Lewisville officer to run for Denton county sheriff

After nearly 20 years in law enforcement, Jesse Flores, a Lewisville police officer, announced his candidacy for Denton County sheriff.

"I feel like this is the next step for me," Flores said. "I was taught to put other people's needs before mine and when people ask for your help, you should help them without compromising your integrity. With the sheriff's job, I want to have an open door policy and be in the communities to learn residents' expectations. I want to be seen and be heard. I also want to provide more resources for the communities."

Flores began his career with the Lewisville Police Department (LPD) in August 1992. He was a patrol officer until 1997 when he was assigned to Lewisville High School as its school resource officer. He stayed at LHS until 2000. From 2000-2001, he was part of the street crimes division, directing the patrol unit.

From 2001-2006, he returned to campus as the school resource officer for the LHS North campus. While there, he worked with Tommy Ellington, who was the principal at the time, and Andy Plunkett.

"I was overwhelmed with the leadership of Tommy Ellington and his staff and Andy Plunkett," Flores said. "It very team-orientated at that campus, and it was an honor and privilege to be asked to take the school resource officer position at LHS North."

Plunkett said Flores has a true compassion for helping others.

"Jesse Flores lives his life each day with the goal of making our city a great place to live. The things he has done for our schools for the past 15 years is too long to list," Plunkett said. "He's a great role model for our young people. I have the upmost respect for him and the upmost confidence if elected that he will do a great job for the county."

During his time at LHS North, Flores said he recognized the campus as a foundation to build something important. While there, he helped organize the campus crew, which included students and teacher sponsors with the support of the LPD. He said campus crew was a coordinated effort through himself and the LHS North faculty and staff.

"We were able to have the support of citizens, the school, the fire department and the police department," Flores said. "The whole idea was to allow students to brainstorm ideas to make the campus safer."

Students applied and interviewed for a chance to be a part of the campus crew, and between 100-150 were selected.

"The students in the campus crew were expected to mentor other students and give others a positive influence to follow," Flores said.

One of the programs the campus crew is in charge of is the yearly DWI re-enactment. Each year in the spring at LHS North, the LPD, the Lewisville Fire Department (LFD) and the campus crew demonstrate what could happen if the wrong choice is made.

Each year, the organizers brainstorm ideas as to what the current trends with teenagers are; in the past, the program has focused on texting while driving and bullying. Flores said they always aim to have the re-enactment deal with a current trend, but it always leads up to a DWI crash.

The program begins with the freshmen students hearing from a guest speaker who was a victim of that year's trend, and the speaker shares their story. The students then watch a video featuring actors, who are members of the campus crew. The actors play out a scene that leads up to a car crash. Following a loud noise, students are directed outside the school where they see a DWI car crash.

"We work the crash scene as close as possible to what would really happen including the use of the Jaws of Life. Mulkey-Mason Funeral home even brings a hearse to the scene to transport the 'dead' students," Flores said. "The whole community comes together for this program. Our goal for reaching the 14-and 15-year olds is to reach the students before they're allowed to drive. We want to start them off with good behavior. Our desire is not to put fear in the students, but to educate them on the consequences of bad behavior."

In 2006, Flores was assigned to the Special Operations Unit as a neighborhood resource officer (NRO).

"I was given an opportunity to apply for the position, and I felt that I could provide more to the community in this position."

While Flores stays active in the DWI re-enactment program, he said as an NRO, he is able to expand his creativity as far as how to serve the community. His current role with the LPD is to support patrol officers and connect with businesses and residents.

"Patrol officers answer the calls and if they feel the situation could be helped by a neighborhood resource officer, they call us," Flores said.

There are four NROs and one sergeant. The four officers divide Lewisville into districts. Flores' district includes homes and businesses north of Bellaire Boulevard and west of Interstate 35E.

"One of my jobs is to get the crime rate and call rate lower in my district. I also conduct crime watch meetings," Flores said. "Working as a neighborhood resource officer has given me great skills to serve the community. I've been able to learn people's concerns and expectations and be a resource for them."

Now, Flores wants to be a resource for the whole county. He said he wants to come up with mentoring programs that will get everyone involved.

"I've been able to accomplish so much thanks to good supporters that I want to expand county-wide," Flores said. "I'm at my best right now only because I have great support of citizens."

Throughout his career, Flores has established the Lewisville Police Department Explorer Program and the campus crew program, and he developed an honorary extracurricular student-led activity, which embraces the building of students' self esteem, and promoting the prevention of crime and violence in the school. He was also the associate post advisor and later post advisor responsible for mentoring and educating youth within the scope of the Lewisville Police Department Explorer Program.

Flores has his Texas Master Peace Officer License. He is certified in crime prevention and child safety seat installation. He has the police instructor's license, which allows him to train other officers in an academy setting. Flores is also certified in juvenile investigations and bicycle patrol.

"I like to take on challenges. By running, my intent is to help citizens and provide resources that will benefit the county," Flores said. "To employees I offer consistency and fairness with competitive pay, fair disciplinary policies and promotions."

Flores lives in Denton with his wife, Kerry, and their son, Anthony, and daughter, Tori.

"We're a Christian family. My family is very excited that I'm running for office. My wife is like a rock, she's very supportive," Flores said. "I consider myself a conservative Republican."

Flores said since coming to Lewisville in 1992, he has seen the city change from a small town to a big community.

"I started my family in Denton County, and we've chosen to stay here," Flores said. "I think I was meant to make the difference here. I decided eight years ago that I wanted to run for office and since then I've been learning about what direction the sheriff's office was going. I think when voting, citizens should have a selection."

Flores said he and his campaign still need support from people who believe in him. He is holding a fundraiser from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at Don Camillo, 1400 North Corinth Street. Tickets are $30 and are available at www.voteforjesseflores.com or email jesseflores276@yahoo.com.

"Even though I am employed by the Lewisville Police Department, I run my campaign only when I'm off duty to avoid violating any city policies," Flores said. "I would like to thank everyone who's helped with my campaign. I am truly blessed to have the support of my friends and family. My promise to the county is that I will be working for them because I want to live and provide a safe county."

The primary election is currently set for April 3.

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