Make it difficult for bad cops to get new jobs

Areport from the Sunset Advisory Commission on the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, coupled with reporting by the San Antonio ExpressNews, reveals a gaping hole through which police officers behaving badly can hop from one department to the next without detection.

Think of the behavior of former San Antonio police officer Matthew Luckhurst, who allegedly gave a feces sandwich to a homeless man. Fired here, he was recently hired as a reserve officer in Floresville. However, after articles written by Eric Dexheimer of the Hearst Austin Bureau, Luckhurst was released from that role.

The Sunset review of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or TCOLE, found the state’s regulation is “by and large, toothless” and that “Texas’ regulatory approach has resulted in a fragmented, outdated system with inadequate training, lack of statewide standards and inconsistent accountability.”

This raises many questions: Are there cops with equally egregious behavior flying under the radar? Why aren’t agencies speaking with each other during the hiring process? How could the Floresville Police Department hire Luckhurst given his background and reputation in San Antonio? How does the state hold officers and police departments accountable?

Dennis Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told us Luckhurst’s hiring boils down to a “lousy background investigation.”

At the very least, Kenney said, the hiring agency should have conducted a follow-up to his employment status. A simple Google search for Luckhurst’s name would have sufficed.

Texas isn’t the only state trying to address the issue of bad cops who hop from department to department. It was revealed in 2019 during an investigation spearheaded by the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Bay Area News Group that more than 80 law enforcement officers working in California that year were convicted criminals, with rap sheets that included everything from animal cruelty to manslaughter.

Luckhurst’s case almost certainly scratches the surface in Texas, given that the commission said TCOLE’s regulation is ineffective but also that TCOLE’s “statute and procedures do not conform to common licensing and regulatory standards.” Since 2012, about 1,400 dishonorably discharged police found new law enforcement work, according to the nonprofit Texas 2036.

Recommendations from the commission include directing TCOLE to work with the Department of Public Safety to subscribe to fingerprint-based criminal background checks for all licensure applicants and licensees; and to explicitly

give TCOLE the authority to temporarily suspend a license in cases of imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare and require a timeline for due process hearings.

Bart Terrell, a Texas police officer, agreed with the commission’s findings during public comment at a November meeting and supported license suspension.

“I have personally witnessed employees who have been arrested, convicted, and served sentences, all while continuing to work at a law enforcement agency, as they failed to report the incident,” he told the commission, according to meeting documents. “I also concur that TCOLE should have the authority to temporarily suspend a licensee in case of imminent threat to public safety.”

Samantha Gray, also a Texas police officer, said other state licenses are more regulated.

“I propose that TCOLE be reformed in a manner similar to every other licensing (board) in the state of Texas. Where you can file a complaint and officers can be held accountable under their (license) for misconduct.

“I currently hold a private pilot (license), a Texas insurance agent license, a Texas real estate license and a Texas peace officer license, and peace officers are the only (ones) that do not follow this procedure,” she said in November, according to meeting documents.

The recommendations from the Sunset Advisory Commission, according to Kenney, are “pretty tame and are common sense.”

“I’m surprised they’re not already being done,” he added, explaining the reluctance to report might be attributed to higher-ranking officials wanting to avoid civil litigation by a fired officer.

Lack of accountability ultimately hurts a department’s reputation and the morale of fellow police officers. It also undermines public trust in law enforcement.

This is why it’s necessary for TCOLE to follow through with the recommendation to “create the blue ribbon panel to comprehensively evaluate the regulation of law enforcement in Texas.” Creating a blue ribbon panel was recommended in 2020 but was not adopted.

The blue ribbon panel would focus on three key areas: professional conduct standards; licensee training and education requirements; and ensuring the professionalism of licensees and law enforcement agencies.

State lawmakers should create the panel this session for the good of the public and law enforcement.

Blue-ribbon panel would boost the toothless law enforcement commission

Emilie Eaton/Staff file photo Former San Antonio police officer Matthew Luckhurst, who allegedly gave a feces sandwich to a homeless man, was hired as a reserve officer in Floresville.