SLEEPING SICKNESS, BLACKOUTS, PLAGUE SHERIFF'S DEPT.

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Remember our post of December 2021, when Cameron County Sheriff Deputy Ramblado Rivera (above) – weary after striking fear into the hearts of criminals who may have been tempted to commit crimes in the parking lot of the Dancy Building – caught a power nap in his old unit to rest his bones after hours of eagle-eyed vigilance?

Apparently, that epidemic of catching power naps while on the job is catching on in the sheriff's department and has now struck another worthy lawman.

Reports have surfaced that just a few days ago, Omar Lara, a Cameron County Sheriff's Department deputy, a member of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and also a member of the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT), who was part of a contingent of deputies that the department has assigned to assist the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District security to prevent and assist in active-shooting situations in the wake of the Uvalde ISD mass shooting, was also caught a'nappin.

Well, imagine the embarrassment when school personnel came upon their guardian angel asleep – and possibly drunk (strong smell of alcohol, as the mantra goes) – inside his unit at Long Elementary School. Or was he taking a much-needed power nap while jealously protecting the safety of the kiddos? Or it could be that maybe he had been faking it to trick would-be-shooters to desist when they saw his patrol unit in the parking lot?

Alcohol abuse seems to be a plague on the department, although there will be no Facebook posted by Sheriff Eric Garza to inform the county residents of the latest incident. But that's about par for the course.

For example, it was Ramblado, if you'll remember, who took front stage in the Cameron County
District Attorney's Office investigation into the alleged crash of Sheriff Eric Garza's county-issued Dodge Ram 2020 unit in early September 2021 that was later fixed in Santa Maria – Rivera's hometown –  without reporting the incident to the county's damage control officers.

Service and maintenance records show that the truck had not been fueled during the month it was allegedly being repaired in Santa Maria. Rivera, a mechanic, was employed in a jailer's slot but then placed in charge of the department's fleet.

Since the crash was not reported and a private towing company hauled it to Santa Maria, there was also no identification of the driver or a substance abuse examination to determine whether the driver (Sheriff Garza?) had been under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

The DA's Office investigators are said to have interviewed Rivera in the probe into the crash and subsequent cover up.

In the case of Lara, we are seeking confirmation from county sources and will try to determine whether the appropriate protocols were followed after such incidents.