September 12, 2007
El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego, an El Paso institution with a reputation that goes statewide and beyond, announced his retirement at a press conference Wednesday morning.
In a room overflowing with media and well-wishers from the Sheriff's Department, many with tears in their eyes, Samaniego said, “there comes a time when you have to be wise enough to know it’s time for somebody else.”
Samaniego, sheriff for more than two decades, stated that he would finish out his current term, which is set to end on Dec. 31, 2008. He will not seek reelection, he said, due to his health conditions. Samaniego recently took a medical leave of absence to treat spots found in his lungs. He also had a cancer-ridden kidney removed.
“I’m making the announcement because I think there are other people qualified and they are not making an announcement because of me,” Samaniego said.
With the Democratic primary to elect the party’s nominee for sheriff set for March 4, 2008, Samaniego said he was not supporting anybody at this point. “I was hoping Chief Deputy (Jimmy) Apodaca (Jr.) would be my replacement, but we waited too long,” he stated.
The filing period ends in a couple of months, and Samaniego said he'd wait to see who files before endorsing a candidate.
After the news conference, Apodaca, who has run the department in Samaniego's absence, was asked repeatedly whether he would run for sheriff. For the most part, he responded with a solid "no," but left the door open a crack by adding "as of right now." Apodaca said he worked with Samaniego for 30 years, starting at the El Paso Police Department.
Samaniego, Apodaca said, "had been a great sheriff. It's a sad day, but he's earned it. ... When you look for integrity in the dictionary, there's his picture."
Samaniego would not discuss other potential candidates. One of them is thought to be his spokesman, Rick Glancey, who would not comment on the possibility. "I just work for the sheriff," he said. "Today is the sheriff's day, nobody's day but his."
Samaniego was elected to six four-year terms as sheriff. The previous longest-tenured sheriff was Mike Sullivan, who Samaniego said served 12 years before being thrown out of office. “I put in 24 years, and I dare anyone to match that,” Samaniego said.
He said he almost did not seek a sixth term.
“In the last election I said goodbye . . . and then I changed my mind overnight,” he said. He changed his mind, he said, because the three candidates “put all together wouldn’t make one good sheriff.”
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Samaniego has been in law enforcement for more than 50 years, starting as a patrolman in the El Paso Police Department, according to his biography. [link]
He received numerous awards for his work, including the City of El Paso Conquistador Award and the County of El Paso Eagle Award. A graduate of El Paso Community College, he served five years in the U.S. Navy before joining the El Paso Police Department.
He retired as deputy chief of police in 1984, when he ran successfully for sheriff. According to his bio, he made a name for himself at the Police Department for pursuing an investigation into corrupt police officers in 1975. His investigation led to creation of the El Paso Special Commission on Crime, and, according to his bio, "the Chief of Police and one Assistant Chief resigned under fire, a second Assistant Chief was terminated, a prominent local businessman was convicted, and a large burglary ring was broken."
A 1972 graduate of the FBI National Academy, in 1985 Samaniego took over a sheriff's department "reeling from scandals. Two of the three immediate past sheriffs had been convicted and removed from office. Several high-ranking officials had been convicted in federal court of violating the civil rights of prisoners. Many employees were qualified for food stamps due to low wages."
The department grew under his watch from 500 to more than 1,000 employees by 2003, his bio states. In 1997, the new jail annex, training academy and patrol station were renamed the Leo Samaniego Law Enforcement Complex. In 2001, the department became the first in Texas to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
More recently, Samaniego gained a national reputation for speaking out on the issue of border security. On Feb. 7, 2006, he testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security in a presentation titled "Armed and Dangerous: Confronting the Problem of Border Incursions." [link]
Around that time, he was criticized by many in El Paso and the state for Operation Linebacker, an initiative of the governor's office aimed at using sheriffs officers to enforce border laws. Samaniego set up checkpoints in the Lower Valley, where residents claimed they were being asked for proof of citizenship.
Samaniego halted the checkpoints, but not until the ACLU and Border Network for Human Rights, with support from others, such as state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh,
had severely criticized the tactics.
"According to families and individuals living in the communities of San Elizario, Agua Dulce, Sparks, and Montana Vista, the Sheriff’s Department has been holding immigration roadblocks and conducting immigration raids in their communities," stated a news release from the ACLU. [link]
"Mothers expressed fear in taking their children to school, and other community members spoke of fear of going to the store or calling the Sheriff’s Office in the event of a crime, emergency, or even domestic violence.
"In June of 2006 the communities of East El Paso presented a petition signed by more than 3,000 persons asking for the resignation of Sheriff Leo Samaniego and a halt to the policy of harassment held by the Sheriff’s Office," stated the release.
Prior to that, in May of 2006, activist Carl Starr filed a lawsuit against Samaniego's department, alleging racial profiling. [npt background]
When asked at Wednesday's news conference to respond to his critics, Samaniego appeared to start making a gesture, which drew laughter from the crowd of sheriffs department employees, but stopped, and then said, “I just want the public to know I gave 100 percent to make this department the best not in just Texas, but in the U.S.”
In what appeared to be at least a partially tongue-in-cheek reference to the controversy, Samaniego also said, “after the job the ACLU and others did on me, I don’t know if I could be reelected.”
He said he was disappointed, however, in Commissioners Court, if not for its failure to defend him, then for its allowing a sloppy process in regards to the petition. Samaniego said the petitions against him were not "legal petitions, just names on a list that grew from 2,000 to 3,000 overnight."
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Samaniego's announced retirement now leaves the field open, with two candidates announced already: former El Paso Police Department Chief Carlos Leon and former U.S. Marshal Alejandro "Al" Patiño.
Leon, who retired as El Paso chief of police in 2003, ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary against Samaniego in 2004.
"I'm hoping to make it to the front of the line this time," Leon said in a previous Newspaper Tree article. "I'm very excited about the campaign."
Leon served as chief for four and a half years of his 29 years in law enforcement.
Wednesday, he said, "I'm still focused on my campaign, I'm proud of my record. We're going to be running a clean campaign. I understand he made some comments but that's political rhetoric, to be expected."
According to a news release sent out by the campaign, Leon will "address gang activity and drug enforcement with innovative approaches, and will involve the community through the development of advisory boards and community policing concepts to develop long-term strategies."
As chief, the release states, "Carlos’ efforts at combating drug trafficking and drug abuse resulted in the implementation of the highly successful Stash House Unit, a nationally acclaimed program aimed at stopping drugs where they are stored in preparation for delivery.
"He and the County Attorney developed an aggressive and highly successful anti-gang initiative that was aimed at eliminating gang activity in Central El Paso with the filing of civil actions against known gang members. He embraced Community Policing concepts by developing citizen’s advisory boards and assigning a myriad of officers to the cities neighborhoods."
Carlos Leon is the father of Rene Leon, assistant editor at Newspaper Tree. Rene Leon will not be part of his father's campaign, nor will he be involved in coverage of the campaign.
Patiño was not immediately available for comment.
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Sito Negron can be contacted at sito@newspapertree.com, or at 915.351.0605.