The Hawk’s Eye – Consulting & News | A Texas News Source

Did a Police Chief Really Go to School?

Did a Police Chief Really Go to School?

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Could a current Police Chief have been in two places at one time, in 1992? We have received, through the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), a portion of a school catalog from Northeast Texas Community College (1991) in Titus County, Texas for the 1991-1992 academic year.

In the catalog we were provided; it identifies the college would be on Spring Break from March 16 through Match 22.

TPIA, NTCC – 1991-1992 – College Calendar – School Catalog

Previously, through the TPIA, we received certification of completions from the City of Princeton, Texas for the Police Chiefs enrollment at NTCC for a Basic Peace Officer Certification (BPOC) and a Basic Jailer Certification (BJC)

First, we present the BJC which was issued for course completion on April 3, 1992, which indicated a 40 hour block (one week) of instruction.

TPIA, City of Princeton – BJC

The interesting thing about the BJC, besides it begin taken during a full week of academic course work, is the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) had a document in their files which was said to originate from Camp County and be issued by Whit Barnett, the claimed Camp County Constable (at the time) on March 9, 1992

TPIA, TCOLE – Affidavit

After the BJC and before receiving the BPOC, the current Police Chief, applied with the Camp County Government. This is seen by taking a look at one page of his application, which was received by Camp County Government through the TPIA process.

TPIA, Camp County Government – One Page of Application

There are a few items highlighted in the first page of the Camp County Government application for the current Police Chief. There is no date provided for when the document was submitted to Camp County. There is a portion of desired positions, which lists dispatch or reserve jailer, both being part-time. The application also shows the BJC being awarded and the BPOC being in process. So the date of application is after April 3, 1992, and before July 16, 1992.

This means, the March 9, 1992 document was submitted to TCOLE, then the BJC was taken, and third, an application was made to Camp County.

Below is the BPOC being awarded on July 16, 1992. The document was received through TPIA from the City of Princeton.

TPIA, City of Princeton – BPOC Awarded

One of the main questions being asked, is why was the March 9, 1992, document needed, at all? It seems unlikely the college would need verification of an arrest record or history because the current Police Chief was already enrolled in the proper course programing to be a peace officer, correct?

Well, we took a look at the Police Chief’s resume when he applied to the City of Kyle, Texas and noted that he claimed employment with NTCC from 1995 through 2009, as needed. The resume was received through the TPIA process.

TPIA, City of Kyle – One Page of Resume for Police Chief Job Application

As one can see, the 1995-2009 NTCC employment is referenced; however, is it accurate? According to NTCC, it is not accurate and there was another discovery made with requesting records from NTCC through TPIA.

TPIA, NTCC – Employment Response (2008/2009 ONLY)

Above is the confirmation of the Police Chiefs employment dates. It was only for the 2008 – 2009 academic year. So, what else was discovered?

Well, when one applies for a job, he would not have documents from the future in his employment application. Specifically, he would not have a transcript from NTCC dated April 2, 2009, which would be after he applied and began working.

TPIA, NTCC – Transcript from Employment Application File

The transcript was released as part of the employment file with NTCC. There is no reason, we can think of that one would want to put his NTCC transcript in his own employment file, in 2009, after he started working. There would be no need to have it. If anything, it would of been a document used before he applied. This means the issue date would be before and not near the completion of his tenure with NTCC.

We are not sure why the BJC is not represented on the transcript, but our questions to the practicality of taking a BJC and BPOC have yet to be answered; especially, with the other compounding issues presented.

Oh, before we conclude, we want to reference an opinion issued by the Attorney General’s Office (AG). In 1987, Opinion 455 was issued which identified that public servants have a very narrow expectation of privacy. It also basis the standard on “if information was published.” All of our information is through the TPIA process. The education records were released through the employment application process; which is a required disclosure.

We feel the need to state, just because one agency cannot release the records, it does not mean the records cannot be obtained, lawfully, elsewhere.

So, what do you think? Did he attend the school properly? Or could there be issues? There is a lot of need to explain to the public, yet no explanation has occurred. The matter is questionable and of interest to the public; especially, when it is related to a current Police Chief, who’s is at the top of his organization structure.

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