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Daniel R. Butts was born in San Antonio Tx and his family moved to Medina County in 1960. He graduated from Natalia High School in 1971. He joined the United States Coast Guard where he served until his discharge in 1975. He attended Southwest Texas State University where he studied Agriculture Education until he left college and went to work in the South Texas Oil Field. In 1979 he applied for and was hired by the Texas Department of Public Safety. He graduated from the DPS academy in October of 1979 where he was assigned to Bandera County as A Highway Patrol Trooper. Dan and his wife Arlene have been married for 41 years and have two children who graduated from Bandera High School.
While working for the Department of Public Safety he spent his first 22 years stationed in Bandera County as a Highway Patrol Trooper. In 2001 he was promoted to Sergeant and worked in Alpine and Eagle Pass before transferring to The DPS Academy in Austin where he was the Department armorer and was the lead instructor for the Recruit Schools and Firearms instructors Schools. He helped to open the new DPS firearms training facility in Florence Texas. In 2004 he was given an opportunity to transfer back to Medina County where he oversaw the Sergeant area which included Bandera County. He retired from the Department of Public Safety with over 31 years of service much of it in Bandera County.
In 2012 he ran and was elected Sheriff of Bandera County where he has served for the last 11 years. He has worked to put trust and pride back into Bandera County Law Enforcement. When he took over as Sheriff the Sheriff’s office was one of the lowest paid agencies in the area. During the past 11 years he has worked with the County Judge and the Commissioner’s Court to increase the pay for Deputies, Jailers and Dispatchers. During this time frame our salaries have increased but the other agencies in the area have also seen increases and we are still one of the lowest paid agencies in the area. In addition to this over the last three years it has become increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified applicants. Senate Bill 22 has authorized Sheriff’s offices in counties with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 state grant amounts of $350,000 of supplemental salary money. The Sheriff has received permission from the Commissioner’s court to apply for this grant money and the application has been filed with the state. This money will be used to increase salaries and allow Bandera County to attract and retain more qualified applicants.
Over the last several years many of the calls responded by the Deputies in the County have been Animal related calls. The Sheriff’s office has been assigned two Commissioned Animal Control Officers for the last 11 years. Since many of these calls do not require a Commissioned officer the Sheriff requested, and the Commissioners approved the establishment of a Non-Commissioned Animal Control office separate from the Sheriff’s Office. This office responds to calls during the work week and reduces the number of calls for patrol and allows them to spend more time as a deterrent to crime on preventative patrol.
Over the last 10 years the Sheriff’s Office has applied for and received over $435,000 in State Grant money with the County only having to provide $15,000 in matching funds. This was again done with the corporation and the approval of the Commissioner’s court. This money was used to provide his officers with Mobile Radios, new Camera systems in their cars, Body worn cameras, Portable radios, Rifle resistant body armor, radio repeaters, and most recently Ballistic Shields which can be used in the event of an active shooter event. All this equipment is there to assist our officers to better serve the people of Bandera County and make this a safer place to live. Sheriff Butts and the Commissioners have worked with the Bandera Independent School District to establish an agreement for the Sheriff’s office to provide School Resource officers for the various campuses. The Sheriff’s office currently provides two officers who are dedicated to the School District with plans to add two more in the future. The Sheriff’s Office has also reached out to several of the private schools in Bandera County to advise them on their School Safety plans and assist them in providing a secure environment for their students. In addition to Resource Officers, he has authorized his office to sponsor Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (Alerrt) with Bandera School District. This training is held to train our officers as well as members of the Emergency Medical Services, Fire Departments, and other Law Enforcement agencies. These classes teach Emergency responders the latest tactics in dealing with active shooter situations. We have had two classes so far with and additional two classes planned for March. We will continue to host these classes to better train our officers and emergency personnel. The Sheriff is currently working with Commissioners’ Court, Emergency Management, and other Emergency providers in the county to replace and update the county communication system. This upgrade will replace our Dispatch equipment and provide us with an up-to-date communication system which will better serve the emergency needs of Bandera County. The Commissioners’ Court is in the process of converting the County to a new reporting system which will replace the system that has been in place for over 30 years. The new system will give the Sheriff’s office a more efficient, faster, simpler system which will save time spent in the office and allow our officers to spend more time on patrol in the County. This system will make information readily available to the other offices in the County as soon as it’s entered. The District Attorney office in Kerrville can also be given direct access to the prepared case files. The Sheriff reported that there have been ten people arrested for murder in Bandera County in the last four years. Of these ten arrests there have been six convictions, two individuals are in jail awaiting trial and two have been arrested and released on bond awaiting trial. The Sheriff also reported two unsolved cases and one individual with outstanding murder warrants. The open cases and wanted fugitive will continue to be worked with the assistance of various Law Enforcement agencies. All leads are being followed up on as they are developed.
Sheriff Butts is the first to admit that he cannot do everything by himself. It takes a dedicated group of Officers, Jailer and Dispatchers to protect and serve the people of this County. This group works hard every day to provide this service. To accomplish anything in County Government it takes a good working relationship with The County Judge, County Commissioners and the other Departments and agencies in the County. He has worked to develop this relationship through trust and devoted service to the County. Through his effective leadership skills, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to move forward and protect the citizens of and visitors to Bandera County. He asks for your support and Vote in the March 5th Republican Primary Election.
