The Collin County sheriff鈥檚 trip to Israel for counterterrorism training has been canceled due to tension in the region.
Israel and Iran have traded for days, after its air force had targeted Iran鈥檚 nuclear sites. Iranian state television reported an Israeli airstrike killed Brig. Gen. Mohamed Bagheri, Iran鈥檚 military commander in chief, and Commander Hossein Salami of the Revolutionary Guards, a branch of Iran鈥檚 armed forces.
The Israel Defense Forces announced strikes on military targets in Iran on in the evening on June 12. Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner was scheduled to attend a counterterrorism training in Israel from June 15 to June 20. The Sheriff鈥檚 Office said the trip was cancelled due 鈥渙ngoing conditions in the region鈥� and is unsure if the trip will be rescheduled for a later date or permanently cancelled.
Collin County commissioners expressed concerns about safety on the trip at a meeting last week a few days before the airstrikes in Iran.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason we have policies, and there鈥檚 a reason that we say no to these international trips, especially to a war zone,鈥� Commissioner Susan Fletcher said.
U.S. law enforcement agencies training in Israel has been a source of controversy. and other human rights organizations have cited Israeli police for human rights violations. The Dallas Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR DFW) called on the Collin County Sheriff and county commissioners to cancel the training.
"Why would you go and train with a country or train with the military that has known human rights and abuses?鈥� said Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of CAIR DFW. 鈥淲e have enough issues with that right here without that training."
Funding for the trip came from a third-party donor after county staff determined the training was outside the scope and duties of Sheriff鈥檚 Office personnel. The Sheriff and the five deputies who were supposed to accompany him had planned to use vacation time to go.
Families of Collin County law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty are eligible for payment under worker鈥檚 comp for full pay and medical insurance. Children of law enforcement officers are eligible until they鈥檙e 18 years old.
Fletcher said the sheriff left her a threatening voicemail regarding line-of duty death benefits for the deputies attending the trip. She said at last week鈥檚 commissioners鈥� court meeting Skinner said he told the deputies to instruct their families to sue the county for line-of duty death benefits if necessary.
鈥淵ou threatened me with that to get my support on this, and I'm not happy about it, because I'm not going to put our taxpayers at risk,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not right.鈥�
She said the deputies and their families wouldn鈥檛 be eligible for worker鈥檚 comp since they were using vacation time for a trip the county wasn鈥檛 sponsoring.
Skinner denied Fletcher鈥檚 accusation and apologized for the miscommunication. He said he was advocating for his employees.
鈥淚 am passionate when it comes to my people,鈥� Skinner said. 鈥淚鈥檓 passionate when it comes to protecting citizens of this county.鈥�
The Sheriff said the training would enhance public safety in Collin County.
Assistant Chief Cary Platt, who supervises the Sheriff's reserve program, had offered to pay the expenses for the training, which was estimated to cost $70,000 to $80,000 according to an email from the Sheriff to county commissioners. Platt is not a paid employee and serves in a volunteer capacity.
Platt 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.
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