I'm still the employer like it or not. Obviously, my power is through my elected officials and not directly to the police department. But I'm still one of the employers.
That's a nice thing about the sheriff's office the sheriff is directly elected by the employers, no third party there.
Just because you pay federal taxes and agencies far away from you line up to get access to those dollars doesn't mean you should have any say in what goes on in Texas any more than what you say should have any effect on the desires of Montana officers.