April is child abuse prevention awareness month. Let’s all do our part as parents and community members to educate and advocate for children in our county.
Children often report abuse to someone they trust. “The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The sheriff’s office has recently added several specialized pieces of equipment to assist deputies in being prepared to respond to all types of emergencies. We acquired a Mine Resistant Ambush Protection Vehicle (MRAP) through the Department of Defense Logistics Agency transfer program. The MRAP, valued at $733,000, was transferred to Texas County from Newton County with no purchase cost. The addition of this vehicle marks the first time the sheriff’s office has had a ballistic armored vehicle available for full-time use. In addition to ballistic armor protection, the MRAP is also capable of traveling in very rough terrain and some water rescue missions. The MRAP will be assigned to the Texas County Special Response tactical team and will be available for high-risk search warrants, active shooter situations and search and rescue. The unfortunate situation with multiple deputies shot in Christian County last month highlights the need for specialty protection vehicles like the MRAP.
The sheriff’s office has also acquired additional search and rescue resources for assignments in the Mark Twain National Forest. Two new utility vehicles and an all-terrain vehicle were acquired utilizing funds allotted to Texas County through the Forest Service Title III program. Also acquired through the Title III program was a new Skydio drone. The vehicles and drone will support search and rescue operations in accordance with the program guidelines. I am excited that we have been able to add these tools with no expenditures from the regular county budget.
March was a busy month for the deputies and me. On March 5, I participated in the meet and greet portion of the KY3 weather tour in Cabool along with CPD officers. The second week of March also revealed the tragic circumstances of the recovery of remains tied to a missing juvenile case and child abuse investigation. In addition to that major case taking place, I had mandatory sheriff’s training at the spring version of the Missouri Sheriff’s Conference.
In addition to answering many calls for service, deputies prepared written reports in March for the following categories: Stealing (12), Domestic Assault (10), Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (4), Harassment (3), Warrant Arrest (3), Abandoned Vehicle (3), Protection Order Violation (2), Assault (2), Peace Disturbance (2), Mental Health (2), Agency Assist (2), Arson (1), Trespassing (1), Tampering (1), Possessing a Controlled Substance (1), Identity Theft (1), Death Investigation (1), Fraud (1), Well-Being Check (1), Property Damage (1) and Sex Offense (1).
Sheriff Lindsey, keep up the good work!
Thank you sir for keep our officers’ safety at a high priority. We gotta love those men and women, our friends and neighbors, safe 24/7. I also have a question. Do our school safety officers have the body shield to carry and protect themselves if they need to walk to an active shooter?
Wow, an MRAP – hope your office never has to use it but it’s nice to have it if you ever need it! Thank you all for the hard work you & your department do for our local area, “huah!”