Public Safety in Gillespie County: Sheriff Chris Ayala on Serving Fredericksburg

Chris Ayala took office as Gillespie County Sheriff on January 1, 2025, after nearly three decades in local law enforcement. Many people in Fredericksburg know him from the 23 years he taught the law enforcement program at the high school, and Ryan Rendon was one of his students. In Episode 16, Ryan sat down with him to talk about running the sheriff’s office, what newcomers should know, and what the July 2025 floods taught the region about being prepared.

From Jourdanton to Fredericksburg

Sheriff Ayala grew up in Jourdanton, about 40 miles south of San Antonio on Highway 16. He started as a reserve officer in Floresville, worked for the Pleasanton Police Department, then served as a Wilson County deputy. After a serious on-duty accident, in which he hit a horse while on patrol, he met Fredericksburg officers at a training class. One of them invited him to apply, and his first response was, “Where’s Fredericksburg?” He was hired in 1999 and has been here ever since.

He started teaching criminal justice at the high school expecting it to be a short assignment. It lasted 23 years. He says the students pushed him to live up to what he was teaching.

Running for sheriff the “old school” way

When he decided to run in 2024, he picked 40 houses at random, knocked on doors and asked people what they knew about the sheriff and the county. His takeaway was that the sheriff should be someone people actually know. He still drives a marked unit, runs traffic and backs up deputies on calls. He writes his own Facebook posts and ends each one with “Gillespie County Proud.”

“I do believe that someone should be able to pick up and contact me directly on my phone and have that conversation.”Sheriff Chris Ayala, 25:38

He keeps a six-person table in his office for hard conversations with residents, and his rule for his deputies is simple: he doesn’t yell, and neither do they.

Sheriff’s office vs. police department

If you’re buying land outside town, this is worth knowing. Gillespie County covers about 1,100 square miles, and the sheriff’s office has jurisdiction across the whole county, from county line to county line. The Fredericksburg Police Department covers the roughly 15 square miles inside the city limits. Sheriff Ayala says he and Police Chief Brian Borau have worked well together from day one, and the two agencies back each other up.

Tourists, wineries and traffic on 290

Ryan asked how a county with quiet ranch land and heavy weekend tourism changes the job. Sheriff Ayala said that years ago visitors came mostly to Fredericksburg itself. Over the past decade the wineries have spread traffic across the county during the day, and then visitors head into town after the wineries close around six. He pointed to US 290, US 87 and Highway 16 as the main roads bringing visitors in, and challenged anyone to sit and count the traffic coming into the county.

He credits the Highway 290 Alliance’s push to lower the speed limit to 60 and add turn lanes with reducing the number of fatal crashes on 290 East, though it hasn’t eliminated them.

What the July 2025 floods taught

Gillespie County deputies, along with firefighters, EMTs, jailers and county staff, went to help search in Kerr County after the July 2025 floods. Sheriff Ayala described the work as exhausting and the loss as something people won’t shake. Since then, local groups have met to talk through what they would need if it happened here. His lessons for residents:

• “When in doubt, get out.” The sheriff’s office can ask you to leave but can’t force you, and it may not be able to come back for you if conditions get worse.
• Take extra care at night. It is much harder to move people in the dark than in daylight, so lean toward caution when a threat is building after sunset.
• Sign up for county emergency alerts. The county’s communications and emergency management teams are building a system that can reach thousands of people, but you have to sign up to get the messages.
• Remember the rivers. He said the county has had to take a fresh look at the Pedernales, where RV parks and new subdivisions are now closer to the river than they used to be.

“An alert is only as good as if you adhere to it.”Sheriff Chris Ayala, 59:54

Advice for newcomers

His first piece of advice for anyone new to the county is to learn the roads. Drive around with your family and make sure everyone, kids included, knows Highway 16 from US 87 and can name the subdivision you live in. If you ever have to call for help, “I live on the north side of the county” doesn’t tell dispatch much. He also suggests driving out to Stonewall and Harper to see the rest of the county, and getting involved in community events.

And if you have a problem with how something was handled, he’d rather you call him than post about it. His direct number is on the sheriff’s office webpage, and Wednesdays are the best day to stop by.

Why he stays

Sheriff Ayala and his wife, who is a sixth-generation Gillespie County German, have been married almost 22 years and raised three sons here. His goal for the office is a county that kids can leave and want to come back to.