Noticias

The two candidates vying to be appointed as San Miguel County sheriff shared their thoughts on a number of topics during interviews with the San Miguel Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.

San Miguel County Undersheriff Dan Covault and San Miguel County Sheriff Operations Sgt. Lane Masters are looking to be appointed to the position, which will be left vacant when current Sheriff Bill Masters steps down in June. The appointed sheriff will serve the remainder of Sheriff Masters’ term, which is up in 2026.

The commissioners interviewed each candidate separately, with 12 questions ranging from budgeting and recruitment to immigration and mental health.

When asked about the difference between law enforcement and peacekeeping, Covault said if the sheriff’s office works toward peacekeeping, it’s less likely they’ll need to enforce laws.

“However, we live in a dynamic environment where even our very best efforts may not end in a peaceful resolution, and those enforcement actions might have to take place. But first and foremost, we need to be those peacekeepers,” Covault said.

Masters said he doesn’t like the term “law enforcement,” adopting a popular phrase from his father, Sheriff Bill Masters.

“For one, it’s kind of ridiculous, there are hundreds of thousands of laws – between state, federal, local, county – to enforce. I also don’t like the term itself because it has the word ‘force’ in it. The term ‘peace officer,’ I think, is much more accomplishable (than enforcing all of the laws), and also more telling to the mission of the role is. We’re there to promote public peace. We’re there to protect people,” Masters said.

Commissioners asked what the candidates see as the biggest challenge facing the community when it comes to public safety and crime prevention.

Covault said it’s a hard one to answer. He noted today might be one issue, tomorrow might be another. He said it’s not always about preventing crime, but keeping it from happening in San Miguel County.

“Through proactive policing, public presence, community relations, outreach programs, successful investigations, successful prosecutions, we make it a very uncomfortable place for a criminal to want to come and do bad things. I can’t control what happens on the Front Range, but I can make an impact here. If I can make a bad guy want to go somewhere else, we’ve accomplished that goal. We’re not necessarily preventing crime, but we’re trying to deter it from happening in our community,” Covault said.

Masters believes the biggest issue is bond reform. He said current bond regulations take away the court’s ability to set bond that’s appropriate to the person and the crime. He said he hopes and believes shifts in bond will come; in the meantime, it’s important to have a sheriff with a plan to mitigate issues in the community.

“I do have a plan. It’s more cops. I know this is a really novel idea, it sounds simple, but I have metrics to support that. If criminals are not going to be held in jail until their trial, where they could potentially wind up in prison, or be provided by the court the avenues to recover from whatever it is that’s causing them to commit crime, then we need to have more cops out in the street. We need more people out there to protect the community, because these people are out there,” Masters said.

When it comes to immigration, both Masters and Covault shared their support of the immigrant community.

“I worry about our undocumented folks because they’re afraid right now,” Masters said. “I think they have every right to be afraid, unfortunately I think they are correct to be afraid. We are seeing some things going on right now that I cannot believe are occurring in the United States. I am seeing due process be taken away for some people, which I think is abhorrent. We are literally seeing a Gulag propped up in El Salvador, where people who are not from El Salvador are being sent without due process. That is a good reason to be afraid. All Americans should be afraid, regardless of immigration status. So, I think because of that, they’re inherently more marginalized. They’re less likely to call us. They’re less likely to trust us.”

“I think the sheriff’s office should stand behind our immigrants as they would any other citizen,” said Covault. “I believe that they should be able to feel free to come to us with their problems, and not worry about being rounded up and deported. That being said, we also have an obligation to protect them, as any other citizen, and if a criminal element from a foreign country wants to come here and commit crimes, that’s going to be on them. If you’re a citizen of the United States and you commit crimes you go to prison. If you’re a criminal from a foreign land and you come here and commit crimes, maybe you should go home – after you go to prison here – because I don’t like the criminal element. I do like our immigrant population.”

Commissioner Lance Waring asked the next question about mental health.

“It’s our understanding the current sheriff has directed patrol not to respond to mental health crisis, including active suicide. What’s your understanding and opinion of these policies, and how, if at all, would you change it if you became sheriff?” asked Waring.

Covault said with crisis response and intervention training, he believes there’s room for deputies to step in during mental health situations.

“Is there going to be a situation where we say ‘no this is not tactically safe for anyone and we need to hold back and not do anything’? Yes, there could be that situation. But more often than not, I think with our training we can be that upfront figure. We can secure a scene. We can get mental health there,” Covault said.

Masters had a different take.

“Cops are not mental health professionals. We’re probably not smart enough to be mental health professionals. I wish I was a little bit more emotionally intelligent, my wife would probably really appreciate that. And it’s not always an improvement to have a cop in a situation,” Masters said.

Addressing the elephant in the room, the candidates responded to a question about managing a department with family members working together.

Masters acknowledged he’s the current sheriff’s son, noting that for a number of years, he intentionally didn’t work for San Miguel County Sheriff to avoid being the “boss’s kid.”

“He also has three other children, and I don’t believe they’re interviewing for this position and the reason is because they’re not qualified to. I am. So how am I going to manage nepotism? I’m going to do my job. I’m going to be humble, and be truthful with people and show them I belong to be here, not because of what my last name is, or because I kind of look like that old guy whose name is on the side of a building,” Masters said.

Finally, the commissioners asked the candidates about their views on concerns in the community that the federal government may try to restrict rights to assemble, speak and peacefully protest.

“If federal statute changes in this regard, how will you enforce the administration’s limits or prohibitions?” asked Commissioner Galena Gleason.

Covault said the sheriff’s office should support the community in sharing their opinions.

“We have the right to peacefully assemble. We have the right to have our voices heard, no matter what side of the fence you’re on. I believe the sheriff’s office should assist those people that want to peacefully assemble and want to have their voices heard, make sure they can do so safely,” Covault said.

Masters noted a sheriff has a lot of authority. He said it’s the sheriff’s job to use that authority to reflect the beliefs of the community.

“I am not going to let anyone tell me what to do. You might not like that about me. The federal government might not like that about me. But I’m going to do what I believe is right for our community – the community that raised me – so that it can continue to be a good place for everybody to live,” Masters said.

“Does that mean you’re not going to do what we tell you to do?” asked Commissioner Anne Brown.

“If I don’t agree with it, yeah,” Masters said.

The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners plans to make a decision on who will be appointed as sheriff on Wednesday, April 30.