One thing Bill Lazenby will be bringing to court is decades of experience in police, investigative and prison work.
“I’m in the process of looking at some security concerns,” Lazenby said last week as he adjusted himself into the chair behind his desk on the first floor of the courthouse.
The former police chief said he has been working with Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales Jr. and Bee County Jail administrator Commander Mike Page in beefing up some of the security concerns in the courthouse.
Carrizales said he mentioned Lazenby to County Judge David Silva after he learned that former Bailiff Tom Brown would be leaving the position.
Lazenby was Carrizales’ boss when he served as police chief from 1987-1992.
The sheriff acknowledged Lazenby’s lengthy experience in investigating escapes and other prison security problems during the time he was an investigator for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“We’re looking forward to making the positive changes there at the courthouse,” Carrizales said.
Silva agreed and said he was glad to have Lazenby on board at the courthouse.
“I feel very comfortable with Bill,” Silva said when asked about the new bailiff’s abilities.
“I’ve known him since high school,” the judge said. “He’s already doing a good job of it,” he said of the improvements in security at the courthouse.
Lazenby was born in Del Rio but he moved to Beeville with his family at the age of 9. He graduated from A.C. Jones High School in 1960 and worked at a barber for 10 years before Police Chief Bill McConnell hired him as a patrol officer in 1971.
In 1973 Lazenby worked about a year as a deputy sheriff under Sheriff Jack Robinson but he went back to work for McConnell in 1974 and was made a detective.
Lazenby was promoted to detective sergeant in 1978 and two years later was promoted to detective lieutenant when McConnell expanded the criminal investigation department.
He was promoted to police chief in 1987 after McConnell died of a sudden heart attack.
He kept that position until 1992 when he retired from the BPD and went to work with the TDCJ as a lieutenant investigator.
Promotions came quickly after Lazenby joined the TDCJ team. The next year he was made a special investigator making cases on homicides, narcotics and escapes.
In 1994 he was promoted to major and months later was named chief of investigations for the TDCJ’s sprawling Region IV.
He kept that position until 2003 when deep budget and staff cuts left Lazenby without an investigative position.
Instead of leaving the prison system, Lazenby became a sergeant again and road horseback as part of the field force at the William G. McConnell Unit in Bee County.
Ironically, the unit was named after the man who had given Lazenby his first job in law enforcement.
By the time Lazenby retired from the TDCJ in 2006, he was back working as an investigator and was in charge of the federally funded Safe Prisons Program. That job had him making sexual assault cases against inmates who threatened and attacked other TDCJ offenders.
“And then I didn’t do much,” Lazenby admitted.
He got into the bailiff business on a part-time basis in 2007, so he is not exactly a newcomer to the position.
He left the job and worked as a substitute teacher at the high school and junior high school levels for a few months.
“I only missed 11 school days last year,” Lazenby said.
He started again at the courthouse on a part-time basis early last month and when the Bee County Commissioners Court advertised for a full-time bailiff, “I applied for the job.”
“I’ve enjoyed it,” he said of the position. “It’s nice. I know most of the people. I plan on doing a good job for the courts and the county and working with the commissioners on cutting costs and staying within budget.”
As far as the Taser goes, Lazenby said he is not certified to use one and he is not interested in taking the course necessary to be certified.
“It’s for street work, for mental cases. I just think that in close quarters it could be a problem.” Lazenby said he would be afraid he would hit an innocent bystander if he had to use the device in a courtroom.
The new bailiff said he can always call the police department or sheriff’s office if he thinks he needs additional security in the courtroom.
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