Bastrop sheriff seeks reelection, challenger says office needs new leader

Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
By Andy Sevilla
Posted Oct. 6, 2020

Is the Bastrop County sheriff’s office operating efficiently?

Democratic candidate for sheriff Mike Renck says it’s not and he’d like to provide the leadership the department needs. Incumbent Republican Sheriff Maurice Cook says the office has vastly improved under his watch and he’d like to continue the works he’s started.

“In 2016 I decided to offer my education, experience and training in law enforcement as a candidate for sheriff of Bastrop County,” Cook said. “When I was fortunate enough to be elected, I found deputies and a staff that were eager to make the changes we all felt were needed. Together, we have made this a sheriff’s office that the county can be proud of. I want to continue what we have begun because there still is work to be done.”

Renck, however, said continued budget constraints will require efficient management of the department so that deputies may focus on major crimes against persons and property.

“I have the experience and ability to make the needed improvements, including more extensive training for sheriff’s office personnel,” Renck said. “Improvement also is needed in crime prevention, solving crimes, making the department’s operations transparent, and relations with the public.”

Renck said the county’s population growth has brought about increased crimes — from felonies committed against persons and property to drug manufacturing and sales — and instead of focusing on that priority, he said Cook has been using the department’s limited resources to chase undocumented immigrants by stopping Hispanics for minor vehicle infractions under the guise of reducing accidents. He said immigration enforcement rests on the federal government, not the sheriff’s office.

In 2018, Cook came under strong criticism from Democratic state lawmakers and religious and civil rights groups for conducting a “zero tolerance” traffic enforcement operation on the FM 535 and FM 812 corridors in western Bastrop County, a heavily Hispanic area.

Twenty-four people were arrested during the traffic enforcement; all but one of those arrested had Hispanic surnames.

At the time Cook said the operation was a routine law enforcement tactic, though he had never conducted a traffic operation of this kind since taking office. He said the operation was prompted by requests from civic leaders in the area who asked for a greater law enforcement presence, and had nothing to do with targeting anyone.

If reelected, Cook said his priority will be to make the county a safer place to live, work and raise families by continuing “an aggressive law enforcement program aimed at reducing crime by enforcing the ‘rule of law.’”

“This may sound simplistic, but experience has proven that enforcing the law, not only reactively but also proactively, will make any county safer,” he said.

Among his other priorities, Cook said, will be promoting professionalism through leadership and training, as evidenced by a command staffer being selected to attend the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., For an 11-week leadership program. He said he will also focus on promoting a program to keep personnel healthy and safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Renck said he’d like to restore trust in the sheriff’s office by operating in a transparent manner.

Renck joined Cook in pledging to also focus on increased training, specifically to detect and stop drug manufacturing.

Cook, a 77-year-old master peace officer, attorney and former head of the Texas Rangers, said his age, training, experience, education and record as sheriff are the strengths he will continue to bring to the office if he’s reelected.

“I have lived up to my campaign promises and continue to be a working sheriff,” Cook said. “I show up for work and I’m always available 24 hours so the staff can call to seek advice or make a report of any significant situation. I use my skill set to make decisions on a daily basis. There is no question that being Sheriff is a 24-hour job, often seven days a week.”

Renck, 62, a fourth-generation county residents, said his grandfather and father were police officers, and he worked for two years in the Bastrop County sheriff’s office under Sheriff Keirsey and then spent 21 years as a law enforcement officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons — experience that will help him lead the department.

“I will be an active sheriff, out in the field with patrol officers, and accessible to all of the county’s residents,” Renck said. “I will bring in an experienced, diverse management team and bring federal-level corrections training to the jail staff. My goal is zero deaths caused by patrol officers and zero deaths in the jail.”

Election Day is Nov. 3. Early voting runs from Oct. 13-30.