The Collin County sheriff and five of his deputies may soon be headed for counter-terrorism training at the invitation of the Israeli National Police.
Russell Schaffner, Collin County's deputy administrator, told Collin County commissioners at Monday's meeting the trip will be paid for with outside funds after county staff determined the trip was outside the scope of and duties of Sheriff's Office personnel.
"They'll be taking vacation time, and they're doing so voluntarily," Schaffner said.
U.S. law enforcement agencies training in Israel has been a source of controversyand other human rights organizations have cited Israeli police for human rights violations.
The agenda for the trip was shared with the Collin County commissioners privately according to to commissioners from Sheriff Jim Skinner.
"The trip will serve a public-safety purpose; namely, tours of public-security facilities, lectures, and training on public safety and lessons learned from Hamas鈥檚 attacks on October 7, 2023," Skinner wrote in the email.
Assistant Chief Cary Platt, who supervises the Sheriff's reserve program, offered to pay for the trip, which will cost $70,000 to $80,000 according to Skinner's email. Platt is not a paid employee and serves in a volunteer capacity. He to Skinner's reelection campaign in December 2023, where he listed his occupation as a self-employed real estate entrepreneur. According to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records, Platt joined the Collin County Sheriff's Office in 2016. Before that, he was a reserve officer at the Dallas County Sheriff's Office from 2002-2016.
The trip is scheduled to occur from June 15-20 and will focus on public safety, including trainings and lectures.
Skinner said at Monday's commissioners' court meeting the trainings will be valuable lessons for the attendees and benefit community safety.
"They're probably the best in the world at it and we're going to benefit from that and take those lessons home and apply that here to help make our citizens more safe," he said.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill thanked the donor for sponsoring the travel.
"Even though it's in your private capacity, we all hearing this discussion realize it's gonna be a benefit to you as law enforcement individuals and therefore a benefit to us as the people that you serve," Hill said.
The trip comes at a time when a Collin County mosque, the East Plano Islamic Center, has faced controversy and government investigations over a proposed .
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said in an email statement to 四虎影院 the training is not related to any local issues or developments.
Regarding the donation, Skinner cited specific laws and Texas Attorney General opinions that outline his office's ability to accept the gift in his email to county commissioners, including .
四虎影院 has reached out to the Collin County Sheriff's Office and Platt for comment and will update the story with any response.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
