Galveston County Sheriff nominee made false or untruthful official statements, state commission says
By B. Scott McLendon
Galveston County Daily News
Jun 13, 2024
Evidence the state’s police regulatory agency used to conclude it should revoke Jimmy Fullen’s peace officer license includes a series of assault charges, disciplinary actions and other on-the-job reprimands, according to documents obtained through a public information request.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement on June 3 found Fullen, the GOP nominee for county sheriff, filed false or untruthful personal history statements with the commission, Mark Duncan, assistant general counsel wrote in the petition.
If the board follows the recommendation, which Fullen has appealed, it would make him ineligible to be sheriff, authorities said.
Evidence commission staff members reviewed in response to a complaint dates back to the 1980s, but the ruling was based on assertions Fullen fairly recently failed to disclose or mischaracterized events about his past on certified official documents required of peace officers.
“Respondent made, submitted, caused to be submitted, or filed false or untruthful personal history statements to TCOLE,” Duncan wrote.
“Specifically, respondent omitted, failed to disclose, or provided false or untruthful information related to job experience, having been disciplined at work, having been fired or asked to resign from a place of employment, having been accused of discrimination, having been the subject of a written complaint at work, having failed to make or been late on a court-ordered payment, having been part of a civil lawsuit, and failing to disclose two arrests,” Duncan wrote.
Fullen referred questions to his attorney, Greg Cagle, who didn’t respond to calls for comment.
‘19 LIES AND OMISSIONS’
Kenneth Williams, a retired Galveston County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, filed the complaint in late October and received word June 3 the commission found it merited action.
Williams for months has operated a website opposing Fullen’s candidacy and parsing documents and claims about his past.
Many have suspected sheriff’s office Maj. Ray Nolen, who was Fullen’s opponent in the Republican primary, was behind the website and complaint; he and Williams told The Daily News that Nolen had nothing to do with either.
Williams noticed about 18 months ago that Texas City police didn’t have a personal history statement from Fullen for his time working there in 2019, he said.
“So, TCOLE made him do a personal history statement for his appointment as chief deputy for Precinct 2 and he had to do a personal history statement for his appointment as a reserve officer for Texas City,” Williams said.
Those statements are vital for police administration because they list all interactions people have had with law enforcement, as well as any punitive actions taken against them for on-the-job misconduct, Williams said.
Fullen had two personal statements notarized and approved by the Texas City Police Department in October 2023 and the Precinct 2 Constable’s Office in January 2024, Williams said.
“On those statements, I found 19 lies and omissions,” Williams said. “He lied about everything. He said he has never been written up, never been reprimanded, never been complained on, never nothing.
“If you’re going to falsify a government record, what’s going to keep you from falsifying a report or a vehicle inventory? Who can trust an officer who lies on a personal history report?”
THREE ASSAULTS
Fullen failed to list two of three assault charges on a history statement he signed Jan. 11 for the commission, according to documents obtained through the open-records request.
A judge sentenced Fullen to deferred adjudication in connection to beating a person with a baseball bat at the 61st Street Jack in the Box in May 1982, according to court records.
“May of 1982, I was charged with assault,” Fullen wrote on the personal history statement for the commission in January.
“Defending a third party from being assaulted, I was subsequently charged with assault,” he wrote. “The case was later dismissed.”
Authorities, however, charged Fullen with assault in 1982, 1983 and 1989, two years after he obtained a peace officer’s license, according to court documents.
Fullen didn’t include the other two charges on his history statement for the commission and checked a box on the form saying he had not been charged with assault since he obtained a peace officer license in 1987, according to the commission.
ON-THE-JOB TROUBLE
On a personal history statement filed with the commission Jan. 11, Fullen checked a box asserting he had never been terminated from a peace officer job, according to legal documents.
Electra Police Department leaders, however, took disciplinary action against Fullen several times and terminated his employment in 1989, according to documents the commission reviewed.
Fullen was reprimanded for failing to follow through with an investigation, according to a reprimand letter.
The department issued another reprimand after an officer found Fullen asleep on the job, according to a reprimand letter.
Scott Bunton, chief of police at the time, reprimanded Fullen again on Aug. 9, 1989, after Electra residents reported he wasn’t out patrolling where he was supposed to be, according to another reprimand letter.
Fullen’s eight-month stint with Electra PD ended Aug. 16, 1989, amid assertions he allowed a civilian to enter the department’s investigation storage room unescorted to retrieve tools, according to documents.
The man left with the tools, but also took a copy of a sworn statement he used to intimidate a witness, and two bags of cannabis, according to another reprimand letter.
The Electra chief fired Fullen that day for insubordination because Fullen refused to meet with his boss about the evidence room breach and other issues, according to the letter.
It was unclear Thursday when the commission will hear Fullen’s appeal and make a decision on whether to revoke his license.
It also was unclear how the loss of his license might effect Fullen’s status as the GOP’s candidate for sheriff in the November general election.
Galveston County Republican Party officials, who might have to decide that, didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.
1 comment:
Big Republican $ backed him. Now what? (USA)
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