TEXAS COMMISSION ·oN

LAW ENFORCEMENT
Kim Vickers
Executive Director

July 15, 2020

Robert Chody
Sheriff, Williamson County Sheriffs Office
508 S. Rock Street
Georgetown, Texas 78626-5604

Re: TCOLE Investigations 20-05-1460 and 20-05-1525

Sheriff Robert Chody,

This letter is intended to inform you of the closing of the enforcement cases regarding several complaints
directed at the Williamson County Sheriffs Office, and Training Academy. The first complaint (TCOLE case#
20-05-1460) alleged your agency's training academy fraudulently reported an FTO training course that was
not properly taught by Williamson County Sheriffs Office Training Instructors. The second complaint (TCOLE
case# 20-06-1525) alleged Williamson County Lieutenant Gripentrog was asked to fraudulently report a Taser
course for Deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden, and also the Williamson County Sheriffs Office has
disregarded FSr's on ex-Austin Police Officers during background investigations.

As to the allegation regarding the FTO training course, Investigators found that Instructor Jason Johnston did
conduct the FTO training course with Deputy Trevone Johnson. While the course was conducted in a non-
traditional manner, Investigators found that Deputy Johnson did complete the FTO Certification course and
did retain the learning objectives from that training. Albeit, the TCOLE requirements for course instruction
were completed in a non-traditional manner, Investigators found that the current COVID-19 situation and
ambiguous orders by the executive staff of the Williamson County Sheriffs Office contributed to this course
being taken in an atypical fashion. This case been closed as "Unfounded".

As to the allegation Williamson County Lieutenant Gripentrog was asked to fraudulently report a Taser
course for Deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden. Investigators found that both Deputies Johnson and
Camden were certified for tasers while appointed at the Bastrop County Sheriffs office. Investigators found
Camden does not have any reported training on taser with Williamson County, and Johnson participated in a
taser update training on 11/12/19 (TCOLE roster 10880662) as an instructor. Investigators found nothing to
support the allegation in this complaint. This case has been closed as "Unfounded".

As to the allegations of the Williamson County Sheriffs Office disregarding FSr's on ex-Austin Police Officers.
Investigators found that FSr's were conducted on ex-Austin Police Officer as required. Investigator did find
that there were clear orders by Lt. Dutton via Commander Stephen Deaton to merely do the minimum checks
and that the background investigators' findings were not of concern because the officers were going to be
hired regardless. Hiring decisions are not in TCOLE's purview however, it is concerning that three (3)
background investigators stated the agency ignored past disciplinary issues of three (3) former Austin Police
Officers. No TCOLE violations were found. This case has been closed as "Unfounded".

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Phone : (512) 936-7700 Fax: (512) 9 36-7714 6330 E Highway 290 STE 200 Austin TX 78723-1035
 TEXAS COMMISSION ON
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Kim Vickers
Executive Director

There were no TCOLE violations found in all three (3) allegations. This letter is intended to inform you of the
findings of our investigation and to provide a closing document to the enforcement case. No action will be
sought against your agency or your license.

, acerely, -1J4 r
o:fu ~aut, Captain
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Enforcement Division

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Phone: (512) 936-7700 Fax: (5 l 2) 936-7714 6330 E Highway 290 STE 200 Austin TX 78723-1035
STATE OF TEXAS TCOLE Case Number: _20-05-1460___________
COUNTY OF __Williamson__________
AFFIDAVIT
Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared, Lt. Craig Gripentrog PID who after being
duly sworn, upon oath deposes and says: On 6/24/2020 I gave this statement to Sgt. David New (TCOLE). My date of
birth is and I live at . My telephone number is . I am
employed with Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and my work address is 508 Rock Street, Georgetown, TX 78626.

I have been a police officer for approximately 26 years and am currently assigned to Traffic/K9/CIT. I was the training
coordinator and the Lieutenant over WCSO training from Feb 2018 – May 2019.

During the time I was the Training Coordinator Deputy James Johnson aka “JJ” did not take any Taser Training that I
was aware of. I was never asked to “pencil-whip” any training for anyone specifically Deputy Johnson. I was not
removed from Training because I did not follow an order to falsify a government document.

I did tell people I felt I was removed from training because I wrote up Ex-Deputy David Nickel and I asked a lot of
questions about decisions being made and procedures in an attempt to make us more equitable and efficient. This
made me a “thorn” in their side. Ever since this administration came in, they never really followed our hiring practices
and policies. An example of this is the officers not completing their psychological or drug testing before being hired.
As a group we amended the hire policy and approved it with the Chiefs yet Mary would email with complaints the
policy still wasn’t followed. I would notify commander Carter.

I remember Deputy Camden was scheduled to attend an INDOC (Indoctrination) course in March or April of 2019 and
it was cancelled by Sheriff Chody because they were already certified, the streets were shorthanded and therefore
they went straight to patrol without attending. This manipulation of the 8-week INDOC class has occurred in the past
however the class was shortened not cancelled. This is the only one that I can think of that was cancelled.

Time Concluded: 9:50 AM

I have been informed that under the penal code of the State of Texas, Section 37.02, a person commits the offense of perjury if,
with intent to deceive and with knowledge of the statement’s meaning he or she makes a false statement under oath or swears
to the truth of a false statement previously made and the statement is required or authorized by law to be made under oath. I
can read, write and understand the English language. I have read this statement, consisting of __1___ pages. It is true and
correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

____________________________________________________ _________________________
Affiant Signature

___________________________________________________________________ PID #
Witnessed by a Peace Officer in and for the State of Texas
STATE OF TEXAS TCOLE Case Number: _20-05-1460___________
COUNTY OF __Williamson__________

Time Concluded: 9:50 AM

I have been informed that under the penal code of the State of Texas, Section 37.02, a person commits the offense of perjury if,
with intent to deceive and with knowledge of the statement’s meaning he or she makes a false statement under oath or swears
to the truth of a false statement previously made and the statement is required or authorized by law to be made under oath. I
can read, write and understand the English language. I have read this statement, consisting of __1___ pages. It is true and
correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

____________________________________________________ _________________________
Affiant Signature Date

___________________________________________________________________ PID # _____________

Witnessed by a Peace Officer in and for the State of Texas
 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
CASE INFORMATION

Case Number: 20-05-1525

Investigator: Sgt. David New

Offense: Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Rule, Title 37 Texas Administrative Code,
Chapter §211 Administration

§211.29 Responsibilities of Agency Chief Administrators

and;

Chapter 1701 Texas Occupations Code Subchapter K. Disciplinary Procedures

§1701.501 Disciplinary Action

Licensee: Robert Chody / PID# (Sheriff, Williamson County)

SUMMARY:

On 6/16/20, Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick referred several complaints to TCOLE for
investigation. DA Dick learned of possible falsifications of an FTO training course and attempted
falsification of a Taser course by Williamson County Sheriff’s Deputies. Additionally, the District
Attorney’s Office were notified of possible intentional neglect of background checks on WCSO Deputies.
No TCOLE violations were found.

INVESTIGATION:

On 6/16/20, Williamson District Attorney Shawn Dick referred several complaints to TCOLE for
investigation. In his referral, Dick stated that local Georgetown, TX attorney Robert McCabe sent him
several text messages detailing his understanding of possible wrongdoing at the Williamson County
Sheriff’s Office. The first issue noted by McCabe was in reference to an FTO training course. This
investigation was completed by TCOLE (TCOLE case #20-05-1460) and closed UNFOUNDED. The training
did occur but was not administered in the conventional manner due to the COVID-19 protocols and
ambiguous orders by WCSO executive staff. The second allegation was ex-Training Coordinator Lt. Craig
Gripentrog was asked to falsify a deputy’s Taser certification. When Gripentrog refused, he was
reassigned within the department. The deputy in question was involved in an in-custody death incident
involving a taser in March of 2019.

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 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
On 6/17/20, I met with Williamson County DA Investigator Randy Traylor and First Assistant Lindsey
Roberts and two other prosecutors. They mentioned another concern that the WCSO wasn’t conducting
background checks on their employees prior to being hired. Specifically, ex-Austin Police Officers hired
by WCSO.

On 6/22/20, I emailed Lt. Mark Luera (Training Coordinator) at WCSO and asked him to provide me
copies of 9 ex-Austin Police employees that are currently employed at WCSO including himself. He
returned the required information and I reviewed the F5R’s for these individuals:

Steve Deaton – Background: Fikac

Nick Wright – Background: David Lowthorp
Jason Wolfe – Background: T. Randig
Jeremy Helms – Background: Rod Hampton
Mark Luera – Background: Stephen Deaton
Larry Vest – Background: Jeff Hersom
Jason Johnston – Background: Jeff Hersom
Alejandro Torres – Background: Jeff Hersom
Patrick Nelson – Background: Jeff Hersom

The F5R’s were completed appropriately. The background investigators were Jeff Hersom, David
Lowthorp, T. Randig, Rod Hampton, Fikac and Stephen Deaton

On 6/23/20, I checked prior audits of the agency done by TCOLE to see if there was a history of not
completing F5R’s (History and Employment Verification). I found on 10/10/18 FSA Jim Clifton conducted
an audit (Audit #8146) on this agency and found there were 3 deficiencies. Of those 3 deficiencies, none
were missing F5R’s. There was nothing to indicate there was a history of this issue at the WCSO.

On 6/24/20, I met with Lt. Craig Gripentrog PID at the annex on Old Settlers Rd. in Round Rock,
TX. Gripentrog gave me a sworn statement in reference to Taser training at the WCSO training academy
(DAWG). Gripentrog said he was the training coordinator for the WCSO from February 2018 to May
2019 and that he was never asked to falsify or “pencil-whip” training for anyone nor was he removed
from the training section because he refused to follow an order to do so. Gripentrog said he did
remember that the WCSO held Indoctrination (INDOC) Training for new-hires and that the
administration routinely shortened these classes for the staffing needs of patrol. In other words, if new
hires were already certified the administration opted to send them straight to patrol without completing
the full INDOC training. This was concerning to him at the time because this would not bring the new
hires to the standards of the Williamson County Sheriffs Office. He recalled Deputy Zachary Camden was
scheduled for INDOC training in March or April of 2019 but that it was cancelled by Sheriff Chody
because Camden was already certified and he (Camden) was sent to patrol. It should be noted that in
the previous investigation, Lt. Luera and Deputy Jason Johnston had the same concerns and this INDOC
training was continually manipulated for the needs of patrol. After the interview, I asked Gripentrog
about the background investigations at WCSO. He said most, if not all of the ex-APD guys were hired
prior to his time and during the Derrick Dutton era. He provided me with his contact information as
Dutton does not work at WCSO currently. Additionally, Gripentrog provided me with a memorandum he
was asked to write to his Chain of command reference his interaction with TCOLE.

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 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

A check of Deputy James Johnson and Deputy Zachary Camden’s training history revealed both were
certified with Taser at the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office. Camden did not have any reported training
on Taser with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. Johnson was found to have participated in a Taser
Update training on 11/12/19 (TCOLE roster 10880662). Johnson was the instructor. There were 7
students. I called Douglas Barner, Brian Hoffman, and Tabytha Horseman. All 3 recalled the training and
said they attended class. All remembered firing two cartridges in a practical scenario and Horseman
remembered having to go through that portion twice.

On 6/25/20, I called Jeff Hersom at the telephone number in TCLEDDS and left a VM because he was the
background investigator for 4 of the 9 ex-APD officers. Hersom said he contacted APD on all 4 that he
was assigned. He said he remembered Vest and Johnston specifically because he drove to APD and sat in
Internal Affairs and reviewed both of their files. He remembered there was some concern with Vest but
that he was not a decision maker and his job was to gather the facts and present them. He said that he
helped train Lowthorp on background investigations.

On 6/25/20, I called David Lowthorp and he said he is currently assigned to IA and he believed he
contacted someone at APD but also remembered there was no break in service with Nick Wright. There
is a note on the F5R that reflects this statement. He was not sure who he spoke to and said he would
check and call me back with specifics.

On 6/25/20, I spoke to Travis Randig and he did not remember conducting the investigation into Jason
Wolfe specifically. He remembered his Sgt. Mark Davis telling him that the orders came down from
above that if a prospective applicant was from APD they did not need to contact APD because they knew
who they were already and could verify their employment. He said he wasn’t comfortable with this but
was relatively new to the background investigations. He said that he knew of one of the prospective new
hires they were told by Davis to not contact APD and that was David Nickel. As far as Wolfe was
concerned, he thought he did contact APD because his name was not mentioned as one of the officers
where they didn’t need to contact APD.

On 6/25/20, I spoke to Mark Davis. He said he remembered what I was talking about and said that he
was told by Lt. Dutton that it didn’t matter what they found on APD officers that they were going to be
hired. This frustrated and angered Dutton. It wasn’t an order to not investigate as much as it was the
decision makers didn’t care and would hire the APD guys despite what they found. He remembered that
they did talk to APD about Nickel and had concerns. He said this was not one meeting but occurred over
time with conversations between Dutton and Deaton.

On 6/25/20, Derrick Dutton returned my call. He said he remembered the hiring practices back then and
agreed with Davis’s assessment that ex-APD officers were hired despite the concerns they were
uncovering. In fact, Commander Deaton completed Mark Luera’s background check himself. It should be
noted, Luera’s F5R does show that Deaton contacted Luera’s previous agencies. Dutton recalled being
frustrated at working for Deaton and his decisions on who to hire. He said prior to Sheriff Chody and
Deaton, they completed an exhaustive background check on prospective hires (licensed peace officers).

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 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

CONCLUSION:

This complaint consisted of 3 separate allegations:

• Falsifying FTO Training Certification

• Falsifying Taser training records
• WCSO not conducting background investigations on new hires

The allegations about the FTO training certification course was determined to be UNFOUNDED in TCOLE
case 20-05-1460. The course did occur and the ambiguous orders by executive staff were a contributing
factor.

Lt. Craig Gripentrog gave a sworn statement stating he was not ordered by anyone to falsify training
records and he was not transferred because of his refusal to do so. Training records showed Deputy
James Johnson conducted a Taser Update course on 11/12/19. Deputy Camden did not attend INDOC
training due to patrol staffing needs despite concerns raised by training staff then and now.

Finally, background investigations on ex-APD officers did occur. There were clear orders by Lt. Dutton via
Commander Stephen Deaton to merely do the minimum checks and that the background investigators’
findings were not of concern because the officers were going to be hired regardless.

There were no TCOLE violations found in all 3 allegations as a result of this investigation. Hiring decisions
are not in TCOLE’s purview however, it is concerning that 3 background investigators stated the agency
ignored past disciplinary issues of 3 former police officers.

Case Closed / UNFOUNDED

Investigation completed. D.B.N.

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