John David Batton (February 13, 1911 – February 10, 1981) was from 1952 to 1964 the sheriff of his native Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana."Former Chief, J. D. Batton, Succumbs", Minden Press-Herald, February 10, 1981, p. 1. He was defeated after three terms by O. H. Haynes Jr., a fellow Democrat 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, 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.
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