Cochise County Sheriff Mark Daniels reflects on Western sheriffs post, border security and fentanyl surge

Sheriff Mark Daniels said he was honored to take over as president of the Western State Sheriffs Association and used a Friday appearance on KWCDFirst Watch to describe what the role will entail and to highlight several law-enforcement concerns, from border security to fentanyl trafficking.

Daniels said the Western State Sheriffs Association represents sheriffs "west of the Mississippi" and that his election puts him in a position to help lead colleagues on "homeland, public land, border security, drugs." "I'm very blessed, very humbled, and, well received," Daniels said of his new role.

Daniels described the associations conference in Reno as part training and part networking, with sessions on national security, retirement planning and supervisory liability. He said the conference included a panel and recorded tribute to the late Larry Deaver, a long-serving Cochise County sheriff whom Daniels called a mentor.

On border issues, Daniels said sheriffs discussed partnerships with federal agencies and an allied forum called the Americas Sheriffs Alliance. He summarized a federal speakers emphasis on prioritizing "the worst of the worst" and said sheriffs asked about detention and detainer programs that work with ICE. "We don't have an issue here because we have federal partners all around us," Daniels said, citing Border Patrol, ICE and the Border Ops Center in the Cochise County area.

Daniels also highlighted drug trends raised at the conference. He noted a large DEA seizure in Phoenix of about 700,000 fentanyl pills and called fentanyl "a pandemic in this country." "One pill, one kill. We all heard that slogan now," he said. He said most fentanyl in the United States "is not being touched by law enforcement" and urged broader attention to the problem.

Locally, Daniels described personnel and budget priorities for the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. "My personnel have always been number one," he said, adding that "my budget is about 82% personnel when it comes to budget, 8% fleet and then 10% operations." He said those priorities and recruiting challenges shape his budget requests and use of grant funding.

Daniels spoke about continuing community events and public outreach tied to the sheriffs office, and he thanked staff and community partners for their support in the department and at the national conference.

Less critical details: Daniels recounted a conference keynote from a Phoenix police officer who survived a severe car fire and now speaks to law-enforcement audiences; he also described returning late to Cochise County after Reno and spoke briefly about local events such as Tombstone Wild West Days.