If you have watched just a little bit of television in recent months you have probably seen the ad.
In it, Bexar County sheriff candidate Susan Pamerleau criticizes the closure rate of homicide cases in the county.
Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz slammed the ad when asked about it Thursday.
"She's done nothing but sling mud. She never gets specific, she talks in broad terms. But I refuse to get down in the gutter with her," said Ortiz.
The sheriff gave KENS 5 access to his office's homicide case loads for 2011 and 2012.
Detectives filed charges or ruled the deaths as something other than homicides in nine out of eleven cases, for a clearance rate of 81.8 percent. Only two cases from 2011 remain open.
So far in 2012, more than 60 percent of cases have been cleared.
According to Pamerleau's ad the closure rate is 27 percent.
The battle of words may come down to 'clearance' versus 'closure.'
But we checked homicide databases from other parts of the United States, and 'clearance' and 'closure' are used interchangeably.
Pamerleau Campaign Manager Debra Nicholas said after seeing the county's homicide case loads, she says the campaign is standing behind its ad.
