Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez is sounding the alarm over what he calls an urgent crisis in deputy pay disparities.
Sheriff Gonzalez was joined by Harris County Deputies Organization President Sgt. Jose Lopez at the briefing, which took place at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office headquarters at 1200 Baker Street in Houston.
During Friday’s press conference, Gonzalez and other county leaders raised concerns over an “urgent and emerging public safety situation” tied to deputy pay disparities. Gonzalez warned that the county is falling further behind neighboring jurisdictions in compensating peace officers, risking public safety if swift action isn’t taken.
“We cannot wait any longer to make an even more significant investment in the men and women who risk their lives each day to protect ours,” Gonzalez said. He noted that while some increases to deputy and detention officer pay have been made in recent years, they haven’t kept pace with surrounding agencies.
Lopez, president of the Harris County Deputies Organization, echoed those concerns.
“Our deputies are angry, disappointed, and tired,” Lopez said. “We stand while other agencies are receiving substantial raises. We’re being asked to do more with less — less support, less staffing, and less pay.”
Lopez warned that if Harris County doesn’t offer competitive pay with departments like Houston Police, it will face a “mass exodus” of experienced deputies, directly impacting emergency response times and public safety services.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, a former sheriff himself, called the issue a crisis that’s persisted for decades.
“This has been a chronic history of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office,” Garcia said. “We’ve told employees to just be happy, work, and one day enjoy their pension. This job is dangerous. Some may never get to that point.”
Gonzalez, Lopez, and Garcia are calling on county commissioners to make deputy pay a top priority in the upcoming budget cycle, warning that public safety depends on it.
Background
In a letter sent to Harris County officials earlier this week, Sheriff Gonzalez urged leaders to make deputy pay a top priority in the upcoming budget cycle. The sheriff said, despite recent pay increases, Harris County deputies are still falling behind their counterparts in surrounding agencies.
He noted that while a proposal he introduced last year called for incremental raises over three years, new pay hikes in nearby jurisdictions have made those plans outdated.
“As we approach a new budget cycle, surrounding jurisdictions are approving aggressive pay raises that seriously threaten Harris County’s ability to recruit and retain the best law enforcement talent,” Gonzalez wrote. “This year, we must do better and finally close the gap.”
You can read the full letter below:
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