The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) handles law enforcement in El Paso County, Texas. The Office is headed by the County Sheriff, an elected official.
No. | Last | First | Party | Start date | Finish date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
29 | Wiles | Richard D. | Democratic | 2009 | December 31, 2024 [1] | was the 43rd El Paso Police Department Chief prior to holding office |
28 | Apodaca | Santiago "Jimmy" | January 15, 2008 | December 31, 2008 | appointed [2] Sheriff to fulfill predecessor's term by the El Paso County Commissioner's Court in accordance with predecessor's wishes. | |
27 | Samaniego | Leonardo "Leo" | Democratic [3] | January 1, 1985 | December 28, 2007 | died December 28, 2007 while in office, requested Santiago "Jimmy" Apodaca finish his term. Was previously Deputy Chief of the El Paso Police Department. [4] |
26 | Davis | Michael Patrick [5] | 1982 | |||
25 | Montes | Ramon "Ray" A. [6] | 1978 | convicted of misconduct over vehicle impoundings [7] (later reversed) [8] | ||
24 | Sullivan | Mike, Jr. | 1965 [9] | August 14, [10] 1978 [11] | convicted of misconduct over use of public workers [7] | |
23 | Bailey | Robert "Bob" | 1958 | [12] | ||
22 | Smith | Wesley | April 25, [13] 1958 | |||
21 | Hicks | W. O. "Jimmy" | 1951 | 1958 | died by suicide while in office [14] | |
20 | Campbell | Joe | 1949 | |||
19 | Falby [15] | Allan George [16] | 1943 | last name misspelled as "Farby" on the EPSO website's history page. First name often misspelled as "Allen". | ||
18 | Hawkins | William "Bill" Walker | 1942 | |||
17 | Fox | Christian Petrus [17] "Chris P." | January [18] 1933 | 1941 [19] | resigned. Known by the moniker "Mr. El Paso". | |
16 | Armstrong | Tom | 1929 | |||
15 | Orndorff | Seth Buford [20] | 1916 | last name misspelled as "Ordendorff" on the EPSO website's history page | ||
14 | Edwards | Peyton [21] J. | 1910 | 1916 [22] | first name misspelled as "Payton" on the EPSO website's history page; was previously and subsequently El Paso Chief of Police | |
13 | Hall | Florence J. | 1908 | [23] | ||
12 | Comstock | James [24] H. | 1905 | finished Boone's term after he resigned [25] | ||
11 | Boone | James [26] H. | 1898 | June 1, [27] 1905 | resigned [28] | |
10 | Simmons | Frank [29] B. | 1892 | |||
9 | Hildebrand | H. R. | 1890 | name spelled as "Hildebrant" on EPSO's history web page and "Hillebrand" or "Hilderbrand" in some sources; also served as the El Paso Chief of Police. [30] | ||
8 | White | James H. | 1883/4 | 1890 [31] | later served as El Paso Chief of Police. [32] | |
7 | Mariany | Batista | 1882 | |||
6 | Gonzalez | Benito | 1880 | [33] ;resigned [34] | ||
5 | Kerber | Charles | 1874 | See San Elizario Salt War. | ||
4 | Ellis | Charles | 1871 | Elected after an extremely complicated and contentious election related to Salt War issues. | ||
3 | Armendariz | Juan | 1870 | |||
2 | Yates | William | 1859 | |||
1 | Ford | William | 1852 |
El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865,657, making it the ninth-most populous county in the state of Texas. Its seat is the city of El Paso, the sixth-most populous city in Texas and the 22nd-most populous city in the United States. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1871.
The Texas Ranger Division, also known as the Texas Rangers and also known as Diablos Tejanos, is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Texas, based in the capital city Austin. In the time since its creation, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations, including the Alamo, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–1846) and the State of Texas.
John Wesley Hardin was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he did so in self-defense.
Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, as well as Doña Ana County, New Mexico.
Capt. James Richard Callaway (1783–1815) was an officer in the Missouri Rangers during the War of 1812. He was a grandson of Daniel Boone, nephew of Nathan Boone and grand-nephew of Richard Callaway.
Francis Augustus Hamer was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and investigative skill, he acquired status in the Southwest as the archetypal Texas Ranger. He was inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. His professional record and reputation are controversial, particularly with regard to his willingness to use extrajudicial killing even in an increasingly modernized society.
The San Elizario Salt War, also known as the Salinero Revolt or the El Paso Salt War, was an extended and complex range war of the mid-19th century that revolved around the ownership and control of immense salt lakes at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas. What began in 1866 as a political and legal struggle among Anglo Texan politicians and capitalists gave rise in 1877 to an armed struggle by ethnic Mexican and Tejano inhabitants living on both sides of the Rio Grande near El Paso against a leading politician, who was supported by the Texas Rangers. The struggle reached its climax with the siege and surrender of 20 Texas Rangers to a popular army of perhaps 500 men in the town of San Elizario, Texas. The arrival of the African-American 9th Cavalry and a sheriff's posse of New Mexico mercenaries caused hundreds of Tejanos to flee to Mexico, some in permanent exile. The right of individuals to own the salt lakes, which had previously been held as a community asset, was established by force of arms.
In the U.S. state of Texas, a constable is an elected law enforcement officer for a precinct of a county. Counties may have between one and eight precincts each depending on their population.
Ira Aten was a Texas Ranger who was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.
The Reese–Townsend Feud, also called the Colorado County Feud, lasted from 1898 to 1907 and was a politically motivated feud taking place in the closing days of the Old West, in Columbus, Texas, and other parts of Colorado County. Legendary Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald was dispatched to Columbus to restore order.
The San Antonio–El Paso Road, also known as the Lower Emigrant Road or Military Road, was an economically important trade route between the Texas cities of San Antonio and El Paso between 1849 and 1882. Mail, freight, and passengers traveled by horse and wagon along this road across the Edwards Plateau and dangerous Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
The Raid on the Norias Division of the King Ranch was an attack August 8, 1915 by a large band of disaffected Mexicans and Tejanos in southern Texas. It was one of the many small battles of the Mexican Revolution that spilled over into United States soil and resulted in an increased effort by the United States Army to defend the international border. Five to fifteen attackers were killed in the raid and more among the wounded may have died shortly afterwards.
El Paso is a 1949 American Western film directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring John Payne, Gail Russell and Sterling Hayden.
The Battle of Tres Jacales was an Old West gunfight that occurred on June 30, 1893. While out searching for a gang of rustlers, a group of American lawmen under the command of the Texas Ranger Frank Jones were attacked at the Mexican village of Tres Jacales. During the exchange of gunfire, Jones was mortally wounded and the remaining Americans were forced to retreat back into Texas.
The Sutton–Taylor feud began as a county law enforcement issue between relatives of a Texas state law agent, Creed Taylor, and a local law enforcement officer, William Sutton, in DeWitt County, Texas. The feud cost at least 35 lives and eventually included the outlaw John Wesley Hardin as one of its participants. It began in March 1868, not reaching its conclusion until the Texas Rangers put a stop to the fighting in December 1876.
El Paso Police Department (EPPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving El Paso, Texas, United States. As of Fiscal Year 2014, the agency had an annual budget of more than $118 million and employed around 1,300 personnel, including approximately 1,100 officers. Greg Allen was appointed as the EPPD's chief of police in March 2008 and served until his death in January 2023.
William Paul Brady was an American lawyer. From 1909 to around 1914, he served as the first district attorney for Texas' 70th judicial district, and from 1917 to 1919 he was the judge for the newly created El Paso County Court at Law. Brady prosecuted several high-profile murder cases as a district attorney, including of Agnes Orner, and in a death-penalty case that has since been termed a "legal lynching" of a Mexican boy charged with killing a white woman.
On November 3, 2020 El Paso County elected the mayor of El Paso, Texas, four members of city council, two county commissioners, county sheriff, state senator, and five state representatives. El Pasoans voted for members of the House of Representatives of the United States from the 16th and 23rd districts of Texas, district attorney, United States senator, and president of the United States.
George Wythe Baylor was a Confederate cavalry officer from Texas, and a veteran of many battles of the American Civil War. He was also a noted lawman and frontiersman with the Texas Rangers.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO), founded in 1861, handles law enforcement in El Paso County, Colorado. The Office is headed by the County Sheriff, an elected official.
Wiles will retire upon the end of his term on Dec. 31, 2024.
Sheriff Jimmy Apodaca served the rest of Samaniego's term when Samaniego died in 2007.
Around the time of the announcement, Samaniego, a Democrat defenestrated in April by the local party for supporting Republicans,...
...and joined the El Paso Police Department in 1956. He advanced through the ranks of the police department and eventually retired after 28 years of service as Deputy Chief of Police. He was elected Sheriff of El Paso County in 1984 and was re-elected five times.
...Ramon A. Montes, Sheriff of El Paso County, was indicted on three counts of official misconduct on November 10, 1982. Montes was admitted to bond on the same date and remained free on bond throughout his trial, ending December 13, 1982.
The last sheriff, Ray Montes, was convicted of official misconduct over certain peculiarities in the way his office auctioned impounded vehicles. His predecessor, Mike Sullivan, too left amid charges he had used public workers to do work on his home. He was also convicted of official misconduct.
The Eastland Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in an unpublished opinion, holding that the inclusion of an instruction to the jury on the law of parties was not warranted by the evidence and constituted reversible error.
The present sheriff of El Paso County is the former Chief Deputy Mike Sullivan. Sheriff Sullivan took office in 1965.
Mike Sullivan, who served as County Sheriff until August 14, 1978, and Ray Montes, who succeeded Sullivan...
He was the first man fired since Sheriff Wesley Smith took over the office last Friday.
Rapley took the position as jail chef when Chris P. Fox went in as sheriff in January, 1933.
In 1932 Fox decided to run against Tom Armstrong for sheriff. Fox was elected and served as sheriff until 1941, when he took over as general manager of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
Judge Edwards was 73 years of age, and is survived by his widow, one son, assistant city attorney and former sheriff Peyton J. Edwards, ...[ page needed ]
El Paso County Sheriff Peyton J. Edwards (1910–1916).(photo caption "From the Hughes Personal Photo Album, courtesy of the Texas Ranger hall of Fame and Museum, Waco, Texas.)
He was chief of police during the latter part of the Morehead administration and the early part of the administration of Capt. Charles Davis. He was elected Sheriff for two terms and retired when sheriff P. J. Edwards took charge of the office.
...and filled out the unexpired term of the late J. H. Boone when he died in 1906.(The quote is misleading. Boone did die in 1906 but he resigned, and Comstock took over, in 1905.)
...a portrait of El Paso Sheriff James H. Boone; ...
...was chosen sheriff of El Paso county, in which position he rendered capable and efficient service for more than eight years, resigning from the office on the 1st of July, 1905.
Later Mr. Boone was elected sheriff of El Paso county and succeeded himself in that office. In 1905 Mr. Boone resigned to devote his entire time to Washington park, a part of which he leased from the city. He was succeeded as sheriff by J. H. Comstock.
Sheriff Frank Simmons did not appear eager to take him on as county deputy.
To replace him, Mayor Campbell had appointed former county sheriff H. R. Hillebrand, who served until the summer of 1897.
James H. White was elected sheriff on November 4, 1884, re-elected November 2, 1886, and November 6, 1888, and served until November 4, 1890.
Benito Gonzalez, sheriff and collection of El Paso county, on certified accounts for the years 1878 and 1879, amounting to $5410.65.