Documents
point to misconduct within Hallsville Police Department
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Misconduct.
Months
before he and three other officers were terminated in December, the Hallsville
chief of police had been threatened with firing amid allegations his officers
were double-dipping, failing to respond to calls in a timely manner and
fraternizing with women while on duty.
According
to documents released by the city under the Texas Public Information Act,
Hallsville Mayor Jerri Medrano repeatedly warned Chief Greg Scott in 2011 about
performance issues within his department.
The
most revealing of the documents was a memorandum from Medrano to Scott, in
which the mayor accused the chief of being unprofessional, being too close to
his staff to discipline them and ignoring public warnings that one officer
routinely “spent time with women” in his car while on duty.
In
the April 29 memo, Medrano said she had complaints from the public regarding
police officers “double-dipping” by working private security detail while on
duty; failing to adequately patrol; failing to respond to complaints in a
timely manner; using foul language in public; making sexual innuendos in public
and failing to enforce codes.
Medrano
wrote to Scott, “I believe that you do not think you are answerable to anyone.”
She
wrote “ … truthfully I was ready to terminate your employment with the City,
but, I have agreed to work with you … You are all good guys but it has gotten
too lax. … ”
Despite
the warnings, Medrano graded Scott’s annual job performance as exceptional or
superior in his July job evaluation.
In
the evaluation summary, Medrano noted, “The past couple of months Greg showed
improvement when supervising the department but in the past 2-3 weeks I’ve
noticed that he is sliding back into the old behavior. I know this is difficult
for him to maintain but he will have to decide whether the problem is
eliminated or he will seek employment elsewhere.”
After
the July evaluation, documents showed, police officer T.C. Livingston was
reprimanded July 25 for not spending enough time on active patrol; Livingston,
Sgt. Mack Fuller and Earl Dykes were disciplined Aug. 22 for committing a class
C misdemeanor by riding four wheelers on city streets, and on Nov. 15,
Hallsville Alderman Doris Coleman complained the police station was unmanned on
two of her visits.
On
Dec. 28, Medrano fired Scott, Fuller and Livingston, leaving Dykes the
remaining Hallsville officer. Dykes quit in the middle of his shift that night.
The City Council later voted to reinstate Scott, Fuller and Livingston after
outcry from residents.
The
documents released revealed Dykes’ personnel issues were a key component in the
controversy.
In
her April 29 memo to Scott, Medrano wrote she warned the chief “months ago”
that Dykes “was spending a lot of time, on duty, with women in his vehicle or
parked beside him on Cal Young Rd. (reported by neighbors across the street
that saw him daily) for most of his shift.”
Medrano
wrote she saw Dykes parked for hours at a time, while on night duty, “in the
dark part of the sub-courthouse with another vehicle.”
Two
days later — on May 1 — Dykes was suspended from duty without pay because a
criminal complaint was filed against him.
Harrison
County District Attorney Coke Solomon said the complaint was filed by a
resident with the Hallsville Police Department and investigated by members of
the department.
Evidence
was presented June 30 to the Harrison County grand jury. Solomon said the grand
jury found there was not enough evidence to indict Dykes. The district attorney
would not disclose the nature of the criminal complaint or the name of the
complainant. The City of Hallsville has not released a copy of the complaint.
Dykes
was reinstated, given back pay and resumed patrol duty July 4.
As
part of his reinstatement terms, Dykes was required to show proof he attended
mandatory counseling sessions and proof he repaid Charlotte Anderson in full
for a debt he owed her, city documents showed. Documents released by the city
include a copy of a receipt from Anderson for $800 for “back rent due
2/1/2011.”
In
the April 29 memorandum, Medrano ordered police department vehicles be left at
the office at the end of each shift.
“No
extra security outside the city limits using the city vehicle,” she wrote.
City
documents obtained by the News-Journal include a January 2010 memorandum from
an unidentified source prohibiting officers from performing private security
work while on duty.
“Any
officer scheduled to work for the City of Hallsville is not to work a side
security job at the same time. ... Greg, I should not have to be having to tell
you all this. Security is for their off time to earn extra income and not to be
done on City Time. Do you need me to type up a formal notice and sign it for
the department or will you handle it?”
Medrano
declined to comment on any of the documents obtained by the News-Journal.
Since
the officers returned to work, she said, there have been no problems.
“We’re
trying to put this behind us and move forward,” she said.
She
said a financial review of the department will be conducted in April.
“Our
town is so small we just always did things the same way,” Medrano said. “Now
we’ve got to create policy and procedure and move forward.”
