Recent events have made me take another look at the "open" records that have been circulating about Darrell Huffman. I looked closely at them. I had questions. I called Mr. Huffman and asked those questions, he answered. Using what he told me, and the record I have constructed the following timeline:
11/22/2004 to 9/9/2006, Patrol Officer, Crowley Police Department.
Time: 10 months, 18 days.
5/2/2006 to 10/8/2008, this is the time period, from the day he started with the Tarrant County Constable department, until the day he applied for the full-time deputy constable position.
Time: 2 years, 3 months, 6 days.
The date, 10/8/2008 is the date that Huffman said he applied for the job. If he had let the date that most people assumed stand, 10/22/2008, he would have given himself 14 extra days. I note this because he could have, and he didn't.
According to the minimum requirements set forth on the Tarrant County.com website, 30 hours of college is equal to one year of law enforcement experience. Huffman had 33 hours of college when he applied for the job. Therefore, another year of law enforcement experience is his.
Time: 1 year.
If these times are added together, 10 months, 18 days + 2 years 3 months, 6 days + 1 year, they equal 4 years, 4 months and 24 days, or 4 years 4.8 months.
4 years, 4.8 months....7.2 months shy of the five year requirement. This is the amount of law enforcement experience Darrell Huffman had when he applied for the full-time Constables position.
Why then did Constable Hilger allow Huffman to begin work as a full-time Constable when he did not meet the five years experience requirement? I haven't talked to Constable Hilger but I believe that as an elected official, he is more accountable to the people of Tarrant County than a civil service worker would be and therefore, his own judgment has larger sway in these matters. And in the Constable's judgment, Huffman had met the requirements.
Although officially classed as a part-time worker, Huffman had worked a 40 hour week for most of the weeks he had been employed by the Tarrant County Constable's Department. He even had to take a leave of absence in order to keep from violating the contract he made with the county to not work full-time.
He was hired as a full-time Constable, not because he was a good old boy, as some have suggested, but because he works hard and, by his own initiative, was already trained for the position that he was applying for.
Darrell Huffman is, in my estimation, a decent man and a hard worker. I will be supporting and voting for Jason McCaffity in the upcoming primary. Not because I have been swayed against Huffman by any of this, but because Jason McCaffity has the edge in education and executive experience and I think he would make a better Constable. However, if Huffman wins, I believe that position will still be in capable hands.
Note: This is my take on this subject. If anyone would like to point out mistakes in logic, reason, or facts, please do so. I believe that the beginning of wisdom starts with the acknowledgement of one's own ignorance. Joel Downs
