Inside 495 you're probably right. Outside it would be 50/50. But if he did it right, the sheep wouldn't say a word.
Something like this:
As Sheriff of this county, I recognize that our police force is grossly outnumbered by the number of gang members that have infiltrated our county. I'm concerned that the drug trafficking that is going on has increased the risk to our citizens (SHEEP) and, given budget constraints, I've decided that it would be a good thing if law abiding members of our county could augment our law enforcement efforts if properly trained and deputized. They would only be called upon in dire emergencies and they would have to pay for their own training, so there would be no cost to the taxpayer. Of course, each individual would be closely scrutinized and subjected to an extensive background check (sound familiar?). We can no longer let the drug cartels run wild in our county we must do something and this is the most cost effective way of achieving our goal of "zero tolerance" for drug related crime. We need to protect our children!