Margo Frasier is an American lawyer and former

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. She was sheriff of Travis County, Texas (which includes the city of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

) from 1997 through 2004.

Career

Frasier, a lawyer,Jordan Smith
Frasier Named New Police Monitor
''Austin Chronicle'' (December 29, 2010). received a J.D. from the Florida State University College of Law.Wells Dunbar
The Daily Hustle: 12/6/10: Meet Police Monitor candidates tomorrow
''Austin Chronicle'' (December 6, 2010). She joined the Travis County Sheriff's Office as a

sheriff's deputy A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

,Sheriff had no policy to curb bias, expert witness says
''Times-News'' (August 14, 2004). and eventually became the office's first female lieutenant and the first female captain.Andy Sere
Sheriff Margo Frasier leaves a respected legacy for herself
''Daily Texas'' (January 29, 2004). She was subsequently elected to two four-year terms as sheriff of Travis County, serving from 1997 through 2004. The sheriff's office had some 1,200 employees at the time of Fraiser's tenure. Fraiser, a Democrat, was the first woman and the first openly gay person in that post. She was also the first gay or lesbian person elected sheriff in the United States. During her tenure, Fraiser modernized the sheriff's office through greater use of technology and dealt with overcrowding and code violations at the county jail. During her tenure, the sheriff's office put cameras and computers in patrol cars for the first time.Frasier Looks Back Her Tenure As Sheriff
KXAN (November 1, 2004). After leaving the sheriff's office, Fraiser became a professor of criminal justice at

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

in Huntsville, Texas. She later returned to Austin to become a consultant at a firm that advises law enforcement agencies.Philip Jankowski
Austin Police Monitor Margo Frasier to retire
''Austin American-Statesman'' (December 15, 2017). Fraiser also testified as an expert witness in court cases. In January 2011, Fraiser became police monitor for the City of Austin. She was the fourth person to hold this post. As police monitor, Frasier had oversight over citizen complaints against the Austin Police Department. She retired from the Office of Police Monitor in January 2017, and later that year was appointed by U.S. District Judge

Lance Africk Lance Michael Africk (born December 1, 1951) is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Education and career The New York City-born Africk received a Bachelor of Arts from the U ...

to serve as the lead monitor overseeing the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office under the terms of a 2013 settlement of a case between the Orleans sheriff's offices and jail inmates over poor conditions at the

Orleans Parish Prison Orleans Parish Prison is the city jail for New Orleans, Louisiana. First opened in 1837, it is operated by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Most of the prisoners—1,300 of the 1,500 or so as of June 2016—are awaiting trial. In May 2013, ...

.Matt Sledge
Federal judge replaces lead New Orleans jail monitor in personnel switch during grim period
''New Orleans Advocate'' (November 17, 2017).

Personal life

Fraiser has a domestic partner and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasier, Margo American women police officers Lesbian politicians LGBT law enforcement workers LGBT people from Texas American LGBT politicians American lesbians Living people People from Austin, Texas Texas sheriffs Women in Texas politics Women sheriffs Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women