John David Batton (February 13, 1911 – February 10, 1981),"Former Chief, J. D. Batton, Succumbs", '' Minden Press-Herald'', February 10, 1981, p. 1. was from 1952 to 1964 the

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 ...

of his native Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. He was defeated after three terms by

O. H. Haynes Jr. O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

, a fellow

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and the son of the sheriff, O. H. Haynes Sr., whom Batton had himself unseated twelve years earlier.

Law-enforcement career

Webster Parish Sheriff

Shortly after his first reelection, Batton was named one of seventeen directors of the Webster Parish

Citizens' Council The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of White supremacy, white supremacist, Racial segregation in the United States, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentra ...

, a body which sought to prevent school desegregation. Others in the council were the mortician Ed Kleinegger, Tax Assessor Richard B. Garrison, and the Minden High School principal, W. W. Williams."Rainach to Speak at Council Meet Tomorrow Night," ''Minden Press,'' April 16, 1956, p. 1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batton, J. D. 1911 births 1981 deaths Louisiana sheriffs American municipal police chiefs Louisiana Democrats Politicians from Minden, Louisiana Citizens' Councils members Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana) alumni Baptists from Louisiana Burials at Gardens of Memory Cemetery (Minden, Louisiana) 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Baptists