criminal matters. The Sheriff was appointed two years later in 1634,” said Hulsey.
Constable Hulsey, a 36-year law enforcement veteran, talked about how the office of the Constable has been changed or modified over the years. He spoke of how, in Liberty County, the constable does so much more than simply serve civil process (writs, citations, subpoenas, etc) which was, at one time, the Constable’s only duty. The Constable conveyed that in this day and age, constables and deputy constables are dispatched to calls for service such as active disturbances, domestic violence situations, intoxicated drivers, suspicious persons or vehicles, and virtually anything that any Texas Peace Officer might respond to when called.
“Our offices enforces traffic law and assists Liberty County commissioners by locating commercial motor vehicles doing damage to county roads. This saves taxpayers a tremendous amount of money because often times we are able to locate and identify these vehicles and hold them [operators or companies] accountable,” Hulsey said.
The constable went on to reiterate that his office, which is staffed with four deputy constables and a secretary, assists all law enforcement agencies local local police departments, county level agencies such as other constable offices and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and all state and federal agencies.
“Our agency has a great working relationship with [Chief] Mike [Parrish] and his department has assisted our agency on many, many occasions. We do the same for the Daisetta Police Department.
Daisetta Police Chief Mike Parrish spoke about how, on most occasions, there is only a single officer on duty for the City of Daisetta and explained how often Pct #2 Constable’s Office assists Daisetta PD with backup officers or narcotics investigations.
Chief Parrish explained that his agency has few resources, namely manpower, but with the mutually beneficial combining of county and municipal resources, the agencies have worked together to get many drug dealers, burglars, thieves off the streets and behind bars.
“You used to hear names like Monster, Shortfuse, Rabbit, Pops, all street names or aliases of drug dealers working within Precinct #2 and Daisetta. You used to hear those names because they were really busy making money and capitalizing on the addictions of area residents. You don’t hear those names so much anymore because they’re all locked up
after the combined efforts of Liberty County Pct #2 Constable’s Office, Liberty County Precinct #4 Constable’s Office, and the Daisetta Police Department,” said Chief Parrish.
Constable Hulsey also spoke about the addition of a school resource officer in the Hull-Daisetta Independent School District.
“Some people may wonder why there’s a school resource officer out here in the middle of nowhere,” Hulsey said, then asking the attendees if they had ever seen some of these places where tragedies have occurred.
“Some of those were out in the middle of nowhere as well,” Hulsey said.
The Constable expressed his gratitude to those in attendance for affording him and his office the opportunity to serve Liberty County and reminded them that the Liberty County Pct #2 Constable’s Office is there to serve in any capacity possible to help make Liberty County a safer place for our citizens.
Chief Parrish said, “Next week, Oct. 22, we’ll be taking a short intermission from the Behind the Badges Series due to the fact that one of our scheduled agencies had to reschedule due to training conflicts. Training is a never-ending process for modern day law enforcement officers because criminals change tactics routinely and law enforcement agencies are constantly evaluating current trends in criminal activity so we can perform our duties safely but, more importantly, serve the public to the very best of our ability. Our next highlighted agency will be the Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife.”
The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29, at the Hull-Daisetta Volunteer Fire Department at 703 S. Main Street in Daisetta. The public is welcome to attend.