Community leader led by example, spoke with conviction
May 20, 2015
1990 to NOW
May 21, 2015
It’s one of the more unusual recognitions in the annals of modern law enforcement, named for a real life lawman whose shadow is as long as Tennessee, whose colorful and violent life makes difficult the separation of reality from myth.
And Craig Webre, the Sheriff of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, is one of only 26 people in the nation to have the honor.
“Sheriff Pusser is one of the legends in the world of law enforcement,” he said. “He is remembered for his tenacious and relentless pursuit of criminals and outstanding service to the public.”
Held in Adamsville, Tenn., the presentation of the Buford Pusser National Law Officer of the Year Award is held in conjunction with an annual festival that celebrates the life of its late namesake, whose story was told in the 1973 motion picture Walking Tall, and retold in a 2004 remake.
Pusser is credited with wrestling-and beating-a live grizzly bear, but also far more dangerous feats. As sheriff of McNairy County, Tenn., serving from 1964 until he term-limited out in 1970, Pusser led a oneman, often violent crusade against organized criminals, shutting down prostitution rings, illegal moonshine operations, and drawing ire from the local underworld in the process.
Pusser was stabbed and shot at numerous times and in 1967 his wife, Pauline, was murdered in what the then-sheriff maintained was an ambush meant for him. Pusser’s own 1974 death in a car wreck is still unresolved in some ways; family members maintain that he was assassinated.
Pusser’s trademark weapon was a huge stick, featured prominently in the movies about him. Ironically, Webre said in a Monday interview that he himself has a big wooden stick, a gift carved for him by a deputy when he first took office in 1992.
“To anyone over 30 it is a universal symbol of hope, a symbol of courage and a symbol of justice, a symbol of good triumphing over evil,” Webre said. “It has become a living legend, a legacy, and not to be looked upon as a weapon but a symbol. When I received that personal gift back in 1991 it was an expression to me that there is hope for justice, that there is protection.”
Webre acknowledges when asked the irony as well of his taking office, at a time when Lafourche Parish was like the wild west in some ways.
The former sheriff, Duffy Breaux, had been the target of an assassination attempt by a political rival. Breaux himself became snared with legal entanglements, pleading guilty to mail fraud and obstruction of justice, serving time in a federal prison.
Webre prides himself on bringing a new level of professionalism to Lafourche Parish, with an emphasis on training for his deputies.
The public, which continues to return him to office, would appear to agree.
“I think it is fair to draw some similarities,” he said, of the time he got to proclaim
that there was a new sheriff in town.
“It was a time when confidence, the public trust, was down, the perception of the community,” Webre said of his own experience. “Very public negative events occurred. People had expectations of integrity and professionalism.”
Dwana Pusser, the late sheriff’s daughter, presented Webre with the national award. She also presented a special award for local officers to Robert Ellis, chief of the Humboldt, Tenn. Police Department.
The awards are given to law enforcement officers who display leadership and courage. They are sponsored by the Buford Pusser Home and Museum, which memorializes the life of the former sheriff.
Making the most of his trip to Tennessee, Webre also participated in the 27th Annual Memorial 5K Run prior to the award presentation and placed first in his age category.
“The festival was an experience that I will cherish for years to come,” Webre said, said Sheriff Webre. “I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity in the future to consider attending the festival and pay a visit to the museum.”
Webre said he recognizes that Pusser’s tactics would not be tolerated by any law enforcement officer today. But he notes that it was a different time, and that the dynamics of the community Pusser served were unique.
It is the positive aspects of the former sheriff’s legacy, Webre said, that he wishes to retain as he contemplates what the award’s value.
“Sheriffs stand in a unique position in the law enforcement community,” Webre said. “We are in large part the chief law enforcement officers of our jurisdictions. We have an awesome responsibility in the area of public safety while protecting people’s rights and freedoms. The security and protections people need and demand are directly connected to the local law enforcement authority and the people who work in the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriffs are elected on a periodic basis, and so are accountable to the people who elect. We stand at the doorstep of democracy.”
From right: Lafourche Parish Craig Webre accepts the Buford Pusser National Law Office of the Year Award from Dwana Pusser, the late Tennessee sheriff’s daughter, who also presented Robert Ellis, chief of the Humboldt, Tenn. Police Department, with a local law enforcement award.
Sheriff Craig Webre (left) is honored to receive award named for the late Sheriff Buford Pusser of Walking Tall fame
