Bazan leaves constable’s post for now

ELSA - Hidalgo County Constable Eduardo "Walo" Bazan relinquished his post Tuesday, ending a four-day standoff between a man described as a Delta institution and critics who have demanded his ouster for months.

And despite previous failed attempts to boot him from office, the five-term incumbent appeared ready to concede a temporary defeat.

"I have not been served with any papers," he said. "But I won't come back to work tomorrow."

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a judge's order suspending the constable from his elected office while he appealed a 2006 felony conviction.

But Bazan showed up for work for four days, promising to leave as soon as someone told him to go. That request came Tuesday from Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace E. Speedy Jackson, who notified Bazan's deputies they could no longer police the Delta region.

Until further notice, sheriff's deputies will handle any law enforcement calls placed to the Precinct 5 office, which covers a region stretching from Elsa to Monte Alto, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said.

"I don't want him executing any arrests or carrying a badge," he said. "And the deputies are the same way. They derive their authority from the constable."

Guerra has mounted two previous efforts to expel Bazan, but each time the 70-year-old constable has managed to hold on to his office despite his felony record.

When former state District Judge Horacio Peña first suspended Bazan after his conviction in 2006, the constable returned months later saying he would appeal the order.

Then, after losing his peace officer's license last year, Bazan won an attorney general's opinion arguing that he did not need a license to hold the office.

Convicted felons are barred from holding or running for elected office and cannot serve as licensed peace officers in Texas.

Bazan, who was re-elected last month, was convicted on charges that he appropriated for personal use a car his deputies had seized.

His case has yet to be considered by the 13th Court of Appeals, but if the lower court's verdict is overturned he would be reinstated.

For now, though, Bazan has resigned himself to waiting patiently.

"If that's what Rene Guerra wants, then I guess we have to do it," he said.
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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.