Constable Billy Masden

Sgt. Masden started his presentation by telling everyone that he has lived in the area for 50 years and loves the area and its great citizens. He asked that everyone help him and other police officers by locking their homes and cars. Everyone should also try to be more aware of their surroundings and let your local police know about any suspicious activity in the area.

 

Sgt. Masden then told everyone that Montgomery County, Texas is the 3rd fastest growing county in the nation. In addition, the county population has grown 83% since 2010. Also, the growth in Magnolia is now surpassing the growth in Tomball. As a result, many of our police groups are really understaffed to deal with the increase in population. Sgt. Masden stated that the Commissioner's Court is currently looking into how to help alleviate that problem.

 

Sgt. Masden then talked about several recent arrests that he attended including one where he initially went to a scene where another officer was down but that turned out to be due to a medical issue with that officer. However, while at that scene he noticed a vehicle that he had been looking for. Once the owner was called out, he and other officers at the scene found Meth in that car and the owner of the car was arrested. 

 

Sgt. Masden then told everyone that when they go on vacation they should let their local police know about it so they can check on their house while they are gone. The service is free and could possibly save your home from an unwanted intrusion.

 

Sgt Masden then asked if anyone had any questions and the following questions were asked:

 

1. Are police officers more afraid to be out in the public then before the Black Lives Matter issue arose?

 

    Sgt. Masden stated that he was not necessarily afraid but in the past when he was off duty he almost never took his gun with him. Because of the recent attacks on police officers, he now takes his gun with him everywhere he goes.

 

2. Is it harder now to recruit new officers?

 

    Sgt Masden stated that his group is currently estimated to be almost 50% down from what their full complement of officers should be and as previously mentioned, the Commissioner's Court is looking into how to solve that problem.

 

3. What is the current "drug of choice" in Montgomery County?

 

    Sgt. Masden told everyone that Meth is the current drug of choice and that is because it is relatively cheap to produce and the profit level is quite high. Also, the criminals are now using mobile labs which are harder to track down.

 

4. Does the constable's office actively work with the Sherriff's office?

 

    Sgt. Masden told everyone that all police groups help each other when asked but that each group does not actively monitor each other's radio frequencies. This is mostly because each group already has more than enough to say grace     over without actively checking on whether other groups need help.