Late Friday, Hopkins County Republican Chair Donnie Wisenbaker released an announcment by Warren Mitchell regarding Mitchell’s candidacy for Hopkins County Sheriff. Mitchell is the fourth to enter the bid for the Republican nomination to be determined in the 2016 Primary Election. (No picture of Mr. Mitchell was made available.)
His statement follows:
Today I am announcing that I will be a candidate for the office of Hopkins County Sheriff in the upcoming Republican Primary in March 2016.
I was born and raised in Sulphur Springs. I am a 1984 graduate of Sulphur Springs High School.
I grew up in the law enforcement family with my father, Alton Mitchell, reaching the rank of Lieutenant in the Criminal Investigation Division for the Sulphur Springs Police Department.
I have been in law enforcement for the last twenty seven years with twenty four of those years being assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. I have been the senior investigator within the division for the past twenty years. I have obtained a Master Peace Officer License and Instructor certificate.
In 2012 I was awarded a national award by the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children for my work in the area of Collaborative Leadership in Law Enforcement.
I have obtained the certification by the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children to be an instructor for their training program. I have presented the training program numerous times over the last three years within the state, training numerous law enforcement officers, employees of Child Protective Services, and civic volunteers.
I am currently the State Executive Vice President for the Texas Narcotic Officers Association. I will be state President of the association in 2016/2017.
As the Sheriff of Hopkins County I will serve the citizens of our county by working hand in hand with the professional men and women of the Sheriff’s Office and other departments within the county to carry on and move forward with the level of professionalism that Sheriff Adams has required to be a part of the Sheriff’s Office during his time in office.
I feel that we are living during a time where illegal drugs are a controlling factor in the lives of many. That being said I believe that combatting the drug problem from the user level to the distributor and trafficker is a must to lower our crime rate overall within the county. Also by doing this it will lead to even greater amounts of property recovery and persons prosecuted for the crimes committed as many of the drug users are committing the crimes to support their drug usage.
The children of our county are the future of our county and they should be able to live in a safe environment free of volatile chemicals and substances that hurt them both physically and mentally. I will put in place a collaborative system of investigating crimes committed against children by those that use, possess, or sell drugs within our county.
I believe that the thorough investigation of all crimes reported to the Sheriff’s Office is necessary to provide the citizens of our county the level of protection that they deserve.
My wife, Stephanie, and I have lived in the Birthright area for the past eighteen years where we are raising our children.
