Mike Gleason sworn in as new Williamson County sheriff
GEORGETOWN, Texas - Mike Gleason is from Williamson County and being sworn as the new sheriff is a dream come true. He said he will hit the ground running.
"We have a huge backlog of cases because the previous administration just wasn't working them," said Gleason.
Gleason said under his leadership he will immediately tackle old cases, and even bring some back in house. "We've had issues trying to pawn everything off to the Texas Rangers, the Attorney General's Office, local jurisdictions. They don't want them, so we invited those cases back," said Gleason.
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Along with that, Gleason has already begun to replace some of the staff. He feels over the years, citizens have lost trust in the sheriff's office.
"It was the jail being shut down, in-custody deaths, your training facility being shut down, cheating on cases, abusing cadets, where does it stop?" said Gleason.
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Former Sheriff Robert Chody filed a lawsuit against Gleason, contesting the November election, alleging fraud. Gleason said he did nothing wrong.
"It’s frivolous. There's nothing to it at all. It's an attempt to make me spend money. It was actually humorous when I read it," said Gleason.
Elected officials have a duty to uphold. "The greatest gift you can offer our constituents is hope. Hope that where they live is safe. Hope that where they live is safe," said Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell.
RELATED: Mike Gleason unseats Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody
That is exactly what the new sheriff says he will do…provide not only hope but protection.
"We have to rebuild the trust and we do that by hiring people with integrity. The previous administration only hired people with loyalty," said Gleason.
FOX 7 Austin reached out to former Sheriff Robert Chody, he declined to comment on the lawsuit.