New police chief fits in school district

By Robert Cadwallader

rcadwallader@mansfieldnewsmirror.com

In the quiet dispatch office of the Mansfield school district police headquarters, the new police chief takes a look at two 50-inch monitors filled with dozens of live video feeds from school security cameras.

A few months ago, there were about 75 cameras to monitor. Now, thanks to $6.6 million in funding from a November 2011 bond election, there are 644 cameras, most at the high schools. And in a couple of months, the installation of another 600 cameras at the other schools will begin.

Chief Jimmy Womack, who started his new job Feb. 1 after serving four months as assistant chief, is tasked with orchestrating the build-up throughout the district, including keyless access systems planned for all 41 schools.

He takes over a 28-officer police department from Mike Leyman, who retired Jan. 31 after eight years as chief and 42 years in law enforcement.

Mansfield officials considered Womack equal to the mission. He managed a similar assignment in the Arlington school district, where he helped implement a $3 million security expansion.

“I was responsible for putting cameras in every facility in the Arlington ISD,” said Womack, 56, who has 34 years of combined law enforcement and school experience.

“I was the person that was in charge of making sure that happened over the years,” he said.

He started installing the electronic, card-swipe entry systems as part of an upgrade program that is still under way, he said.

Leyman said hiring Womack was a good move by outgoing Superintendent Bob Morrison, who is expected to take the helm of the Garland school district.

“Jimmy has police experience, he headed up security for the Arlington ISD for several years,” Leyman said. “He’s familiar with the school law enforcement environment as opposed to the city law enforcement environment -- there is a difference. And he’s a people person. I think he’ll fit right in.”

Police work

He became a certified police officer in 1978, inspired by a Fort Worth police officer who stopped by regularly at a fast-food restaurant where Womack worked during high school. Womack started his career as a patrol officer at North Richland Hills, then moved to the Hurst police department and to a Tarrant County Constable’s office. He has master police officer certification from the state.

He also served as a consultant for the U.S. Justice Department in 1995, which included four months in Haiti teaching firearms to local police trainees in the fledgling Haiti national police force.

“They had been basically a totalitarian-type government, and there was no police force -- they had military police,” Womack said. “Down there no one owned guns except military people. So I would say 95 percent of the people had no training or use of weapons prior to us being there.”

Womack isn’t the only police chief in his house. His wife, Lisa, who worked her way up to assistant chief in the Arlington police department, now is police chief in Lakeland, Fla., a city of about 100,000 that has a police department of about 230 sworn officers.

The couple maintains a long-distance relationship.

“We both love our profession, and it’s the life we’ve chosen for ourselves,” Womack said. “The answer is: We fly a lot.”

In 1996, Womack was hired to teach the Arlington district’s new criminal justice classes at Sam Houston and Bowie high schools, where he had many tough, aimless teens who needed guidance, he said.

“Getting to work with those kids over there was rewarding,” he said. “Some of the kids that were in my class are now police officers in other cities.”

He said he was most proud of that job, but after two years of teaching he felt drawn toward school security. He took the position of security specialist at the district, a title that was upgraded to director of security and transportation om 2002 because of the growth in the security department and “everything that was going on” after the Columbine High School shootings in 1999.

“That changed the whole dynamic of how we approach school security,” Womack said. “In 1996, you could go to any door in any school and open the door. You can’t do that anymore.”

In November 2009, Arlington school district voters approved a $197.5 million bond program that included $3 million for security cameras, keyless entry systems, fencing and sex-offender screening software for all campuses.

Womack’s title was trimmed to transportation director in 2011 after the district approved an efficiency consultant’s recommendation to eliminate his duties as security director. The measure was among numerous cost cuts the Arlington district, like most others in the state, was making because of reductions in state funding for schools.

Womack isn’t complaining about his transportation duties. He said one of his career highlights was implementing part of a $13 million bond earmarked for buying propane-powered buses and building a propane fueling station. He also was able to obtain grants of more than $1 million to offset the $5 million cost of those first two phases.

Mansfield hired Womack in February 2012 to serve as interim transportation director, but he said that in his job interview, he and Morrison talked about getting Womack into the school police administration as soon as a permanent transportation director was hired.

Morrison kept his end of the bargain, creating the assistant chief position for him in September, Womack said. Morrison, who could not be reached for comment, then promoted Womack to chief upon Leyman’s retirement.

Expediting security

The ripples from the shooting deaths of 26 people at a Connecticut elementary schools in December were felt in Mansfield, where officials took a new look at school security even though half of the roughly 1,200 cameras and keyless entry systems have already been installed, said district spokesman Richie Escovedo.

The police department decided to expedite the installation of cameras in the main entries at 15 school campuses where the entries are not designed to control access into the buildings.

“These are older schools,” said Police Sgt. Greg Minter. “Several are slated to be torn down and rebuilt.”

The plans for installing cameras and keyless entry systems at elementary, intermediate and middle schools will go to the school board for action next month, and the 15-month project could begin in early April, Womack said.

One idea that doesn’t appear to have much traction in Mansfield -- it’s been proffered by some gun-rights activists -- is to arm a number of teachers and administrators at each campus.

Leyman opposes it, and so does his successor.

“They’re responsible for educating our kids,” Womack said. “The only armed people on campus should be police officers.”

Looking for comments?