Hey baby, I’m LEO, can I bum a smoke?

As part of my regular open records work I ask for LEO disciplinary records. Today I received a thick envelope with over 60 pages of complaints and source material, including a DVD I haven’t watched yet. This complaint stood out-

On March 7th, 2005 Trooper XXXX was counseled for requesting a cigarette from a female he didn’t know, in a public place while on duty and in uniform. The arrested person later complained that Trooper XXXX was flirting with her, and took the cigarette pack from her without permission, and then arrested her when he discovered it contained a marijuana cigarette.

If the indignity of being hit on and having your smokes stolen by a uniformed officer wasn’t enough this poor lady was arrested for the “crime” of carrying a joint. Marijuana prohibition, empowering LEO creeps for over 70 years.

I know what you’re thinking- “One incident isn’t so bad.” It’s still an abuse of power to steal cigarettes and sexually harass the public, but nothing like say using excessive force on a DWI suspect to impress your LEO girlfriend.

However, this Trooper had approximately 20 other complaints including sustained allegations of excessive force (allegedly slamming a DWI suspect’s head into a rear window to impress his LEO girlfriend) and statements from a prosecutor and other LEO’s who didn’t want this guy around. This all happened (allegedly) in Uvalde in 2005.

What did DPS do with this problem officer? They transferred him to Kaufman. More on this later.