Publisher’s note: Four people are running for the position of sheriff of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Their profiles will run May 4 and May 5.

Dean Paris

Name: Dean Anthony Paris

Age: 47

Occupation: Retired Marine Corps military law enforcement

What groups, nonprofits, other civic involvement are you part of outside of work?: Member of the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, member of WAVE (Welcome all Veterans Everywhere), volunteer for the Carson Valley Community Food Closet.

What is your opinion about teachers having guns at school?: It is a constitutional right to carry a firearm. However, a teacher needs to focus on the education of their students, not analyzing a treat or possible threat. There are a lot of cons with arming teachers. First, who is going to pay for training, certification and the firearm for that teacher if they are found qualified to carry a gun? Second, who is going to cover the cost of personal protection insurance for that teacher? A third is the firearm going to be carried on the teacher during the day or secured in a classroom? Who is going to make the decision on which teachers will be allowed to carry or is it a volunteer basis? How many teachers will be authorized to carry a firearm?

Vacation rentals are allowed at Lake Tahoe. Should they be allowed everywhere in Douglas County? Why or why not?: I would have to look at the statics before I can make a recommendation.

How best to enforce vacation home rental regulations?: This is something new to me and I am not familiar with and would have to conduct more research.

Why do you want to be sheriff?: My time in the Marine Corps I have learned how to be a successful leader by setting the example and I enjoy helping others to succeed. I believe in bottom-up leadership which allows others the opportunity to become leaders. My core values guided me through my career in the military that I have so honorably served the people of the United States for 20 years now I would like to serve the people of Douglas County with the same honor and leadership that I gave the Marine Corps. I will be constitutional sheriff and protect what you” the people value most.”

Why should someone vote for you over someone else?: I have the proven leadership and experience that made me a successful leader in the Marine Corps for 20 years, with the leadership, knowledge and experience I can lead the sheriff’s office. My ethics, my leadership and my values have never been questioned. I hold will hold all personnel accountable to include myself and always set the example.

How are you going to deal with people driving under the influence of marijuana?: As sheriff, I will ensure that the deputies are currently trained and certified to recognize the indicator(s) of person(s) under the influence of marijuana, and per Nevada Revised Statue Section 484C.110(3) the suspected offender will be charged and processed for that violation.

What do you believe is needed for a good relationship between the sheriff’s department and county commissioners?: More open communication between the commissioners and the sheriff’s office.

If the commissioners cut your budget by 10 percent, what program or people would you cut? Please be specific.: The sheriff’s office’s budget comes out of the General Fund which is controlled by the county commissioners, but if I had to cut funding I would have to start with training. I would not cut personnel. With the new five-year budget for personnel the office can keep the deputies we have now and is paid for five years.  

What is your relationship with businesses at Lake Tahoe that work with the sheriff’s office on various events? If anything, what would you consider changing?: I currently don’t have relationships with Lake Tahoe business, but it will be my priority to be involved and work on those relationships. I do know the sheriff’s office does aid with summer events at the lake and that assistance would continue. But I would need to know what the business would want from the sheriff’s office.  

Deputies use targets to practice marksmanship. Is there a better way to train people so not so many unarmed people are being shot? Please elaborate.: There are various ways to train deputies to engage a threat. You can conduct training using paintballs or sim munitions which allows the deputies to experience a real-life experience of being shot at while returning fire and the ability to engaging that threat without causing harm to incident bystanders. Another option is computer-based training scenarios, the computer places the deputy in real life situations and anytime during the training if a bystander is shot the training scenario stops or if it a bad shooting the training scenario will stop. Then the instructor can walk and talk through the training and educate the deputy on what went wrong with the shooting and how to address it. 

If you could make the rules for New Year’s Eve at Stateline, what would they be?: The sheriff does not make the rules, the sheriff enforces the law.

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies make less than South Lake Tahoe police officers and El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies. Does this hamper efforts to recruit employees? Do you believe deputies should be paid more? Why or why not? If yes, how would you go about getting them more money?: It does hamper efforts to recruit new deputies, but let’s look at other aspects, California pays a lot more in taxes so yes, the officers and deputies in the Tahoe region do make between $2 to $3 more per hour then Douglas County. The cost of living is currently high in Douglas County so trying to hire new deputies with high housing prices is discouraging potential sheriff candidates. Looking at the new pay agreement the current pay, incentives, and the increase is locked into a five-year plan. I would propose to the commissioners for additional money and attempt to hire new deputies buy offering incentives to live and work in Douglas County. 

What is lacking in the department right now in terms of personnel or equipment or other resources? How would you address those needs?: I would hire two more school resources officers and push for more funding for recruitment of new deputies.   

What do you think is the biggest issue facing Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and how do you plan to resolve it?: Moral, and the status quo. I would want to be involved with the deputies, get to know them and their families, have family functions, establish team building exercises to help boost morale. I would also empower my personnel to lead, be involved and working side by side with the deputies and doing and always set the example.

Body cameras are about to be required throughout Nevada. What are the pros and cons?: We are in a profession that is always under the watchful eye of society and cell phone cameras. I do support the use of body cameras by law enforcement personnel for several reasons. First, the cameras are designed to record what the deputies see in real time, and that the recording can be used in a trial as evidence. Second, it’s a system of accountability that will ensure that the deputies are maintaining a standard of professionalism while interacting with the public. Additionally, when a civil complaint is filed against a deputy, the recording from the body camera shall be used to either corroborate the claim or clear the deputy for any wrongdoing.

Tell us something about yourself that people might not already know: During my time in military law enforcement, I have investigated over 55 cases of domestic violence, over 80 assaults, around 50 thefts of property, 25 sexual assaults, six child abuse cases, processed 12 DUIs, investigated eight suicides, and written over 400 traffic citations. As a leader, I was always setting the example and responded to as many calls for service as I can. It’s not that I was micromanaging my Marines but supervising and assisting with calls for service because “we too” had a shortfall of manpower. And instead of putting the burden and pressure on my Marines as a leader I chose to do the right thing and to be active and either assist in the investigation or take one over so they can move on to other calls for service. The numbers show that I have the experience in investigating and that I do understand the aspects involved in responding to and investigating crimes. Military law enforcement does the same types of functions as civilian officers. But the one difference that we as military police officers have to be concerned with on every call we respond to is never to let our guard down because the military are trained killers, and almost every household has a service member that can be armed, and they know how to use it. I am a bottom-up leader and believe in empowering your juniors and allowing them an opportunity to become leaders. I have mentored over 100 Marines in my career and helped them in the advancement of their career. I always have but my Marines first ahead of myself and as your next sheriff I will be there for the people of Douglas County and the sheriff’s office. When I see a problem, I approach the problem, provide a solution and follow through to the end.