Constable Gary Griffin
is a resident of Round Rock, Texas and
was elected to his first term of office in 1996.
Constable Griffin is currently in his third term of
office as your Constable. Prior to becoming your
elected Constable, Gary served as a Williamson
County Deputy Sheriff under legendary Sheriff Jim
Boutwell, as well as Sheriff Ed Richards. Constable
Griffin has worked in law enforcement and public
safety for over 29 years. Gary is a graduate of the
Southwest Texas State University Constable
Leadership Institute. Constable Griffin is a Master
licensed Texas Peace Officer, an emergency medical
technician, crime prevention inspector, a licensed
mental health officer, as well as obtaining
state civil process proficiency certification issued
through the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education. Constable Griffin
is a state licensed police instructor, previously
teaching DWI enforcement at the Travis County
Sheriff’s Office Training Academy as well as an
instructor for the Texas Department of Public Safety
Training Academy, teaching civil process and Mental
Health Crisis Intervention to future State
Troopers. Gary also is a retired Austin Firefighter
with over 22 years of service, obtaining an Advanced
Firefighter Certification from the Texas Commission
on Fire Protection growing up in south Austin,
graduating from Crockett High School.
Some of Constable Griffin’s noteworthy service is
that he was one of the first on the scene of the
Jarrell tornado incident in May of 1997 initiating
rescue/recovery efforts. Constable Griffin’s most
prestigious assignment came in September 2002 at the
request of the United States Dignitary Protection
Detail to provide executive personal security for
the United States Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the honorable Dennis Hastert while
he was assisting Congressman John Carter in his
election for the 31st Congressional
District in Williamson and Travis Counties over a 3
day period.
Constable Griffin has received a number of awards
during his career, including a lifesaving citation
from the Austin Fire Department, the Public Safety
Telecommunications award issued by the Great State
of Texas, as well as an outstanding achievement
award for efforts in DWI enforcement from District
Attorney Ken Anderson, now the 277th
District Court Judge. In March 2003, Constable
Griffin was recognized as well as several of his
deputies by the Williamson County Attorney’s Office
for numerous lifesaving intervention acts, relating
to his response to Mental Health crisis events in
the field which were acknowledged by issuance of the
Medal of Honor Award.
Constable Griffin was the first law enforcement
officer not only in Williamson County, but in the
Central Texas area, to issue Tasers, a less than
lethal tool to all of his deputies. As a footnote to
this controversial decision, to the Constable’s
credit, Tasers were deployed to date 23 times
resulting from over 16,000 calls for service. In
every instance the person subdued was secured
safely. Most certainly without Constable Griffin
making the decision to deploy a less than lethal
device such as the Taser, lives would have been
lost, as without a less than lethal option, deadly
force would have been the only option available.
Gary is married to his wife Carol Jean, and is the
father of 4 children. Constable Griffin is very
active in youth athletic programs. Most likely you
will see Gary umpiring a ball game somewhere
regularly in the area referring to the game as
“Baseball is life, the rest is just details”.
Constable Griffin is a member of the Justice of the
Peace and Constables’ Association of Texas as well
as a member of the Central Texas Justice of the
Peace and Constables’ Association. Constable Griffin
is also an appointed committee member to the City of
Round Rock Public Safety Grant Committee, as well as
past member of several youth activity groups in the
Round Rock area. Most notably, Constable Griffin
proudly brought much needed awareness of the issues
impacting the needs of the mental health community
not only in Williamson County, but at the state
level.
