By Kris Smith
The office of Constable is the longest formed law enforcement body, stemming all the way back to the Roman Empire.
During the Norman Conquest of England, William the Conqueror appointed constables to supervise individual boroughs, similar to modern day sheriffs.
On March 5, 1823, the first Texas Constable, Thomas Alley, assumed his role in Stephen F. Austin’s original colony. Alley was sworn into his office by newly elected alcalde of the Colorado District, John Tomlinson. Constable Alley became the first law enforcement officer in the State of Texas.
If you remember your Texas History, you will recall the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836 called for a county election for a sheriff and a ‘sufficient number of constables.’ During the decade long republic, 38 constables were elected in a dozen counties – the first in Nacogdoches County and 13 in Harris County. According to records, violent crime was rare, except for the occasional horse or cattle thief traveling from Arkansas or Louisiana. Most indictments were for non-lethal crimes such as illegal gambling or fighting.
After Texas became a part of the United States, legislature stated ‘the Constable should be the conservator for peace throughout the county.’ Duties included the suppression of all riots, fights, routs, affrays and unlawful assemblies and the constable’s duty ‘shall be to keep the peace, cause all offenders to be arrested, and taken before a justice of the peace.’
When Texas left the union in 1861, many county offices remained empty or were held by less competent men than previously held the office. During the Civil War, The Union Military appointed over two hundred men to state and county offices, leaving 1/3 of elected offices vacant. Many counties had no constables from 1865 to 1869. Austin, DeWitt, Fayette, McLennan, and our own Navarro County had only one serving as constable – appointed by General Edward RS Canby.
The Constitution of 1876, designed to distribute control of Texas government, reduced the power of many state officials, and mandated that constables would be elected by precinct. In 1954, an amendment extended their office terms from two to four years.
State law defines that Constables are associate members of the Texas Department of Public Safety under Texas Government Code 411.009, which is defined and given the same authority as their brothers, The Texas Rangers. However, they are more commonly recognized as the officers of the justice of the peace court. Each constable have the power to appoint deputies to work under his authority. Each deputy is given the same authority as the constable. A constable has been called the “Peoples Police” because of their Constitutional origin and local elected representation of the people.
The Sheriff of each Texas county is responsible for enforcing the law and the management of the county jail. Additionally, each Texas county is divided into at least four precincts, but some have more. Tarrant County has eight. Each precinct must elect a law enforcement representative, Constable, and a local judicial representative, a justice of the peace. The Constable’s duty is to uphold the law and order for the precinct to which they are elected to protect.
Also, a Texas Constable is given Constitutional authority to enforce both civil and criminal laws.
Texas DPS Troopers, Texas Rangers, and local municipal police officers are given the authority to only enforce criminal laws.
The elected Constables of Navarro County are Precinct 1 Constable Mike Davis, Precinct Two Constable Dan Williams, Precinct 3 Constable Bobby Rachel, and Precinct 4 Kipp Thomas.
In Freestone County, Constable Buck Bonner has led Precinct 1 for nearly forty years, only being challenged a handful of times. The remaining three precinct Constables are Precinct 2 Constable Daniel Ramsey, Precinct 3 Richard McGowan, and serving the Wortham, Kirvin, and Streetman area is Precinct 4 Constable Ken Sessions.
There are approximately 770 elected constables in the State of Texas. To this day, Texas Constables, and Texas State Troopers all work very close together and both use the justice of the peace as their primary judge/court.
Constables have the authority to enforce almost every law in the State of Texas. Some Constable offices may have traffic divisions or criminal investigation divisions as well as patrol and special response teams.
Constables have statewide jurisdiction and like the sheriff, they report only to the Governor and citizens that elect them to serve.
 The Texas Constable office is not without danger. It is estimated more than 90 Texas Constables have lost their lives in the line of duty, including 67 in the 20th century.Â
The NavCo Chronicle would like to thank Freestone County Constable Buck Bonner and Navarro County Constable Mike Davis for their help to honor our Constables for National Law Enforcement Month.
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