COFFEE CITY, Texas — The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office will oversee calls for Coffee City after the police force was disbanded along with its police chief earlier this week.
Questions still linger around the process of rebuilding the police force, like what happens to current traffic violations that were issued by former Coffee City police officers?
"We’re going to offer our assistance in any way we can," Hillhouse said.
With no police force in Coffee City, the HCSO is stepping up to handle law enforcement. Hillhouse said deputies will respond to calls as needed.
"We’re going to treat Coffee City the same as everyone else. We have deputies who work on that side of the county, and they will be responsible for answering calls on that side of the city," Hillhouse said.
According to Hillhouse, the city receives roughly 300 calls a year. That's about the same number of calls the HCSO responded to in just one week.
Hillhouse said the Coffee City Police Department is still active with the State of Texas, but they are starting from scratch by hiring a new chief and new officers.
"I’ve talked to the mayor on several occasions. We’ll continue to work with the mayor, and he’s supposed to reach out to me this later week," Hillhouse said.
As for those traffic violations issued by former Coffee City officers, Hillhouse said those are still active.
"I haven’t heard what they’re going to do but they do have jurisdiction over those cases, and they can move forward. It’s just a decision for the prosecutor and the court," Hillhouse said.
CBS19 did try to reach out to Mayor Jeff Blackstone at city hall, but he said he wasn’t available to speak on the matter now.
In the meantime, Hillhouse said it could take a while to fill the officer positions for the Coffee City Police Department but he assured his deputies will be just a phone call away.