Chris Wischkaepmer is continuing to seek the public’s vote as he has filed for the Hockley County Sheriff’s position slated for the March election.
Beginning his career with the Marine Corps from 1998 to 1992, he is a Desert Storm combat veteran.
Wischkaemper joined DPS in 1994 and began in Post. In 2003, he was promoted to narcotics and tried for a rural task force in Brownfield but ended up moving to Brownsville.
Following his Brownsville work, he was stationed in Lubbock for DPS Narcotics and served 19 counties including Hockley County.
During his time with DPS in Lubbock, Wischkaemper was part of the federal wire tap case where the chief deputy and narcotics deputy of Hockley County were both arrested in a methamphetamine trafficking and conspiracy case.
In 2014 he was promoted to lieutenant and helped open the Texas Anti-Gang Center a few years later. Additionally, Wischkaemper supervised the anti-gang unit throughout his time as a lieutenant. The group he supervised made 223 arrests alone in Hockley County alone.
In 2019, he chose to retire until the Texas Tech Chief of Police reached out to Wischkaemper as a CID Lieutenant.
“I have been asked many times why I would consider running for this position and I honestly believe I have the experience at this point in time where I could lead the sheriff’s office and I could build something that the citizens can be proud of,” said Wischkaemper. “There is a saying that the best way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”
Through his time researching and building his campaign, the one issue that has been highlighted many times is there being only two deputies on a shift at a time to patrol the 900 square miles of Hockley County.
“That is not safe and not acceptable,” said Wischkaemper. “Realistically, I think we need four deputies at a time but I understand that will be a work in progress. First and foremost we have to build a professional product to bring to the commissioners before we can ask for funding.”
Wischkaemper added that one of his neighbors had been burglarized in the past and the response time was roughly two hours. He also added that the county is at a bit of a disadvantage because small towns within the area do not have police presence or enough police presence to aid in those response times compared to Lubbock County who has small towns with reasonable police presence such as Idalou or Slaton.
“A lot of our population does not have the luxury of small police departments similar to Lubbock County and we have to figure out a way to remedy that situation,” explained Wischkaemper. “When I go out and talk to some of our citizens throughout the county they are telling me they feel underrepresented.”
Wischkaemper has pitched the idea of satellite offices in school, government or municipality buildings in these smaller towns which could aid in responding to certain locations quicker and more efficiently. The goal for Wischkaemper is start with the basics, adding personnel and finding quality solutions that will allow the department to increase efficiency.
Wischkaemper praised current Hockley County Sheriff Ray Scifres for his CID program that has been implemented to help with individuals who need help. Working in narcotics and seeing the results of drugs in a community Wischkaemper wants to build upon those who are dealing with addiction and drugs.
Dealing with drugs and working in narcotics, Wischkaemper is hopeful to address the drug concerns that have been posed within the county.
Working along side the border and dealing with drug cases, Wischkaemper wants to lean on what he has learned and experienced trying to keep the citizens of the county safer from the illegal substances being brought through the communities.
“I am looking forward to the challenge,” said Wischkaemper. “Having lived in the county since 2005, I do not plan on going anywhere and I hope that I can finish out my career here in Hockley County. This is about creating a welcoming and safe community for all the citizens residing in the county.”