The Smith County Commissioners Court appointed Shawn Scott, a retired law enforcement officer and security company executive, as Interim Precinct 2 Constable on Tuesday, October 5.
Smith County Precinct 1 Commissioner Neal Franklin serves the same area as the Precinct 2 Constable so he led the search in finding an interim appointment.
He said the unfortunate scenario that occurred in the Precinct 2 Constable’s Office when Josh Black was removed from office was a dark moment that they would get past, and the first step would be appointing an interim. He said he had 10 people who wanted the position. While two withdrew their names for consideration and one did not live in the precinct, he was very encouraged by so many people interested in serving the position. He said it promises to be a highly competitive election next year.
Scott is a retired police officer and serves as director of operations for a security company, Summit Off Duty Services, of Irving.
He is founder and serves as executive director of a law enforcement and corporate security nonprofit association, Robbery Investigators of Texas, based in Fort Worth, and he is as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Tyler Junior College.
For more than 20 years, Scott worked for the Round Rock Police Department and served on the FBI Central Texas Violent Crimes Task Force. He was appointed the bank robbery coordinator for the San Antonio Division of the FBI.
From 1993-1998, he was a Lindale Police Officer. He grew up in Tyler and earned degrees from John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College, East Texas Police Academy, LeTourneau University and Sam Houston State University.
After discussing the appointment in executive sessions during the last three Commissioners Court meetings, the court unanimously appointed Scott as Interim Smith County Precinct 2 Constable, until a special election can be held in 2022. Former Constable Josh Black was removed from office in September after being found guilty of official oppression by a Smith County Jury.
Scott will begin serving as soon as he takes the oath of office and meets the bonding requirements.