NATCHEZ —Travis Patten says he has a few changes he will implement right away if he’s elected Adams County’s sheriff, but he also wants to know what people on the ground are thinking.

“Day one, I want to get in there and talk to the deputies, the officer personnel and the staff and take the first couple of days to get a feel for them,” he said. “Through this election process, they have been taken through the ringer, and I want to hear what they want to say, to hear their concerns and what they think needs to be changed.”

Patten is facing off against Randy Freeman — the second highest vote getter in the election that ultimately ousted Sheriff Chuck Mayfield — in the Democratic primary for sheriff Aug. 25. Whoever wins that race will face independent candidate Elvis Prater in the general election.

Background

Patten, 35, enters the race with approximately 12 years law enforcement experience, having worked for the Claiborne and Adams County Sheriff’s offices and the Natchez Police Department.

Prior to working in law enforcement, he served a three-year stint in the U.S. Navy, working as a damage control engineer from June 1997 to June 2000, commanding a 14-man team tasked with controlling fires, flooding or explosions — among other things — on Naval vessels.

“I was 18 years old when I went in, but it teaches you structure, discipline, and that kind of work makes you grow up, mature, really fast,” he said.

After the Navy, Patten worked as an armored car driver, moving nearly a million dollars each day with a six-shooter revolver on his side.

“That is not an ideal situation,” Patten said. “I wanted to get into law enforcement but getting out of the military, I needed something to hold me over.”

Claiborne County Sheriff Frank Davis eventually hired Patten, who worked as a criminal deputy in that county from October 2000 to March 2001, when then-Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff hired him to work as a police officer.

“I stayed at the Natchez Police Department until (Sheriff) Ronnie Brown took office in 2004, when he offered me a job and I took it,” Patten said. “At that time the sheriff’s office and the police department had a good working relationship, so I took that opportunity because it was the best of both worlds — it was higher pay, so more food on the table for my family, but you could also help people in the city and the county.”

During his time with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, where he served as a criminal deputy, K-9 officer and narcotics agent, Patten helped recover a child kidnapped out of Texas, capture a suspect who had threatened to kill a federal judge in another state and participated in the largest cocaine bust in Adams County’s history.

“All I did was go after the worst of the worst,” Patten said. “Those who knew me knew Patten didn’t go after the traffic ticket guys, he went after the worst of the worst. I wanted criminals to look at Adams County as a place they didn’t want to commit a crime.”

Patten stayed with the sheriff’s office for 11 months after Brown’s 2009 death. He stayed on a little longer after that as a reserve deputy, and then left the ACSO to work full time as a mortgage officer for Integrity Mortgage — a job he’d already been doing for some time on the side.

Two years ago, he returned to law enforcement at the Natchez Police Department, though he’s currently on a leave of absence as required by his campaign.

In his time in law enforcement, Patten has worked under three sheriffs, an interim sheriff and three police chiefs.

“The lesson I have learned from all of them is you need to get out, to get to know the people in your community and build relationships so the people will begin to trust you,” he said. “Even when you are not going on a call, you need to get to know the people in the community and be a man of your word. If you put your word out there, you need to honor your word.”

He has continued working as a mortgage loan officer since returning to law enforcement, work that includes loan processing, community development and grant writing.

“I have been involved in several multi-million dollar community development projects through grant writing in the last eight years,” he said.

Patten has served as a deacon at New Hope — The Vision Center for seven years.

Plans

Patten said his plans for the sheriff’s office include a 30-, 60- and 90-day evaluation of operations at the office to find inefficiencies, but a lot of that will be shaped by what he finds on the ground when he gets there.

“I hear things, but hearing is one thing and seeing is believing,” he said. “I don’t want to go on rumors, I like facts. I need to assess that whole department for 30 days before I go over changes I have in mind for it.”

During his first day, Patten said would meet with everyone in the office and tell them the direction he wants to move the office. He also said he would request a full audit of finances and equipment from the county government.

Patten said approximately five positions will be combined into one right away. He declined to list them at this time.

“I feel some positions are overpaid for the job title, and I am a multi-tasker, so I believe in giving people pay for what they do,” he said. “We talked about trimming the budget and we need to trim things off — there is a lot more work that can be done with the right people in the position. There are five (positions) I can think of off the top of my head that one officer can do those jobs. They don’t require you to do them all day every day.”

Patten said he has already selected a chief deputy if elected, but had promised that person he would not put his name out before the election. The candidate for the job has supervisory experience, he said.

“What he brings to the table is he is a very effective communicator with all races, and anything he commits to he is 100 percent involved,” Patten said. “I will surround myself with experienced leadership.”

Patten said he will also approach the county board of supervisors about the possibility of selling the sheriff’s Toyota FJ Cruiser and Dodge Charger.

“We need to get a more practical vehicle that not only the sheriff needs but the department needs,” he said.