Dallas Police Officer Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges

Dallas Police Officer Brian William Deininger

Dallas, Texas

Last weekend, it was a wild Saturday night around Brian William Deininger’s house. The 34-year-old Dallas Police Officer, also an 11-year law enforcement veteran, was arrested at an apartment complex after a woman accused him of choking her.

As in many domestic violence cases, the victim later changed her statement, leaving authorities with the only option of releasing Deininger.

Source

Study Finds Houston Police Stop Blacks More Often

Houston, Texas

Houston police officers continue to stop black motorists more often than those of any other racial or ethnic group, according to a Police Department study.

About 33 percent of the 494,000 motorists stopped by Houston police in 2010 were black, while the city's overall population is 23 percent black, the department analysis showed. Hispanics made up 32 percent of the traffic stops but 44 percent of the city's population, while whites accounted for 30 percent of the traffic stops.

The Rev. James Nash, pastor of the mostly black congregation at St. Paul Baptist Church, said he has complained to police officials about what seems to be undeserved police stops of black motorists. "I've always questioned why they stop so many

African-Americans, especially the young blacks," he told the Chronicle. "I guet calls all the time where officers stopped them for no apparent reason and questioned them."

City Council member C.O. Bradford, a former Houston police chief who also is black, said the department has done a "pretty good job" of reducing racially motivated stops but that the situation should continue to be monitored closely. ZZKQNJVP4CNS

Source

Ex-Montgomery County Fire Chief Pleads Guilty to Theft

Stole donation money for muscular dystrophy

Montgomery County, Texas

A former Montgomery County fire chief pleaded guilty to stealing $20,000 in county funds for personal use.

Robert Bob Robinson, as part of his plea deal, will serve 1 year in Montgomery County Jail for Theft, according to a Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office statement. Robinson has already paid the $20,000 restitution fee.

Robinson was the fire chief for the Emergency Services District when the thefts occurred, investigators said.

In his 2 years of service, Robinson made multiple illegal transactions involving county money and property.

And here they are:

-- In one instance, Robinson took money from the ESD account and gave it to another employee for their personal use.

-- Several times, Robinson deposited county money into his personal accounts and used a county credit card to buy personal items. The county was never reimbursed for these purchases.

-- Robinson illegally acquired the funds from the sale of county workout equipment and donation money raised to combat muscular dystrophy (part of the Fire Department’s “Fill the Boot” event)

Source

South Texas DA Gets Jail Time for Stealing Forfeiture Money

Alice, Texas

A former South Texas district attorney who pocketed more than $2 million in drug forfeiture money for himself and his staff has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Joe Frank Garza, former district attorney for Jim Wells and Brooks County, accepted the punishment in a plea deal Friday. The 64-year-old pleaded guilty in March to felony charges of supplementing his paycheck, and the paycheck of employees, with drug forfeiture funds from 2002 to 2008.

Source

Houston Police Chief Says Beating Video Hurt Reputation

Video Source

Houston, Texas

Charles McClelland points to the statistics when evaluating his first year as Houston's police chief: Violent crime decreased in all categories in the Bayou City.

Yet, it was a videotape showing police officers beating a black teenage burglary suspect that grabbed national attention in McClelland's inaugural year. The video of the March 2010 arrest, released to the media in February by a community activist, resulted in harsh criticism by civil rights and community groups and spawned several town hall meetings where residents described other incidents of alleged mistreatment by police.

"It did hurt the reputation of (the Police Department) and it was an unfortunate and isolated incident," McClelland told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "It certainly in no way went to the heart and soul of the 5,300 police officers and 1,700 civilian support staff that do a very good job every single day."

The surveillance video showed several officers kicking, punching and stomping on then 15-year-old Chad Holley during his arrest at a self-storage business in southwest Houston. Four officers were later fired and indicted on various charges.

"The only reason the Holley incident was done the way it was done is because there was irrefutable video evidence. But in the vast majority of cases, there is hardly any discipline whatsoever," said Kallinen, part of the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, a collection of various civil rights and minority rights groups, including the NAACP and LULAC.

Source

Bryan Police Officer Is Under Investigation Following Shooting

Bryan, Texas

A Bryan police officer is being investigated after he fired his gun and seriously injured a suspect and a bystander during a foot chase, authorities say.

The shooting happened Friday morning as an officer was running after a suspicious person who may have been intoxicated, according to the Bryan Police Department release.

Bryan police say the officer shot Johnnie Walton Harris Jr. several times. A bystander, who's been identified as Juan Garcia, also was struck by a bullet. Both Harris and Garcia were transported to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

But now the officer, who hasn't been identified, has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of a criminal probe being conducted by the Bryan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division and an internal affairs investigation spearheaded by the department's professional standards division. The Texas Rangers also are investigating.

A second responding officer who witnessed the shooting also has been placed on administrative leave pending review of the incident.

The Bryan Police Department Criminal Investigation Division has requested that any members of the public who may have witnessed the incident to contact the Bryan Police Department at 209-5316.

Source

Bandera Sheriff Resigns In Plea Deal Over Misuse of County Rescue Boat for Pleasure

Bandera County Sheriff Weldon Tucker

Bandera, Texas

If you are a sheriff in Bandera, Texas, the county does not look favorably on you using their rescue boat for fun. This was a lesson learned the hard way for County Sheriff Weldon Tucker.

After pleading guilty to felony misuse (and to avoid prison sentence), Tucker has been forced to resign. The sheriff also had to pay $2500 in restitution and will be on probation for the next two years.

Tucker was elected in 2006.

Source