Written by Amanda Coers – The Brown County Commissioners’ Court met at 9 a.m. on Monday, February 13th, to discuss several items on the agenda. Brown County Sheriff Vance Hill presented the county’s annual racial profile report, which covers traffic stops, citations, and arrests.

The sheriff reported 622 traffic stops for the year, which resulted in 449 citations and 154 arrests. Out of those reports, 24 were African American, 2 were Asian, 149 were Hispanic, and 447 were Caucasian. There were zero Middle Eastern or Native American individuals in the reports.

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Another category required in the report is “race known” before initiating traffic stops. The sheriff reported deputies knew the race of the individual 38 times out of the 622 traffic stops. An additional category included in the report was whether or not a search was conducted during the traffic stop.  Sheriff Hill reported 248 searches, with 102 listed as searches with the driver’s permission and 146 probable cause searches without need for the driver’s permission. The sheriff explained the probable cause searches were conducted after deputies either smelled narcotics, or saw illegal activity in plain view.

After the sheriff’s report was accepted, the commissioners’ court heard from a group of four asking the court to consider implementing a special Veterans’ Court to process criminal cases involving veterans. The group included Brown County Veterans Services Officer Billy Murphey, Center for Life Resources Veteran Services Coordinator Jimmie Murray, David Morgan, and local Navy Veteran Chad Smith, accompanied by his service dog, “Sioux.”

In their presentation, members of the group highlighted particular difficulties veterans often face when coming home after deployment, including PTSD. The group also informed the court there have been over 80 veterans sentenced to jail or prison through the Brown County court system. Veterans incarcerated for more than 60 days will lose a large portion of their benefits, and it can be difficult to have those benefits reinstated after release.

Theoretically, the Veterans’ Court program would work in this fashion: when an individual is arrested, law enforcement would ask whether he or she is a veteran. If so, their eligibility for Veterans’ Court would be further assessed. The program could potentially divert veterans from traditional court systems, and instead direct them to VA treatment, reducing jail time, costs, and criminal recidivism, while improving mental health. The 81st Legislature passed Senate Bill 1940, in 2009, which authorizes the creation of specialty courts for veterans in Texas.

The Brown County Commissioners agreed it was worth looking into, with Judge Ray West saying, “Even if it’s only ten a year, it’s worth it. This guy’s earned it. He earned a lot.”

The court asked the group to provide more information on the steps needed to fully implement the program in Brown County, and allow time for the area judges to convene with each other.

Last for the court’s agenda was a petition seeking an election in JP Precinct 2 for the sale of off-premises beer and wine. The petition was filed in the Brown County Election Administrator Karen Opila’s office on January 13th. The petition required 479 registered voters, but only received 462 signatures, making the petition invalid and unavailable as an option for a local election to be held May 6th.

The Brown County Election Administrator indicated members of the group who circulated the petition will likely try again for the November election.