Henderson County won't take Trinidad Police cases after controversial arrests, state investigations

TRINIDAD, Texas - The Trinidad Police Department has had its powers effectively stripped after a series of controversial arrests related to its ongoing water issues.

Trinidad Police stripped of power

What we know:

On Monday, the Henderson County District Attorney's Office and County Attorney's office informed Trinidad that it will no longer take cases from the Trinidad Police Department.

The following letter was sent to Trinidad Police:

"This letter notifies you that the offices of the Henderson County District Attorney and Henderson County Attorney will no longer accept cases for prosecution solely investigated or filed by the Trinidad Police Department until further notice. Our offices requested the current TCOLE audit. Sheriff Hillhouse has agreed to dispatch his officers for any crime that occurs within the city limits. Any pending case already filed by the Trinidad Police Department will be reviewed and decided on a case-by-case basis and appropriate disclosures will be made."

The letter means anything above a Class C Misdemeanor would involve a sheriff, and not the Trinidad Police Department.

The backstory:

The Trinidad Police Department has been embroiled in controversy since May, when citizen journalist Jennifer Combs was arrested and charged with a felony after making a Facebook post about the city's water issues.

Combs' post stated she had seen reports that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city's water.  Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory responded by saying Combs’ post "creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community."

A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in "an act of deliberate political retaliation."

One day after FOX 4's initial report on Combs, citizen journalist Winston Noles was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after protesting outside Trinidad City Hall with a sign with expletives targeting "bad cops." The charge was later dismissed.

Gregory resigned from his position as Trinidad Police Chief following multiple controversies after saying he had "nothing to hide" regarding Combs and Knowles' arrest at a Trinidad City Council meeting.. His final day with the department was June 19. 

Gregory has declined interview requests from FOX 4, citing pending lawsuits.

Following news of Gregory's resignation, the Trinidad judge who approved the search warrant for Combs wrote a scathing letter against him and his police department.

The letter questions "the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information presented" to him by two Trinidad police officers in relation to Combs' arrest warrant.

Today's letter reveals that the Trinidad Police Department is under investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement; the scope of the investigation remains unclear.

What they're saying:

"Unfortunately, this is where we’re at right now."

Interim Trinidad Police Chief Cameron Beckham said he was "astonished" to receive the letter from local prosecutors, which relegates the department's authority to mainly traffic enforcement.

Beckham says his predecessors are to blame for the TCOLE investigation. "TCOLE has the information to back it up, so, I mean, we're talking bad policing for 15 years," he tells FOX 4's David Sentendrey.

Though Beckham joined the department last November and became interim chief in June, he was involved in the arrest of Combs that drew the scathing letter from the Trinidad judge.

Beckham says instead of charging Combs and Knowles, he would have given their cases to the District Attorney's Office to decide if they should be charged.

Newly-elected Trinidad City Councilman Steven Stearman says he was "puzzled" after reading the letter, and wants more details to find out if the policing issues can be fixed.

"If we're doing something wrong and the city needs to shut down our department, by all means we're going to shut it down," Stearman tells Sentendrey.

Trinidad Water Saga

Timeline:

The saga in Trinidad, which sits over an hour south of Dallas and claims less than 800 residents, began with water issues that have been ongoing for some time, according to city officials.

FOX 4 has not verified that anyone in Trinidad was hospitalized from drinking the city's water, as Combs' post stated.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released a report on July 13 detailing problems with Trinidad's aging water distribution mains, failures in the system's design, and chemicals over 300% higher than the federally allowed limit in the water.

In June, a family in Trinidad alleged that after showering with the city's water, their teenage daughter suffered a chemical burn.

An attorney for the family provided a preliminary water test strip result that showed "dangerous" free chlorine levels in the Logan family's water. It remains unclear if Trinidad's recent water treatment led to the Logans' daughter's rash.

In addition to the investigation into the city's police department, several Trinidad officials have resigned after controversial firings brought lawsuits against the city.

On Wednesday, May 27, Alex Estrada and Colby Reyes, two former Trinidad employees, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming Cynthia Dosier, then the Trinidad City Administrator, fired them without cause.

Reyes, the former Trinidad Water Clerk, says in the lawsuit that she was fired because she "refused to lie" on behalf of Gregory and City Administrator Dosier.

Reyes' lawsuit claims Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by Noles in order to arrest him, in which Reyes says she put in writing she was "never offended" by Noles.

At a May 28 Trinidad City Council meeting, the issue of water quality in Trinidad was never addressed, but it did fire Shellena Bivens, its Municipal Judge.

Bivens is considering legal action against Trinidad, with her attorney saying her firing was unjust. "I’m a good judge. I’m a damn good judge," Bivens told Sentendrey.

All three employees of Trinidad City Hall, including Dosier, resigned in late July. The Texas Rangers confirmed to FOX 4 they have begun an investigation into the City of Trinidad, though the scope of their investigation remains unclear.

What's next:

We're still waiting for news of the Texas Rangers' investigation and TCOLE's investigation into the Trinidad Police Department.

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