Tcole Investigation Findings at Williamson County Training Center (Dawg)

TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
CASE INFORMATION
Case Number: 20-09-0030
Investigator: Sgt. Dave New
Supplement Report: Sgt. Hillary Lyon
Academy: Williamson County Academy
SUMMARY
On 09/06/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Captain Skolaut, went to Jarrell Police Department
in Jarrell, Texas to conduct four interviews in reference to Sgt. New’s case. We collected statements
from four individuals; former cadet William Dankert, Officer Robert Linn, Sgt. Chris Bryce, and Chief
Marc Owens.
On 09/09/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Shane Norie, went to the Williamson County
Justice Center to speak with Williamson’s County cadets (now Deputies), Shanks and Cesar.
On 09/10/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed Officer Carl
Smith with Pflugerville ISD, at the ISD PD office.
On 09/13/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed several
former cadets (now Williamson Co Deputies) at the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG). I
gathered statements from Deputy Pereira and Deputy Herold.
On 09/18/19 and 09/19/19, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie, Sgt. New, and ACE Malcolm
Jackson, reviewed and collected documents from the Williamson County Training Center as well as
gathered statements from Sgt. Nickel and Lt. Gripentrog.
INVESTIGATION
On 09/06/2019, Captain Skolaut and I, Sgt. Lyon, drove to Jarrell, Texas and met with four
individuals in reference to Case #20-09-0030.
We arrived at Jarrell Police Department at about 0915 hours, and spoke with former cadet
William Dankert, first. (Dankert was released from the academy week two, after failing two tests and
both re-tests.)
Dankert advised that he does remember the instructors or coordinators going over the rules of
the testing process and what was required of the cadets in order to not fail and be removed from the
academy. Dankert stated he failed the first two tests that were given. He advised he was given the
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opportunity to take a re-test on both tests he failed. Dankert failed both of the re-tests and was told he
could no longer remain in the academy. Dankert also stated that during the short time he was there he
did not witness any favoritism or offensive comments/actions toward any of the cadets.
While I was speaking with Dankert, Sgt. Skolaut was advising Chief Owens on what was going
on and why we were there. During that discussion, Sgt. Chris Bryce was also in the room. Sgt. Bryce
stated that he would go to the academy from time to time and check-in on Cadet (now Officer) Linn. Sgt.
Bryce stated that on one of his visits he overheard discussions about the grading process of the tests
being changed, so we spoke with Sgt. Bryce and gathered his statement at about 0943 hours.
Sgt. Bryce advised that he was at the academy checking-in on cadet Linn, about a month and
a half into the BPOC. He stated he ran into Sgt. Stuart and LT Gripentrog. Sgt. Bryce was unsure which
one said it but one of them advised, it was too bad your other guy didn’t make it (referring to Dankert),
because now we have a new program in place. So, instead of the pass/fail on 80, the cadets can have an
average of 80 over those 3 tests, and something to the effect of the lowest test score would be dropped.
Sgt. Bryce stated he understood it as meaning, they would just average out the tests scores as a whole.
Sgt. Bryce advised he did not see anything else going on during the other times he was out there that
would raise concern. He advised that Chief Owens conducted some training at the academy but he
personally did not.
We then spoke with Chief Marc Owens and collected his statement at about 0955 hours.
Chief Owens advised he did volunteer himself as an instructor for two days toward the end of the BPOC,
in the low light, close quarter combat training course. He advised that a Williamson County officer was
the main instructor for the course and that he assisted. Chief Owens stated that the two days he was out
there, he never noticed or heard anything inappropriate that would concern him. Chief Owens advised
Dankert was dismissed from the academy in the first week. Captain Skolaut asked Chief Owens if he was
given notice by anyone at Williamson County that there were changes with the test grading process.
Chief Owens stated that Sgt. Bryce mentioned to him that he spoke with someone out there (referring
to the academy) and that they were discussing possible changes in how they were going to do the
grades.
Captain Skolaut also asked Chief Owens if he received an email from someone at Williamson
County after this academy class was completed. Chief Owens advised he received an email from Chief
Deputy Ryle about a subcommittee meeting request. Chief Owens stated it was basically asking him and
other chiefs to be part of a subcommittee about academy instruction. Chief Owens stated that the email
was sent to him about two weeks ago. Chief Owens provided a copy of the email to us.
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Next, we spoke with Officer Robert Linn and gathered his statement at about 1415 hours.
Officer Linn stated the cadets were given a cadet manual and that he had it on a flash drive as well as a
hard copy. Officer Robert Linn’s statement is as follows:
Were any of the cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments – Officer Linn
advised that he did not witness, but was told by Cadet Gordon, that there was an incident between he
and Sgt. Nickel that had racial implications to it. He stated that incident apparently occurred earlier on in
the academy. Officer Linn also stated that there was another incident between Sgt. Nickel and Cadet
Gordon that occurred in front of the entire class that was awkward. He stated that Sgt. Nickel
commented on Gordon’s Apple watch in front of the class and it became a very awkward and
uncomfortable situation for the entire class.
Academic standards and Grade changes - Officer Linn advised that early on it was laid out in
their Cadet Manual, what the academic standards were. Officer Linn stated, the cadets had to maintain
an 80 average, cadets could not fail three original tests, and cadets could not fail a re-test. Any of those
listed above would be grounds for dismissal. Officer Linn advised that the, cannot fail three original test
rule, was removed when two of the Williamson County cadets failed their third test.
Officer Linn stated the changing of the test rules was told to the cadets, verbally in class, by Sgt. Stuart
he believes. He stated the change happened about half way through the academy. Officer Linn also
stated if anyone failed the SFST practical test, he was not aware of it.
Officer Linn stated that from what he can remember; only the re-test scores were posted and
they were the only ones that seemed to matter. He advised he did not remember a time where other
cadets were talking about the ranking of the grades.
Awards – Officer Linn stated the driving award was given to Cadet Smith from (Williamson
County). He advised that it was close between Cadet Smith and another cadet from Buda. They gave the
awards at the end of the academy and would not reveal their driving times.
Fellow Cadets – Officer Linn stated he heard that Cadet Smith was cut from the Williamson
County Field Training Program via text. Officer Linn stated that he heard the message said “Field Training
isn’t working out for you,” and that was about it.
On 09/09/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, and Sgt. Shane Norie drove to Williamson County Justice
Center to speak with Deputies Shanks and Cesar (former cadets from Williamson County Academy).
Both deputies were working as bailiffs when we spoke.
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We spoke with Deputy Shanks at about 1239 hours and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes – Deputy Shanks advised that when the academy
started the academic standards were that cadets had to maintain an 80 or above average, could not fail
a re-test, and could not fail three original tests. Deputy Shanks stated that it later changed (about three
months into the BPOC), and the failing three original tests rule was no longer in play as long as you
maintained an 80 average. When Sgt. Norie asked Deputy Shanks if there were any cadets, other than
Dankert, (who was dismissed early on) that failed multiple tests, he stated yes, but that they never failed
a re-test, and maintained an 80 average. Deputy Shanks never mentioned that he was one of the cadets
that failed multiple tests and benefited from the rule change.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Deputy Shanks advised that
there were some issues between Cadet Gordon and Sgt. Nickel. He stated that Cadet Gordon wrote an
email to his training coordinator at Taylor PD, voicing his concerns about the academy and some of the
issues he was struggling with. Deputy Shanks advised Taylor PD supervisors came to the academy to
conduct a visit and check on everything. Deputy Shanks stated this “ruffled feathers” with Sgt. Nickel
and he voiced his opinion to Gordon by saying, if he had a problem with how things were going in the
academy, he needed to come to him first. That incident sparked conflict between Cadet Gordon and Sgt.
Nickel. Deputy Shanks stated that Sgt. Nickel got upset with Cadet Gordon again when it was found that
Cadet Gordon moved from Taylor PD to Pflugerville PD. Shanks stated Sgt. Nickel voiced his opinion
again to Cadet Gordon in front of the class and said (summarized), “going behind Taylor’s back and
moving to Pflugerville, shows your true character, and I would never trust you now, after that.” Deputy
Shanks stated Gordon did not respond and just kept quiet. Deputy Shanks stated he never heard racial
remarks or heard anyone else talk about any racial remarks that were said to Gordon.
Shanks did bring up the incident about Sgt. Nickel commenting on Cadet Gordon’s watch.
Cadet Gordon made a comment about how his girlfriend buys his watches. Deputy Shanks stated Sgt.
Nickel then made a comment (could not remember what was said) about the watch and he could tell
there was “tension” in the conversation.
Jailer “whore” comment: When asked if there was a comment made to a female jailer going
through the jailer course, Deputy Shanks stated he heard the rumor that Sgt. Nickel called the female a
whore because of what she was wearing. Deputy Shanks stated the female’s last name was Flippin.
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Grade posting/ranking: Deputy Shanks stated their grades were posted on the board, by their
PID number, after every test. He stated he never noticed or heard any issues with the rankings of the
cadets, after tests. Deputy Shanks stated he did not know of any cadet that failed the SFST practical.
We spoke with Deputy Cesar next and collected his statement at about 1305 hours. His statement is as
follows:
Academic standards and grade changes – Deputy Cesar stated the standards at the beginning
were that you could not fail an original third test and could not fail any re-tests. He then stated that the
standards changed a few months later. The standard changed was the removal of the, could not fail a
third original test rule. Now, cadets could fail any number of original tests as long as they continued to
hold an 80 or above average.
When asked why the change was made, Deputy Cesar became very apprehensive about
answering the question, and stated he did not know why they changed the rules. Sgt. Norie then asked
Deputy Cesar if there were any Williamson County cadets that were struggling (academically). Deputy
Cesar advised that a couple of Williamson County cadets were struggling but they were passing all of
their retests. Deputy Cesar stated he believes there were a few cadets that fail three or more original
tests. Deputy Cesar was asked which cadets were failing the original tests and he advised cadets,
Shanks, Wolfe, and possibly Smith.
Deputy Cesar was also asked about the academic ranking of the cadets based on their grades
on tests. Deputy Cesar stated that he always questioned the ranking and grades because he only failed
two tests and there are other cadets failing multiple tests, yet they are still above him academically.
He was not sure how that was happening and did not know if they were using the re-test grade or the
original grade in the averages.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Deputy Cesar was asked about
any conflicts between Cadet Gordon and Sgt. Nickel. Deputy Cesar stated that Sgt. Nickel was upset that
Cadet Gordon switched agencies half way through the academy and made a comment to him about
loyalty.
Deputy Cesar was then asked about any racial slurs said during the academy and he advised
that Cadet Gordon was very comfortable saying “the N word” in normal conversation. Deputy Cesar was
then asked if he ever heard about Cadet Gordon being called “the N word.” It was very apparent that
Deputy Cesar was lying and did not want to answer the question truthfully. It got to the point where Sgt.
Norie finally had to ask Deputy Cesar directly if he ever heard a story about Sgt. Nickel calling Cadet
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Gordon the “N word.” Finally, Deputy Cesar stated that yes; he did hear a story from other cadets,
about Sgt. Nickel calling Cadet Gordon the “N word.”
Deputy Cesar stated that Cadet Gordon had concerns about Sgt. Nickel not liking him. Deputy
Cesar was then asked if Sgt. Nickel ever called Cadet Gordon a “pussy.” Once again, Deputy Cesar was
extremely apprehensive about answering the question and clearly trying to think of a lie. Finally, he
stated yes, that he did hear the comment made by Sgt. Nickel to Cadet Gordon during a workout.
I then asked Deputy Cesar if Sgt. Nickel ever made a comment about Cadet Gordon’s watch.
He stated that Sgt. Nickel made a comment to Cadet Gordon about his watch during PT. Deputy Cesar
stated Sgt. Nickel said something like; “how can you afford that watch.” Then there was back and forth
comments made but Deputy Cesar stated he did not remember what was said.
I then asked Deputy Cesar if he ever heard a story about a female jailer that was going
through the jailer’s course, being called a “whore.” Deputy Cesar stated yes, that he heard Sgt. Nickel
called the female jailer a whore because of what she was wearing.
On 09/10/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed Officer
Carl Smith with Pflugerville ISD, at the ISD PD office. Officer Smith was sponsored by Williamson County
during the academy. After graduation from the academy, he began Field Training with a Williamson
County FTO. Smith was let go by Williamson County during the training phase and he is now with the
Pflugerville ISD PD. We began his interview at about 0840 hours, and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes – Officer Smith stated at the beginning of the
academy you could not fail a third original test or you were dismissed from the academy. Officer Smith
then advised that later the rules changed and it no longer mattered how many original test cadets
failed, as long as they passed the re-test and maintained an 80 average. Officer Smith stated that he
believes the retest grade was used in the averages. Sgt. Norie asked Officer Smith why he thought the
rules were changed and Officer Smith advised that it was changed after one of his fellow cadets, either
Wolfe or Shanks (both with Williamson County), were in the “hot seat.” Officer Smith stated by “hot
seat” he is meaning that they were about to be removed from the academy because they were failing
too many tests. Officer Smith stated Wolfe and/or Shanks failed not too long after Cadet Dankert was
removed and it was pretty apparent (by the timing) as to why the rules were changed. Officer Smith
stated that he believes it was Lt. Gripentrog who made the announcement to the class about the testing
rule change. Officer Smith stated that he did not know of anyone failing the SFST practical.
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Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel and
Cadet Gordon had a feud. He stated that Sgt. Nickel would pick on Cadet Gordon to the point it
appeared to become personal. He stated Sgt. Nickel would always make comments to Cadet Gordon
to try and piss him off but Cadet Gordon would never react. Officer Smith advised Sgt. Nickel made a
comment about Cadet Gordon’s watch and how he could afford it. He stated that Sgt. Nickel also called
Cadet Gordon a “pussy.” Officer Smith advised that Cadet Gordon also told him about an incident
where Sgt. Nickel called him the “N word.” He advised Cadet Gordon told him that Sgt. Nickel’s
stepped up to him and said “what if someone got in your face and called you a nigger.” Officer Smith
stated that no instructor ever talked to him like that or said that word to him personally in the academy.
Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel looked worse after that comment to Cadet Gordon because he had
already been picking on him so much. Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel had “his boys” which were
Cadets Krompart and Counts.
Smith getting cut from Williamson County FTO: Smith stated that he was called into a meeting in Phase
2 of the FTO program with Commander Deaton, Ryle, and two other IA employees. In the meeting he
was told that they understood he was struggling through the FTO program and Smith agreed. Officer
Smith then stated he was told that based on the information they received (on his struggles) they were
no longer going to extend his probationary period. Smith said, “so you are firing me.” They told him the
same thing again. Officer Smith was confused as to why he could not just go back to the jail as a jailer if
they believed he was not good enough to complete the FTO program. Officer Smith said they then told
him that he was not a good fit for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department and he left.
Officer Smith then said he heard that he was dismissed for a different reason. He said he
heard from another employee with Williamson’s County that he was dismissed over something to do
with a lawsuit that was going on and Live PD.
Classes being cut short or rushed: Officer Smith stated the written part of the driving course, hazmat
course, and emergency communications course, were all very brief. He stated Class Marker was used to
take all of their tests electronically.
Is Sgt. Nickel racist?: Officer Smith stated he does not believe Sgt Nickel is racist. He stated Sgt. Nickel
was never racist toward him.
Is there a problem with the academy or the instructors: Officer Smith said the academy was very
unorganized and chaotic. He advised classes were rushed through and there was too much added in. He
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advised the CCP course was only two days and was rushed through. He stated they were gaining and
losing instructors regularly. Officer Smith advised most of the instructors were good and he does not
want to take away from them but Sgt. Nickel’s behavior toward Cadet Gordon was bullying and seemed
constant.
Female Jailer “whore” comment: Officer Smith stated he heard that Sgt. Nickel told a female jailer
cadet that she looked like a whore because of the tight workout clothing she was wearing.
On 09/13/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. New and Sgt. Norie, drove to Williamson
County Academy to conduct interviews with the remaining Williamson County Cadets (now deputies). I
interviewed Deputy Herold first and then Deputy Pereira.
I gathered Deputy Herold’s statement at about 0708 hours and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes – Deputy Herold stated they used Class Marker (web based
program) to take all of their tests. He advised that as soon as they finish and clicked that they were
done, the program would automatically grade it and show them the questions they missed.
Deputy Herold stated that the rules at the beginning were that you could not fail a retest; you
could not fail your third original test, or you would be dismissed from the academy. Deputy Herold
advised later, about half way through, the rules changed and the amount of original tests you failed
no longer applied, as long as you passed the retest and maintained an 80 average, they would get you
through the academy. Deputy Herold stated to his knowledge the original grade was used to get the
overall average score of all the tests.
Deputy Herold stated that he believes the rules were changed because some of the cadets
were “on the line” and close to failing out. He stated it was probably changed to save the academy
because three or four cadets were struggling academically. He stated it was probably one cadet from
an outside agency and two or three from Williamson County. Deputy Herold advised cadets Smith,
Shanks, and Wolfe failed a few tests and were at the bottom of the class ranking.
Deputy Herold stated the grades were posted and updated every week and posted on the
board. He stated all the test scores were listed and the average was at the end. He also advised he does
not remember a discussion or any cadets questioning the averages out loud.
Deputy Herold had no knowledge of any cadet failing the SFST practical.
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Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: When I asked Deputy Herold if he either
heard directly or a story about any racist or sexist comments toward any cadets, he stated no. When I
asked him if any instructor had any issues with a cadet or if there was any cadet being picked on more
than the other, he would not bring up Sgt. Nickel or Cadet Gordon at all.
Finally, after going through half of the cadets, he brought up Gordon, but still did not mention
Sgt. Nickel until I brought up the fact that Cadet Gordon switched from Taylor to Pflugerville. At that
point, Deputy Herold stated that Sgt. Nickel voiced his opinion about it. He stated Sgt. Nickel said that he
would never do that to an agency that was sponsoring him through the academy and that he said it in
front of the class and loud enough for everyone to hear. It became a little awkward because they were
waiting on class to start and they were arguing.
Deputy Herold stated that Sgt. Nickel and Cadet Gordon went back in forth making comments
to each other, during PT, about Cadet Gordon’s watch. Deputy Herold stated he never heard a story, at
all, about Cadet Gordon being called the “N word.”
When asked if he ever heard of an incident in which Gordon was called a “pussy” by one of
the instructors, he stated “that sounds like something that would have been said.”
The female jailer “whore” comment: Deputy Herold was asked if that comment was said and he said
yes, but stated it may have been one of the female cadets that said it.
Close door meetings with Wilco cadets: Deputy Herold stated that the discussion was mainly, “hey
this is Williamson County, we need to be the best and take all.” He said in the first BPOC, Georgetown
took all of the top awards and they didn’t want that to happen again. He stated he doesn’t remember
any discussion in the closed door meetings about the test changing rules.
Academy and Instructors: Deputy Herold stated that he thought the academy was “super awesome”
and would come back to train there. He stated that he would not say “bullying” but that Sgt. Nickel was
brutally honest. He stated Sgt. Nickel never talked down to or belittled anyone.
I then spoke with Deputy Pereira at about 0752 hours, and her statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes – Deputy Pereira stated they used Class Marker to take all the
tests. Deputy Pereira stated that at the beginning of the academy the rules were that you could not fail
a third original test and you could not fail a retest or you would be dismissed. She stated that it then
changed to; as long as you maintained an 80 average you could fail any amount of original tests.
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Deputy Pereira advised that she believes it was changed because several of the cadets (both Wilco
and outside) were going to fail out and that the command staff thought that rule was too strict. She
advised Sgt. Stuart came into the class and said that rule was thrown out. She also stated she believed
the retest grade was used in the overall average not the original.
Deputy Pereira stated that she sat next to Gordon and Maddera during the BPOC and
Maddera complained a lot about the ranking order; however she stated that Maddera complained
about everything.
Deputy Pereira stated that as far as she knows, no cadets failed the SFST practical. She stated
the Sgt. with Manor PD was the instructor for the course.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Deputy Pereira stated Gordon and
Maddera were the only ones that had any issues with instructors. She stated that Maddera would
complain all the time and felt victimized. She advised Maddera was not victimized or singled out. Deputy
Pereira stated Maddera had a major attitude problem; she would talk back to the instructors all the
time, run her mouth, and “flipped off” Sgt Nickel during the driving portion. Deputy Pereira stated that
she never felt victimized and tried to tell Maddera to stop running her mouth and giving attitude but she
did not listen. Deputy Pereira stated Cadet Gordon had the same issue and was very cocky.
Deputy Pereira stated that when Cadet Gordon switched agencies, Sgt. Nickel told him that
he burned bridges with Taylor PD, in front of the class. She also mentioned the “watch” incident and
stated that Sgt. Nickel made comments about how expensive it was and Cadet Gordon did not like it.
Deputy Pereira stated she never heard Sgt. Nickel or any other instructor call any of the cadets a
“pussy.” Deputy Pereira stated that she heard that an instructor called a jailer cadet a “whore,” but
did not know who the instructor or jailer was.
I asked Deputy Pereira about Sgt. Nickel allegedly calling Cadet Gordon the “N word.” Deputy
Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon told her that Sgt. Nickel pulled him aside in the hallway and told him
to toughen up because people are going to come up to you on the street and call you a “nigger.” She
stated that every time Cadet Gordon would bring up the incident, his story would change and he
would say that Sgt. Nickel called him a “nigger.”
Deputy Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon would make sexual comments to her, about her
butt, all the time. She stated that she never complained to instructors because she is a big girl and could
deal with him.
Private Meetings: Deputy Pereira stated that she remembers meetings with the Williamson County
cadets and instructors. She stated that they weren’t closed door meetings; more like, they were pulled
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aside and discussed uniforms. She stated there was one meeting where some of the Williamson
County cadets were told to “get it together” because they were going to fail out if they didn’t.
On 09/17/19, at 1504 hours, I Sgt. Lyon, spoke with Jenna Geyman via phone. Geyman
attended the Jailers Course at the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG) during the same time the
BPOC #2 was in session. Geyman stated she attended the Jailers Course from October of 2018 till
December of 2018. I explained to Geyman that her name was brought up during an investigation of the
BPOC. I stated apparently there was an alleged incident where a BPOC instructor called her a whore.
She stated yes, and that she remembers the incident very well. Geyman advised that her jailer
instructor told her class to go run laps around the training building. Geyman stated they could wear
workout clothes or their uniform. She advised she wore Nike shorts and a shirt. Geyman advised that
her class did their run and were about to walk in, when Deputy Nickel walked out. Geyman stated
Deputy Nickel looked right at her and stated, oh we don’t allow whores here. Geyman stated she was
in shock and didn’t say anything. Geyman stated Sgt. Nickel said it to her, in front of her class. She said
no one in the class said anything right then because they all knew he was an instructor for BPOC and
they all eventually want to go to the academy and don’t want to make trouble. Geyman stated she
does not know Deputy Nickel and had never spoken to him before. She stated she only knew he was
an instructor for BPOC.
Geyman stated she ran inside and told Sgt. Wallace (Jailer instructor) that she was leaving and
advised what happened. Geyman advised that two other jailer instructors found out about what
happened but she does not know if anything was ever said to Deputy Nickel (now Sgt.).
Williamson County Training Center (DAWG)
On 09/18/19 and 09/19/19, Sgt. New, Sgt. Norie, ACE Malcolm Jackson, and myself,
travelled to the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG) to go over all of the files and tests for the
BPOC #2 class. We were given the cadet manual that was used for the BPOC class. That manual matched
the manual given to us by one of the cadets. We were also shown a spread sheet with grades from the
tests that were taken by the cadets. We were able to confirm that the grades did match each cadet’s
correct PID number and that the original test grade was used even if a retake test was taken.
According to the manual, the overall testing and ranking of the cadets had to be tallied a
certain way; 30% of the Final grade, 20% Topic grade, 20% Segment grade, 10% Fitness, 10% Firearms,
10% EVOC (Driving). The overall grade was NOT calculated this way and even after interviewing LT.
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Gripentrog, Sgt. Stewart, and Sgt. Nickel, no one knows what grade was used to determine who
received valedictorian and salutatorian. When the cadets graduated, Cadet Pereira was given
valedictorian and Cadet Linn was given salutatorian. This would later be found to be incorrect.
I sat down and calculated the grades the way the manual stated and determined the correct
rankings and overall grades of the cadets. The final grade listed on the spread sheet is listed under (Seg3
Test) and is 30%. The topic grade listed on the spread sheet is listed on page 3 under (overall avg all
segments) and is 20%. The segment grade listed on the spread sheet is listed under (Seg Tests Total) and
is 20%. The fitness scores were given to us and I wrote them into the spread sheet at 10%. The EVOC
scores were listed already and were 10%. We were told the firearms were all 100 percent, so all cadets
were given a score of 100 at 10%. After the calculations the rankings and overall grades are as follows:
Maddera = 98.11 Brummel = 94.71

Pereira = 97.74 Cesar = 94.66
Estrada = 96.53 Rovelli = 94.60
Herold = 96.09 Lundry = 94.02
Gordon = 95.65 Shanks = 93.67
Linn = 95.40 Wolfe = 93.46
Krompart = 95.30 Smith = 92.22
Counts = 95.21
The only way I can figure the grade that was used to determine how Periera received
valedictorian and Linn received salutatorian, was that the only grade looked at was the overall topic
grade average. That is the only major grade that has Periera as number one and Linn as number two.
During our time at the training center, we also interview Lt. Gripentrog and Sgt. Nickel. In Lt
Gripentrog’s interview, he was asked about anyone failing the SFST portion of the class. He stated that
he did not remember anyone failing. He stated that the only involvement he had in the SFSTs was the
dosing of role players. Then when shown cadet Wolfe’s signoff sheet for the SFSTs, he changed his story
and stated that he did have more involvement and worked with Wolfe. He stated that the initials on the
walk and turn portion of Cadet Wolfe’s SFST sheet were in fact his.
Please refer to Sgt. New’s report for further details on Lt. Gripentrog’s statement and Sgt.
Nickel’s statement.
On 09/19/19, at about 1243 hours, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie, spoke with
Deputy Jason Johnston with Williamson County. We were informed that Deputy Johnston was one of
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Cadet Wolfe’s (now Deputy Wolfe) FTOs. Deputy Johnston confirmed that he had Deputy Wolfe during
Phase 2 of his FTO training. Deputy Johnston stated there was an incident that arose during one of their
shifts, where they identified a driver that was impaired. Deputy Johnston stated that this incident was
the first time Deputy Wolfe demonstrated SFSTs in front of him. (Deputy Johnston also stated that prior
to this incident; Deputy Wolfe pulled him aside and told him that he already had two DWI cases
thrown out of court due to his inability to conduct SFSTs.)
Deputy Johnston stated he observed Deputy Wolfe conduct the SFSTs. He stated they were
so bad that he would not allow Deputy Wolfe to make the arrest for DWI. Deputy Johnston advised
that all of it was bad; from the instruction to the conducting. Deputy Johnston stated that even he
was confused.
Deputy Johnston stated after that incident he asked Wolfe what he had observed and Wolfe
was wrong on the clues and confused as well. Deputy Johnston then took Deputy Wolfe to a parking lot
where they practiced SFSTs for three hours. Deputy Wolfe still could not grasp SFSTs after practicing
for three hours, so Deputy Johnston documented it in his DORs and quizzed him every day.
Deputy Johnston stated he got with the other FTOs and they agreed that Deputy Wolfe was
terrible at SFSTs. Deputy Johnston stated that Deputy Wolfe is now in phase 4 of the FTO program and
is still having the same problems. Deputy Wolfe was also just recommended for extension do to all his
problems.
This concludes my involvement in this case. Please refer to Sgt. David New’s report for any
further details in the case. HRL
13
CASE INFORMATION
Investigator: Sgt. Dave New
Supplement Report: Sgt. Hillary Lyon
Academy: Williamson County Academy
SUMMARY
On 09/06/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Captain Skolaut, went to Jarrell Police Department
in Jarrell, Texas to conduct four interviews in reference to Sgt. New's case. We collected statements
from four individuals; former cadet William Dankert, Officer Robert Linn, Sgt. Chris Bryce, and Chief
Marc Owens.
On 09/09/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Shane Norie, went to the Williamson County
Justice Center to speak with Williamson's County cadets (now Deputies), Shanks and Cesar.
On 09/10/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed Officer Carl
Smith with Pflugerville ISD, at the ISD PD office.
On 09/13/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed several
former cadets (now Williamson Co Deputies) at the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG). I
gathered statements from Deputy Pereira and Deputy Herold.
On 09/18/19 and 09/19/19, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie, Sgt. New, and ACE Malcolm
Jackson, reviewed and collected documents from the Williamson County Training Center as well as
gathered statements from Sgt. Nickel and Lt. Gripentrog.
INVESTIGATION
On 09/06/2019, Captain Skolaut and I, Sgt. Lyon, drove to Jarrell, Texas and met with four
individuals in reference to Case #20-09-0030.
We arrived at Jarrell Police Department at about 0915 hours, and spoke with former cadet
William Dankert, first. (Dankert was released from the academy week two, after failing two tests and
both re-tests.)
Dankert advised that he does remember the instructors or coordinators going over the rules of
the testing process and what was required of the cadets in order to not fail and be removed from the
academy. Dankert stated he failed the first two tests that were given. He advised he was given the
1
opportunity to take a re-test on both tests he failed. Dankert failed both of the re-tests and was told he
could no longer remain in the academy. Dankert also stated that during the short time he was there he
did not witness any favoritism or offensive comments/actions toward any of the cadets.
While I was speaking with Dankert, Sgt. Skolaut was advising Chief Owens on what was going
on and why we were there. During that discussion, Sgt. Chris Bryce was also in the room. Sgt. Bryce
stated that he would go to the academy from time to time and check-in on Cadet (now Officer) Linn. Sgt.
Bryce stated that on one of his visits he overheard discussions about the grading process of the tests
being changed, so we spoke with Sgt. Bryce and gathered his statement at about 0943 hours.
Sgt. Bryce advised that he was at the academy checking-in on cadet Linn, about a month and
a half into the BPOC. He stated he ran into Sgt. Stuart and LT Gripentrog. Sgt. Bryce was unsure which
one said it but one of them advised, it was too bad your other guy didn't make it (referring to Dankert),
because now we have a new program in place. So, instead of the pass/fail on 80, the cadets can have an
average of 80 over those 3 tests, and something to the effect of the lowest test score would be dropped.
Sgt. Bryce stated he understood it as meaning, they would just average out the tests scores as a whole.
Sgt. Bryce advised he did not see anything else going on during the other times he was out there that
would raise concern. He advised that Chief Owens conducted some training at the academy but he
personal did not.
We then spoke with Chief Marc Owens and collected his statement at about 0955 hours.
Chief Owens advised he did volunteer himself as an instructor for two days toward the end of the BPOC,
in the low light, close quarter combat training course. He advised that a Williamson County officer was
the main instructor for the course and that he assisted. Chief Owens stated that the two days he was out
there, he never noticed or heard anything inappropriate that would concern him. Chief Owens advised
Dankert was dismissed from the academy in the first week. Captain Skala ut asked Chief Owens if he was
given notice by anyone at Williamson County, that there were changes with the test grading process.
Chief Owens stated that Sgt. Bryce mentioned to him that he spoke with someone out there (referring
to the academy) and that they were discussing possible changes in how they were going to do the
grades.
Captain Skolaut also asked Chief Owens if he received an email from someone at Williamson
County after this academy class was completed. Chief Owens advised he received an email from Deputy
Chief Ryle about a subcommittee meeting request. Chief Owens stated it was basically asking him and
other chiefs to be part of a subcommittee about academy instruction. Chief Owens stated that the email
was sent to him about two weeks ago. Chief Owens provided a copy of the email to us.
2
Next, we spoke with Officer Robert Linn and gathered his statement at about 1415 hours.
Officer Linn stated the cadets were given a cadet manual and that he had it on a flash drive as well as a
hard copy. Officer Robert Linn's statement is as follows:
Were any of the cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments - Officer Linn
advised that he did not witness, but was told by Cadet Gordon, that there was an incident between he
and Sgt. Nickel that had racial implications to it. He stated that incident apparently occurred earlier on in
the academy. Officer Linn also stated that there was another incident between Sgt. Nickel and Cadet
Gordon that occurred in front of the entire class that was awkward. He stated that Sgt. Nickel
commented on Gordon's apple watch in front of the class and it became very awkward and
uncomfortable situation for the entire class.
Academic standards and Grade changes~ Officer Linn advised that early on it was laid out rn
their Cadet Manual, what the academic standards were. Officer Linn stated, the cadets had to maintain
an 80 average, cadets could not fail three original tests, and cadets could not fail a re-test. Any of those
listed above would be grounds for dismissal. Officer Linn advised that the, cannot fail three original test
rule, was removed when two of the Williamson County cadets failed their third test.
Officer Linn stated the changing of the test rules was told to the cadets, verbally in class, by Sgt. Stuart
he believes. He stated the change happened about half way through the academy. Officer Linn also
stated if anyone failed the SFST practical test, he was not aware of it.
Officer Linn stated that from what he can remember; only the re-test scores were posted and
they were the only ones that seemed to matter. He advised he did not remember a time where other
cadets were ta Iking about the ranking of the grades.
Awards- Officer Linn stated the driving award was given to Cadet Smith from (Williamson
County). He advised that it was close between Cadet Smith and another cadet from Buda. They gave the
awards at the end of the academy and would not reveal their driving times.
Fellow Cadets- Officer Linn stated he heard that Cadet Smith was cut from the Williamson
County Field Training Program via text. Officer Linn stated that he heard the message said "Field Training
isn't working out for you," and that was about it.
On 09/09/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, and Sgt. Shane Norie drove to Williamson County Justice
Center to speak with Deputies Shanks and Cesar (former cadets from Williamson County Academy).
Both deputies were working as bailiffs when we spoke.
3
We spoke with Deputy Shanks at about 1239 hours and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes - Deputy Shanks advised that when the academy
started the academic standards were that cadets had to maintain an 80 or above average, could not fail
a re-test, and could not fail three original tests. Deputy Shanks stated that it later changed (about three
months into the BPOC), and the failing three original tests rule was no longer in play as long as you
maintained an 80 average. When Sgt. Norie asked Deputy Shanks if there were any cadets, other than
Dankert, (who was dismissed early on) that failed multiple tests, he stated yes, but that they never failed
a re-test, and maintained an 80 average. Deputy Shanks never mentioned that he was one of the cadets
that failed multiple tests and benefited from the rule change.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments:. Deputy Shanks advised that
there were some issues between Cadet Gordon and Sgt. Nickel. He stated that Cadet Gordon wrote an
email to his training coordinator at Taylor PD, voicing his concerns about the academy and some of the
issues he was struggling with. Deputy Shanks advised Taylor PD supervisors came to the academy to
conduct a visit and check on everything. Deputy Shanks stated this "ruffled feathers" with Sgt. Nickel
and he voiced his opinion to Gordon by saying, if he had a problem with how things were going in the
academy, he needed to come to him first. That incident sparked conflict between Cadet Gordon and Sgt.
Nickel. Deputy Shanks stated that Sgt. Nickel got upset with Cadet Gordon again when it was found that
Cadet Gordon moved from Taylor PD to Pflugerville PD. Shanks stated Sgt. Nickel voiced his opinion
again to Cadet Gordon in front of the class and said (summarized), "going behind Taylor's back and
moving to Pflugerville, shows your true character, and I would never trust you now, after that." Deputy
Shanks stated Gordon did not respond and just kept quiet. D~puty Shanks stated he never heard racial
remarks or heard anyone else talk about any racial remarks that were said to Gordon.
Shanks did bring up the incident about Sgt. Nickel commenting on Cadet Gordon's watch.
Cadet Gordon made a comment about how his girlfriend buys his watches. Deputy Shanks stated Sgt.
Nickel then made a comment (could not remember what was said) about the watch and he could tell
there was "tension" in the conversation.
Jailer "whore" comment: When asked if there was a comment made to a female jailer going
through the jailer course, Deputy Shanks stated he heard the rumor that Sgt. Nickel called the female a
whore because of what she was wearing. Deputy Shanks stated the female's last name was Flippin.
4
Grade posting/ranking: Deputy Shanks stated their grades were posted on the board, by their
PIO number, after every test. He stated he never noticed or heard any issues with the rankings of the
cadets, after tests. Deputy Shanks stated he did not know of any cadet that failed the SFST practical.
We spoke with Deputy Cesar next and collected his statement at about 1305 hours. His statement is as
follows:
Academic standards and grade changes- Deputy Cesar stated the standards at the beginning
were that you could not fail an original third test and could not fail any re-tests. He then stated that the
standards changed a few months later. The standard changed was the removal of the, could not fail a
third original test rule. Now, cadets could fail any number of original tests as long as they continued to
hold an 80 or above average.
When asked why the change was made, Deputy Cesar, became very apprehensive about
answering the question, and stated he did not know why they changed the rules. Sgt. Norie then asked
Deputy Cesar if there were any Williamson County cadets that were struggling (academically). Deputy
Cesar advised that a couple of Williamson County cadets were struggling but they were passing all of
their retest. Deputy Cesar stated he believes there were a few cadets that fail three or more original
tests. Deputy Cesar was asked which cadets were failing the original tests and he advised cadets,
Shanks, Wolfe, and possibly Smith.
Deputy Cesar was also asked about the academic ranking of the cadets based on their grades
on tests. Deputy Cesar stated that he always questioned the ranking and grades because he only failed
two tests and there are other cadets failing multiple tests, yet they are still above him academically.
He was not sure how that was happening and did not know if they were using the re-test grade or the
original grade in the averages.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Deputy Cesar was asked about
any conflicts between Cadet Gordon and Sgt. Nickel. Deputy Cesar stated that Sgt. Nickel was upset that
Cadet Gordon switched agencies half way through the academy and made a comment to him about
loyalty.
Deputy Cesar was then asked about any racial slurs said during the academy and he advised
that Cadet Gordon was very comfortable saying "the N word" in normal conversation. Deputy Cesar was
then asked if he ever heard about Cadet Gordon being called "the N word." It was very apparent that
5
-- ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
Deputy Cesar was lying and did not want to answer the question truthfully. It got to the point where Sgt.
Norie finally had to ask Deputy Cesar directly if he ever heard a story about Sgt. Nickel calling Cadet
Gordon the "N word." Finally, Deputy Cesar stated that yes; he did hear a story from other cadets,
about Sgt. Nickel calling Cadet Gordon the "N word."
Deputy Cesar stated that Cadet Gordon had concerns about Sgt. Nickel not liking him. Deputy
Cesar was then asked if Sgt. Nickel ever called Cadet Gordon a "pussy.n Once again, Deputy Cesar was
extremely apprehensive about answering the question and clearly trying to think of a lie. Finally, he
stated yes, that he did hear the comment made by Sgt. Nickel to Cadet Gordon during a workout.
I then asked Deputy Cesar if Sgt. Nickel ever made a comment about Cadet Gordon's watch.
He stated that Sgt. Nickel made a comment to Cadet Gordon about his watch during PT. Deputy Cesar
stated Sgt. Nickel said something like; "how can you afford that watch." Then there was back and forth
comments made but Deputy Cesar stated he did not remember what was said.
f then asked Deputy Cesar if he ever heard a story about a female jailer that was going
through the jailer's course, being called a "whore/' Deputy Cesar stated yes, that he heard Sgt. Nickel
cal led the fem ale jailer a whore because of what she was wearing.
On 09/10/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie and Sgt. New, interviewed Officer
Carl Smith with Pflugerville ISO, at the ISD PD office. Officer Smith was sponsored by Williamson County
during the academy. After graduation from the academy, he began Field Training with a Williamson
County FTO. Smith was let go by Williamson County during the training phase and he is now with the
Pflugerville ISD PD. We began his interview at about 0840 hours, and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes- Officer Smith stated at the beginning of the
academy you could not fail a third original test or you were dismissed from the academy. Officer Smith
then advised that later the rules changed and it no longer mattered how many original test cadets
failed, as long as they passed the re-test and maintained an 80 average. Officer Smith stated that he
believes the retest grade was used in the averages. Sgt. Norie asked Officer Smith why he thought the
rules were changed and Officer Smith advised that it was changed after one of his fellow cadets, either
Wolfe or Shanks (both with Williamson County), were in the "hot seat." Officer Smith stated by "hot
seat" he is meaning that they were about to be removed from the academy because they were failing
too many tests. Officer Smith stated Wolfe and/or Shanks failed not to long after Cadet Dankert was
removed and it was pretty apparent {by the timing) as to why the rules were changed. Officer Smith
stated that he believes it was Lt Gripentrog who made the announcement to the class about the testing
rule change. Officer Smith stated that he did not know of anyone failing the SFST practical.
6
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel and
Cadet Gordon had a feud. He stated that Sgt. Nickel would pick on Cadet Gordon to the point it
appeared to become personal. He stated Sgt. Nickel would always make comments to Cadet Gordon
to try and piss him off but Cadet Gordon would never react. Officer Smith advised Sgt. Nickel made a
comment about Cadet Gordon's watch and how he could afford it. He stated that Sgt. Nickel also called
Cadet Gordon a "pussy." Officer Smith advised that Cadet Gordon also told him about an incident
where Sgt. Nickel called him the "N word." He advised Cadet Gordon told him that Sgt. Nickel's
stepped up to him and said "what if someone got in your face and called you a nigger." Officer Smith
stated that no instructor ever talked to him like that or said that word to him personally in the academy.
Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel looked worse after that comment to Cadet Gordon because he had
already been picking on him so much. Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel had "his boys" which were
Cadets Krompart and Counts.
Smith getting cut from Williamson County FTO: Smith stated that he was called into a meeting in Phase
2 of the FTO program with Commander Deaton, Ryle, and two other IA employees. In the meeting he
was told that they understood he was struggling through the FTO program and Smith agreed. Officer
Smith then stated he was told that based on the information they received (on his struggles) they were
no longer going to extend his probationary period. Smith said, "so you are firing me." They told him the
same thing again. Officer Smith was confused as to way he could not just go back to the jail as a jailer if
they believed he was not good enough to complete the FTO program. Officer Smith said they then told
him that he was not a good fit for the Williamson County Sheriff's Department and he left.
Officer Smith then said he heard that he was dismissed for a different reason. He said he
heard from another employee with Williamson's County that he was dismissed over something to do
with a lawsuit that was going on and Live PD.
Classes being cut short or rushed: Officer Smith stated the written part of the driving course, hazmat
course, and emergency communications course, were all very brief. He stated Class Marker was used to
take all of their tests electronically.
Is Sgt. Nickel racist?: Officer Smith stated he does not believe Sgt Nickel is racist. He stated Sgt. Nickel
was never racist toward him.
7
Is there a problem with the academy or the instructors: Officer Smith said the academy was very
unorganized and chaotic. He advised classes were rushed through and there was too much added in. He
advised the CCP course was only two days and was rushed through. He stated they were gaining and
losing instructors regularly. Officer Smith advised most of the instructors were good and he does not
want to take away from them but Sgt. Nickel's behavior toward Cadet Gordon was bullying and seemed
constant.
Female Jailer "whore" comment: Officer Smith stated he heard that Sgt. Nickel told a female jailer
cadet that she looked like a whore because of the tight workout clothing she was wearing.
On 09/13/2019, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. New and Sgt. Norie, drove to Williamson
County Academy to conduct interviews with the remaining Williamson County Cadets (now deputies). I
interviewed Deputy Herold first and then Deputy Pereira.
I gathered Deputy Herold's statement at about 0708 hours and his statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes- Deputy Herold stated they used Class Marker (web based
program) to take all of their tests. He advised that as soon as they finish and clicked that they were
done, the program would automatically grade it and show them the questions they missed.
Deputy Herold stated that the rules at the beginning were that you could not fail a retest; you
could not fail your third original test, or you would be dismissed from the academy. Deputy Herold
advised later, about half way through, the rules changed and the amount of original tests you failed
no longer applied, as long as you passed the retest and maintained an 80 average, they would get you
through the academy. Deputy Herold stated to his knowledge the original grade was used to get the
overall average score of all the tests.
Deputy Herold stated that he believes the rules were changed because some of the cadets
were "on the line" and close to failing out. He stated it was probably changed to save the academy
because three or four cadets were struggling academically. He stated it was probably one cadet from
an outside agency and two or three from Williamson County. Deputy Herold advised cadets Smith,
Shanks, and Wolfe failed a few tests and were at the bottom of the class ranking.
Deputy Herold stated the grades were posted and updated every week and posted on the
board. He stated all the test scores were listed and the average was at the end. He also advised he does
not remember a discussion or any cadets questioning the averages out loud.
8
Deputy Herold had no knowledge of any cadet failing the SFST practical.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: When I asked Deputy Herold if he either
heard directly or a story about any racist or sexist comments toward any cadets, he stated no. When I
asked him if any instruc;tor had any issues with a cadet or if there was any cadet being picked on more
than the other, he would not bring up Sgt. Nickel or Cadet Gordon at all.
Finally, after going through half of the cadets, he brought up Gardon, but still did not mention
Sgt. Nickel until I brought up the fact that Cadet Gordon switched from Taylor to Pflugerville. At that
point, Deputy Herold stated that Sgt. Nickel voiced his opinion about it. He stated Sgt. Nickel said that he
would never do that to an agency that was sponsoring him through the academy and that he said it in
front of the class and loud enough for everyone to hear. It became a little awkward because they were
waiting on class to start and they were arguing.
Deputy Herold stated that Sgt. Nickel and Cadet Gordon went back in forth ma king comments
to each other, during PT, about Cadet Gordon's watch. Deputy Herold stated he never heard a story, at
all, about Cadet Gordon being called the "N word."
When asked if he ever heard of an incident in which Gordon was called a "pussy" by one of
the instructors, he stated "that sounds like something that would have been said."
The female jailer "whore" comment: Deputy Herold was asked if that comment was said and he said
yes, but stated it may have been one of the female cadets that said it.
Close door meetings with Wilco cadets: Deputy Herold stated that the discussion was mainly, "hey
this is Williams County, we need to be the best and take all." He said in the first BPOC, Georgetown
took all of the top awards and they didn't want that to happen again. He stated he doesn't remember
any discussion in the closed door meetings about the test changing rules.
Academy and Instructors: Deputy Herold stated that he thought the academy was "super awesome"
and would come back to train there. He stated that he would not say "bullying" but that Sgt. Nickel was
brutally honest. He stated Sgt, Nickel never talked down to or belittled anyone.
I then spoke with Deputy Pereira at about 0752 hours, and her statement is as follows:
Academic standards and grade changes - Deputy Pereira stated they used Class Marker to take all the
tests. Deputy Pereira stated that at the beginning of the academy the rules were that you could not fail
9
a third original test and you could not fail a retest or you would be dismissed. She stated that it then
changed to; as long as you maintained an 80 average you could fail any amount of original tests.
Deputy Pereira advised that she believes it was changed because several of the cadets (both Wi/co
and outside) were going to fail out and that the command staff thought that rule was too strict. She
advised Sgt. Stuart came into the class and said that rule was thrown out. She also stated she believed
the retest grade was used in the overall average not the original.
Deputy Pereira stated that she sat next to Gordon and Maddera during the BPOC and
Maddera complained a lot about the ranking order; however she stated that Maddera complained
about everything.
Deputy Pereira stated that as far as she knows, no cadets failed the SFST practical. She stated
the Sgt. with Manor PD was the instructor for the course.
Cadets treated differently, favored, or any racist comments: Deputy Pereira stated Gordon and
Maddera were the only ones that had any issues with instructors. She stated that Maddera would
complain all the time and felt victimized. She advised Maddera was not victimized or singled out. Deputy
Pereira stated Maddera had a major attitude problem; she would talk back to the instructors all the
time, run her mouth, and "flipped off" Sgt Nickel during the driving portion. Deputy Pereira stated that
she never felt victimized and tried to tell Maddera to stop running her mouth and giving attitude but she
did not listen. Deputy Pereira stated Cadet Gordon had the same issue and was very cocky.
Deputy Pereira stated that when Cadet Gordon switched agencies, Sgt. Nickel told him that
he burned bridges with Taylor PD, in front of the class. She also mentioned the "watch" incident and
stated that Sgt. Nickel made comments about how expensive it was and Cadet Gordon did not like it.
Deputy Pereira stated she never heard Sgt. Nickel or any other instructor call any of the cadets a
"pussy." Deputy Pereira stated that she heard that an instructor called a jailer cadet a "whore," but
did not know who the instructor or jailer was.
I asked Deputy Pereira about Sgt. Nickel allegedly calling Cadet Gordon the "N word." Deputy
Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon told her that Sgt. Nickel pulled him aside in the hallway and told him
to toughen up because people are going to come up to you on the street and call you a "nigger." She
stated that every time Cadet Gordon would bring up the incident, his story would change and he
would say that Sgt. Nickel called him a "nigger."
Deputy Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon would make sexual comments to her, about her
butt, all the time. She stated that she never complained to instructors because she is a big girl and could
deal with him.
10
Private Meetings: Deputy Pereira stated that she remembers meetings with the Williamson County
cadets and instructors. She stated that they weren't close door meetings; more like, they were pulled
aside and discussed uniforms. She stated there was one meeting where some of the Williamson
County cadets were told to "get it together" because they were going to fail out if they didn't.
On 09/17/19, at 1504 hours, I Sgt. Lyon, spoke with Jenna Geyman via phone. Geyman
attended the Cobra Jailers Course at the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG) during the same
time the BPOC #2 was in session. Geyman stated she the jailers course from October of 2018 till
December of 2018. I explained to Geyman that her name was brought up during an investigation of the
BPOC. I stated apparently there was an alleged incident where a BPOC instructor called her a whore.
She stated yes, and that she remembers the incident very well. Geyman advised that her jailer
instructor told her class to go run laps around the training building. Geyman stated they could wear
workout clothes or their uniform. She advised she wore nike shorts and a shirt. Geyman advised that her
class did their run and were about to walk in, when Deputy Nickel walked out. Geyman stated Deputy
Nickel looked right at her and stated, oh we don't allow whores here. Geyman stated she was in shock
and didn't say anything. Geyman stated Sgt. Nickel said it to her, in front of her class. She said no one
in the class said anything right then because they all knew he was an instructor for BPOC and they all
eventually want to go to the academy and don't want to make trouble. Geyman stated she does not
know Deputy Nickel and had never spoken to him before. She stated she only knew he was an
instructor for BPOC.
Geyman stated she ran inside and told Sgt. Wallace (Jailer instructor) that she was leaving and
advised what happened. Geyman advised that two other jailer instructors found out about what
happened but she does not know if anything was ever said to Deputy Nickel.
Williamson County Training Center (DAWG)
On 09/18/19 and 09/19/19, Sgt. New, Sgt. Norie, ACE Malcolm Jackson, and myself,
travelled to the Williamson County Training Center (DAWG) to go over all of the flies and tests for the
BPOC #2 class. We were given the cadet manual that was used for the BPOC class. That manual matched
the manual given to us by one of the cadets. We were also shown a spread sheet with grades from the
tests that were taken by the cadets. We were able to confirm that the grades did match each cadets
correct PID number and that the original test grade was used even if a retake test was taken.
11
According to the manual, the overall testing and ranking of the cadets had to be tallied a
certain way; 30% of the Final grade, 20% Topic grade, 20% Segment grade, 10% Fitness, 10% Firearms,
10% EVOC (Driving). The overall grade was NOT calculated this way and even after interviewing LT.
Gripentrog, Sgt. Stewart, and Sgt. Nickel, no one knows what grade was used to determine who
received valedictorian and salutatorian. When the cadets graduated, cadet Pereira was given
valedictorian and cadet Linn was given salutatorian. This would later be found to be incorrect.
I sat down and calculated the grades the way the manual stated and determined the correct
rankings and overall grades of the cadets. The final grade listed on the spread sheet is listed under (Seg3
Test) and is 30%. The topic grade listed on the spread sheet is listed on page 3 under (overall avg all
segments) and is 20%. The segment grade listed on the spread sheet is listed under (Seg Tests Total) and
is 20%. The fitness scores were given to us and I wrote them into the spread sheet at 10%. The EVOC
scores were listed already and were 10%. We were told the firearms were all 100 percent, so all cadets
were given a score of 100 at 10%. After the calculations the rankings and overall grades are as follows:
Maddera = 98.11 Brummel= 94.71

Pereira= 97.74 Cesar= 94.66
Estrada= 96.53 Revelli= 94.60
Herold= 96.09 Lundry = 94.02
Gordon = 95.65 Shanks= 93.67
Linn= 95.40 Wolfe= 93.46
Krompart = 95.30 Smith= 92.22
Counts= 95.21
The only way I can figure the grade that was used to determine how Periera received
valedictorian and Linn received salutatoria n, was that the only grade looked at was the overall topic
grade average. That is the only major grade that has Periera as number one and Linn as number two.
During our time at the training center, we also interview Lt. Gripentrog and Sgt. Nickel. In Lt
Gripentrog's interview, he was asked about anyone failing the SFST portion of the class. He stated that
he did not remember anyone failing. He stated that the only involvement he had in the SFSTs was the
dosing of role players. Then when shown cadet Wolfe's signoff sheet for the SFSTs, he changed his story
and stated that he did have more involvement and worked with Wolfe. He stated that the initials on the
walk and turn portion of cadet Wolfe's SFST sheet were in fact his.
Please refer to Sgt. New's report for further details on Lt. Gripentrog's statement and Sgt.
Nickel's statement.
12
On 09/19/19, at about 1243 hours, I Sgt. Hillary Lyon, along with Sgt. Norie, spoke with
Deputy Jason Johnston with Williamson County. We were informed that Deputy Johnston was one of
Cadet Wolfe's (now Deputy Wolfe) FTOs. Deputy Johnston confirmed that he had Deputy Wolfe during
Phase 2 of his FTO training. Deputy Johnston stated there was an incident that arose during one of their
shifts, where they identified a driver that was impaired. Deputy Johnston stated that this incident was
the first time Deputy Wolfe demonstrated SFSTs in front of him. (Deputy Johnston also stated that prior
to this incident; Deputy Wolfe pulled him aside and told him that he already had two DWI cases
thrown out of court due to his inability to conduct SFSTs.)
Deputy Johnston stated he observed Deputy Wolfe conduct the SFSTs. He stated they were
so bad that he would not allow Deputy Wolfe to make the arrest for OWi. Deputy Johnston advised
that all of it was bad; from the instruction to the conducting. Deputy Johnston stated that even he
was confused.
Deputy Johnston stated after that incident he asked Wolfe what he had observed and Wolfe
was wrong on the clues and confused as well. Deputy Johnston then took Deputy Wolfe to a parking lot
where they practiced SFSTs for three hours. Deputy Wolfe still could not grasp SFSTs after practicing
for three hours, so Deputy Johnston documented it in his DO Rs and quizzed him every day.
Deputy Johnston stated he got with the other FTOs and they agreed that Deputy Wolfe was
terrible at SFSTs. Deputy Johnston stated that Deputy Wolfe is now in phase 4 of the FTO program and
is still having the same problems. Deputy Wolfe was also just recommended for extension do to all his
problems.
This concludes my involvement in this case. Please refer to Sgt. David New's report for any
further details in the case. HRL
13
14
CASE INFORMATION
Investigator: Sgt. David New
Complaint: Multiple Deficiencies at WCSO Training Center
Licensee: Robert J. Chody, Sheriff Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
SUMMARY
In August 2019, TCOLE received complaints against the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
(WCSO) Training Center. The complaints were about the mistreatment of police cadets from
outside agencies and preferential treatment of police cadets from within the Williamson County
Sheriff’s Office. After numerous interviews and an audit of the WCSO police academy, the
complaints were found to be sustained. Cadet Wolfe was separated (A-5) from the police
academy effective 1/30/18. Sgt. Nickel and Lt. Gripentrog were issued Reprimands for TCOLE
violations and the WCSO Training Academy received a Letter of Reprimand.
NARRATIVE
On Friday 8/30/19, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Executive Director
informed me of a complaint he received concerning the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
mistreatment of police cadets while at their training academy. The telephone complaint was
lodged by Chief Jessica Robledo of the Pflugerville Police Department.
On 9/3/19 at approximately 12:30pm, Sgt. Norie and I met with Chief Jessica Robledo at her
department in Pflugerville, TX. She explained that she had two officers that recently graduated
from the WCSO police academy. They were identified as:
-
1. Jerome Gordon, PID
2. Amanda C. Maddera,
Chief Robledo stated these two officers were recently at an off-site drive training course where
the Chief of Manor PD was also in attendance. While at the training, Manor Police Chief Ryan
Phipps, overheard them talking about their Police Academy experience at the Williamson
County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO). Chief Phipps called Robledo to make her aware of the
suspected mistreatment of her officers.
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Chief Robledo spoke to now Officers Gordon and Maddera and learned that their complaints
were:
• Deputy Nickel (Academy Instructor) degraded cadets and agencies.

• Deputy Nickel called Cadet Gordon a “Nigger”and a “Pussy.”
• Deputy Nickel told cadets his own Lieutenant was a “Pussy.”
• Jarrell cadet was fired for failing a 3rd test (Police Cadet academic rule). Several
WCSO cadets failed 3 tests and the academic rule was rescinded by training staff.
WCSO cadets allowed to re-test and pass and “new” rule was to maintain an 80 GPA.
• Cadet class was disorganized and schedule was not distributed until months after
starting the academy.
• No exit critique given to cadets.
Wanting to verify the claims of her officers, Chief Robledo called other local Police Chiefs with a
cadet enrolled in this same academy and asked them if they had heard of any complaints about
their experience in the WCSO police academy. Chief Phipps of Manor and Chief Kidd of Buda
questioned their officers that attended this same academy and their officer’s corroborated the
complaints by Gordon and Meddara. Robledo stated on 8/14/19 at 1:30pm, three police chiefs
(Buda, Pflugerville, and Manor) went to WCSO and met with Sheriff Robert Chody. The Chiefs
told Chody what occurred at his academy and according to Robledo, Chody asked the Chiefs to
let him investigate the issue(s) before alerting TCOLE. Due to the seriousness of the allegations,
Chief Robledo felt it was too late and told Chody she would contact TCOLE.
Officer Jerome Gordon was initially sponsored by the Taylor Police Department to attend this
academy and at some point during the academy he was hired by Chief Robledo at Pflugerville.
The agreement between the smaller agencies and WCSO was that each agency had to supply an
instructor to teach a portion of the academy and in return, the smaller agency would receive
free tuition for their student/cadet. It is common for smaller agencies to receive updates from
their cadets throughout the academy on their progress or any issues that may arise. Chief
Robledo said she learned there were emails exchanged between Gordon, Detective Koch and
Sgt. Brewster of Taylor PD about issues inside the police academy.
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She also stated that her Training Coordinator was her cadet’s point of contact for these updates
and that he may have learned of some of these issues during the academy but was asked by
Cadet Maddera and Cadet Gordon not to say anything for fear of retaliation because there had
been some retaliation towards Gordon after he told Taylor PD of issues he was encountering
early in the academy.
I asked Chief Robledo if she would send any cadets back to the WCSO academy and she said she
would not and asked if she could pull her letter from TCOLE endorsing the WCSO Training
Academy. Additionally, she said she would not allow her officers to attend any in-service
continuing education at the WCSO Academy in the future. Chief Robledo said she was not
intending on running for Sheriff in Williamson County nor did she care.
On 9/3/19 at approximately 2:00pm, Sgt. Norie and I met with Chief Phipps and Captain
Denver Collins of the Manor Police Department. Their sponsored cadet was BRYAN ESTRADA
and their instructor was Sergeant Colt Stigent. Stigent taught Standardized Field Sobriety Test
(SFST) to this cadet class. The following is a summary of this recorded interview:
Estrada’s cadet class started in November of 2018 and ended in June of 2019. Chief
Phipps had 3 new employees attending police academies in the area. Two were at the
University of Texas attending their police academy and Estrada at WCSO. The reason for
the two locations was because of hiring dates and money. Just prior to his graduation,
Estrada came to Chief Phipps and said something “fishy” was going on with the grading
system at the academy. Estrada stated he was in the top tier of cadet GPA and class
ranking. In the beginning of the academy, a cadet from Jarrell PD had been fired for
failing an exam or re-test. Chief Phipps said Estrada told him there was a meeting
between Williamson County cadets and the academy staff that outside agencies were
not allowed to attend. After this meeting, the Williamson County cadet’s scores rose
and therefore their cadets were now in the top tier academically. Most of the cadets
knew the outside agencies were among the top tier academically based upon the scores
until this point. Essentially, the shift was that all of the Williamson County cadets were
in the top spots. The reason Estrada didn’t mention it earlier to his chief was because he
saw that one of the outside agency cadets “Jerome” was called the “N” word and
therefore went to his department and complained. In turn, his department contacted
Williamson County and there was obvious retaliation against Gordon and Estrada didn’t
want that to happen to him.
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Chief Phipps said he learned about this while at a driving school (Week of Aug 5. 2019)
when he was sitting and talking to cadets. He asked how their academy experience was
and they began to complain. He realized the WCSO behavior was way out of line and he
called Chief Robledo. Robledo decided to call Chief Kidd at Buda PD and then all get
together and talk to Sheriff Chody.
Phipps said when they met with Chody, he was shocked and Phipps didn’t think he knew
this was going on at his academy. Phipps said their main sergeant was a large source of
the problem and Chody was embarrassed because he was bragging about him to
everyone prior to them bringing his name up. They left the meeting with Chody saying
he was going to confer with his county attorney.
Estrada told his chief that instructors would make racist comments to the cadets and
hide it under the statement, “You’re going to be called that on the street.” He would
treat the outside agency cadets poorly or worse than he would treat the cadets from
Williamson County.
WCSO Deputy Nickel, Sgt. Stewart, and Deputy Triball were the names that Chief and
Capt. Collins mentioned.
Chief Phipps recalled contrasting the two academies he had cadets attending and where
UT would call him and send progress reports regularly; there was no contact from
WCSO. He remembered showing up with cases of water for the cadets and the WCSO
staff was shocked and uncomfortable with their (outside agency) presence. When they
showed up at UT, they were welcoming and wanted them to assist.
At the graduation from the WCSO academy, not one outside agency cadet was
recognized. Specifically, the Buda PD cadet had reportedly made the best score in
driving however a WCSO cadet won the award.
Chief Phipps said he would not send anyone back to the WCSO academy.
On 9/3/19, Sgt. Norie and I interviewed Manor PD Officer Bryan Estrada in Chief Phipps Office.
Estrada was a student in the WCSO Academy. The following is a summary of his recorded
interview:
Estrada was a cadet in the WCSO police academy from November 2018 to May 2019.
Their cadet class started with 16 students and graduated 15 students. One student from
Jarrell PD failed a test and was asked to leave due to academic reasons. Of the 15
cadets, 5 were from outside agencies and WCSO had 10 cadets. Estrada stated this was
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the first academy that WCSO ran on their own without the assistance of another agency.
He stated the main academy coordinator was Lt. Craig Gripentrog but that he was
removed from that position a month before they graduated and another person was put
in this spot named Stewart but he was terminated for an unknown reason. The other
main instructor was Deputy Nickel.
Estrada said he never let his Chief know about the treatment at the academy because
he never went to his department because of their work-hours and he didn’t go to the PD
on his off days. He didn’t make any of his concerns public until he graduated. Some of
his main concerns were:
o They changed test scores. He knew this because the Lt. made an
announcement about a bad question on a test and when the academic
ratings came out, he dropped several spots. He had been scoring high on the
tests throughout up until that point. After the adjusted curve, 4 cadets from
the WCSO jumped ahead of him.
o Policy was if you failed 3 tests you were out. Five (5) WCSO cadets failed a
test and policy was changed. WCSO academy fired a Jarrell PD cadet for
academic reasons after the first test(s) and 5 WCSO cadets later failed several
tests. An announcement was made that all a cadet had to do was maintain
an 80 GPA. Nothing was in writing; it was all verbal by WCSO training staff
through an announcement to the class. Training staff did away with the
original 3-test fail policy.
o Estrada stopped trying to score well. Once he saw that WCSO would
manipulate scores to improve the WCSO cadets to a higher ranking, there
was no point in taking it seriously. The mysterious grading “curve” occurred
in January or February around the Penal Code portion of the class.
o Estrada finished the class ranked 6th or 7th and he should have finished in top
3. While looking at the class rankings the female Pflugerville PD cadet turned
to a WCSO cadet and said, “How are you higher than me when I score better
on tests?” The WCSO cadet said he didn’t know.
o Nickel using racial slurs to Gordon. Nickel did not like Gordon personally and
calling him a “Nigger.” Nickel didn’t treat anyone as bad as Gordon. Brummel
(Buda PD) was treated poorly as well.
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Estrada said the valedictorian and top shot were legitimate awards given at the end of
the class. He was unsure about top driver and most fit because he thought other officers
from outside agencies won those.
Estrada stated that they (cadets) received racial slurs from the instructors during
“practical” scenario training. He talked about one in particular where the officer met
with a business owner whose business had just been burglarized. The business owner
just started complaining about the “stupid Mexicans” who stole from him. Before
Tactical Spanish, Nickel told him “You’re going to have an easy time with this…” because
he was Hispanic. Estrada said “The hard N word was used on Jerome (Gordon).” He
described Nickel getting in Jerome’s face and said “You got to get used to people calling
you a Nigger.” During another practical scenario, Nickel told Estrada that Gordon was
“the biggest pussy he’s ever seen.” Nickel also fraternized with the WCSO cadets.
We asked Estrada if he thought any of the WCSO cadets would be honest with us and he
said no because they know how they were treated (better). Especially the ones who
were close to Nickel because they know it would get them in trouble.
Estrada characterized the treatment of Gordon and Brummel as “Bullying.” The

treatment had nothing to do with breaking someone down to build them back up in the
end like the military and he said the justification of using the racial slurs as “this is what
you will be called on the streets” was just a ruse to say what they wanted to say.
On 9/3/19, after the interview of Estrada, Chief Phipps said we needed to talk to Sgt. Stigent
about his time instructing at the academy. We were unsure why at the time but we met
with Colt Stigent in the Chief’s Office. The following is a summary of his recorded interview:
Stigent is a Sergeant with the Manor Police Department and a certified SFST instructor.
As a part of the agreement with WCSO to provide a free slot for their academy, a
department must supply an instructor to teach a portion of the police cadet academy.
Stigent was the instructor that satisfied Manor PD’s end of that agreement. He taught
the SFST Practitioner Course. It was a 3-day course of instruction that included a “wet”
lab. An issue he ran into while teaching this course was that one of the WCSO cadets
failed the SFST practical testing phase twice. Stigent could not sign him off as passing.
He handed him off to another WCSO instructor and said that his two tests were failures
and that he “wasn’t cutting it.” After that, the WCSO instructor said he talked to the
cadet and everything is good and they proceeded with the “wet” lab.
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To be certified as an SFST practioner, you only have two attempts at passing this
examination. The cadet must show that they can successfully complete the exam
verbatim. The WCSO cadet did not perform these tests successfully. The testing form is
a series of objectives that must be signed off (by initials) by the instructor as completed
successfully. This particular form was handed to the unknown instructor for WCSO
academy staff and a short time later told Stigent that the WCSO cadet was good to go.
Stigent said he thought the instructor was Lt. Gripentrog because he is an SFST
instructor.
He described the cadet who failed the SFST Practitioner course as a light skinned stocky,
but not muscular, H/M that stood out because they hired a certain type of person at
WCSO and they hired people who were muscular or in-shape and this cadet was neither
of those.
On 9/4/19 at approximately 10:30am, Sgt. Norie and I interviewed Amanda Maddera at the
Pflugerville Police Department. The following is a summary of her recorded interview:
Maddera was a cadet in the November 2018 WCSO Police Academy. She was also a
telecommunicator with Pflugerville PD prior to attending the Police Academy. We asked
her to tell us about her experience at the police academy and she produced several
pages of handwritten notes in a spiral notebook to refer to in order to explain. She
started with Day 1 where WCSO told the cadets they would provide them a schedule on
a flash drive. The cadets received a flash drive and all that was on it was TCOLE
mandated courses and instructor bios. When they notified WCSO Deputy Nickel about
this, he said y'all don’t even need it but we’ll try to get you one as soon as we can. They
received a schedule a month into the academy.
The entire academy was disorganized. She recalled a time they went to a driving course
in San Marcos, TX. The entire class drove down to San Marcos and they didn’t have it on
the schedule so they drove back. When they got back, they found an opening in
Georgetown and everyone drove there and they didn’t have time for the classroom
portion so they bumped it to the end. They maybe received one hour of classroom
instruction and they received a test on the classroom portion where even the class
valedictorian (Alexandria?) failed the test because they didn’t receive enough
instruction. Maddera said she remembered just guessing on the test. Everyone was
nervous because they felt they would fail and get fired from the academy. Due to the
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lack of time because of the disorganized academy staff, they were forced to run through
the PowerPoint presentation quickly. This caused the cadets to guess on their written
tests for which they would be held accountable. Maddera stated this was not the only
course where this happened. The other courses that were taught by Nickel that were
handled similarly were Hazmat and Emergency Communications. After repeated
questions from the cadets, they were told by Nickel to stop asking about the test and
the Hazmat test was given a month later. Nickel rushed through Emergency
Communications to attend SWAT training at another location. The cadets were in
attendance and watched the training. Additionally, they used the cadets as “bad guys”
in the scenarios. Maddera was a “bad guy” in a house for the SWAT team to assault.
Another concern Maddera noted was use of the physical training (PT) as a punishment. It
was overused in her opinion on 10-minute breaks from class or when someone did
something wrong.
At some point in the academy, Nickel announced to the class that if they had a problem
they needed to come to him and not their agency. Nickel retaliated against Gordon
because he told his original agency about the issues at the academy and his original
agency approached WCSO about what they were hearing.
Mistreatment of Cadet Jerome Gordon. Nickel had a personal issue with Gordon and
singled him out. Nickel called Gordon a “Nigger” and said that this is what they would
call him on the street. Gordon was very quiet and professional despite being mistreated.
The cadet class knew that Gordon was being mistreated by Gordon. Everyone was
uncomfortable with this treatment (Apple Watch comment, don’t complain to your
agency, Switching Departments, “Pussy” comment by Nickel about Gordon to Estrada).
Nickel made inappropriate comments to Cadets. He asked Maddera if she and Carl Smith
was a thing. He also talked about his Lieutenant (Gripentrog) to cadets Maddera and
Gordon by saying he was “going to run the bus over him…” meaning that he was going
to get back at his own Lieutenant for trying to correct his behavior. This made them
both uncomfortable. Nickel fraternized with certain WCSO cadets and made
inappropriate comments to them and they would make them back.
We spoke about the Jarrell cadet that was terminated from the academy early on for
academic failures. Maddera said the rule was if you failed 3 tests you were dismissed. It
started this way until several WCSO cadets failed their tests and the policy was changed
8|Page
to simply maintaining an 80 average. The outside agency cadets felt if one of them failed
3 tests, they would be let go but if you were WCSO cadet, they would change the rules.
One of the WCSO cadets that failed multiple tests was Miguel Wolfe.
Tyler Brummel won the driving award but it was given to a WCSO cadet. Outside
agencies knew they wouldn’t win an award because early in the academy, Commander
Tony Carter announced to the class that he wanted to see all WC cadets win these
awards.
Maddera couldn’t understand how people failing tests could have a higher GPA than her.
WCSO was supposed to enter your test score into your GPA however; they were
factoring in the re-test score instead. She was confused about how a cadet could fail 3
tests and have a GPA in the 90s. She recalled saying something to Shanks or Wolfe
about their GPA in front of other cadets but could not remember their response as to
how.
Maddera said she felt WCSO academy had an instructor problem with Nickel and not a
systemic problem. She said she heard later Nickel was promoted to Sergeant over
training and she was stunned. She said Gripentrog and Stewart were good instructors
and they were both transferred.
On 9/4/19 at approximately 11:45am, Sgt. Norie and I interviewed Pflugerville PD Training

Coordinator Aaron Herrera. The interview was recorded and the following is a summary of the
interview:
Cpl. Herrera has been the Training Coordinator for Pflugerville PD for approximately a
year. He said Maddera was primarily his responsibility in the beginning. There were
regular check-ins and he would routinely check in with Sgt. Stewart at WCSO. Towards
the end of the academy, Pflugerville PD hired Jerome Gordon and he had very few
interactions with Gordon. Maddera complained initially about the atmosphere of the
academy and then later she complained how the academy was changing the standard
for the WCSO cadets to keep them from failing their own academy.
He didn’t alert anyone to these complaints because he didn’t think there was merit to it
because she was a cadet and surely WCSO couldn’t change the standards. This would
defeat the whole purpose of the academy.
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His instructors didn’t mention anything unusual about the academy when they taught
and according to Herrera they would have said something if they saw something.
On 9/4/19 at 12:00pm, Sgt. Norie and I interviewed Officer Jerome Gordon at the Pflugerville
PD. The following is a summary of his interview:
Gordon was originally hired by Taylor PD and while in the academy he started
researching Pflugerville PD and decided to apply with them and was subsequently hired
by Pflugerville PD while in the academy and resigned his position with Taylor PD.
Gordon was asked what type of problems he had with the academy. He began by telling
us about “smoke” sessions (physical training sessions). His first encounter with an
instructor was asking Deputy Nickel about when their tests would be and how should
they study. They never received a schedule. They were given a schedule further into the
academy. Nickel replied by telling Gordon “the tests were going to be when the tests
were going to be.” Gordon explained that a Jarrell PD cadet failed one of the first tests
and was dismissed. This caused him concern because it illustrated the seriousness of the
academy. Gordon also explained that Taylor PD required him to check in with them with
weekly (Detective Koch) progress reports. Koch told him if he had any problems he
needs to contact them immediately. Gordon sent one email describing how he was
overwhelmed with the academy and they called him to discuss his concerns and calm
him down. He screen captured the email and showed it to me during the interview. I
read the email dated November 21, 2019 and Gordon told his contact all of the personal
issues he was having. He did not complain about any one person.
Gordon stopped the interview and explained that he did not mean for any of this (TCOLE
investigation) to happen and he didn’t want to be a troublemaker. It was apparent that
this investigation was not his intent and at the time, he merely wanted to get through
the academy.
Unbeknownst to Gordon, Sgt. Brewster with Taylor PD called the WCSO training
academy and spoke to Deputy Nickel and relayed the concerns that Gordon had that
were basic and expected from a first time police cadet. Nickel took this personally and
after a PT session, gathered the cadets around and said, “If y’all have any problems be
man enough to say it to my face and don’t run to your little departments.” None of the
outside agency cadets knew who he was talking about but all had to check in with their
departments and was concerned he was talking about them specifically because all had
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told their departments of the disorganization and pressure of a full time police
academy. Gordon was convinced Nickel was talking about him.
The next Monday, Gordon approached Stewart and Gripentrog. He explained that he
did not mean for this to happen and he was merely doing what he thought was right.
Stewart and Gripentrog accepted his apology and decided to move forward. Gordon
then approached Deputy Nickel to do the same thing and apologize. Nickel said “you
knew I was talking about you?” Gordon said he could feel it and knew. Nickel said he
better not hear anything else from Taylor PD and that he didn’t care if Taylor PD ever
returned to the academy because he didn’t care about working with them. While
discussing this, Nickel got very close to Gordon’s face and said, “You’ve got to
understand that people on the streets are going to call you a fucking nigger.” Gordon
demonstrated how close Nickel got to him when saying this and Gordon didn’t
understand where this was coming from. Gordon explained that Nickel used the “hard
R” meaning he enunciated “nigger” as if it made it more insulting. Gordon said from this
point, everything went downhill in the academy especially between him and Nickel.
Gordon said this occurred in the hallway to their armory.
Gordon explained that Krompart was the class president and deservedly so. According
to Gordon, after Nickel called Gordon a “fucking nigger,” Nickel immediately made
Gordon the class president and tried to cover this unfair treatment by making someone
else the class president and then the duty went back to Krompart and he stayed class
president for the remainder of the academy. While acting as class president, Nickel
asked Gordon to lead a PT session and asked him to bring up 4 minutes on his watch.
Gordon had an Apple Watch and couldn’t figure out how to bring up the stopwatch on
the watch. Nickel made a comment about it being an expensive watch that cost a few
hundred dollars and Gordon replied that it was actually a one thousand dollar watch.
This upset Nickel and he said “I’ve been watching you walk around and you’re not shit. I
can’t wait to get you on the mats.” Nickel said this in front of the whole class. At this
point, Gordon knew that Nickel had a personal problem with him specifically.
Gordon recalled while completing a scenario that required the cadets to use force on
the actor played by Nickel. Gordon was partnered with Estrada. As the scenario
unfolded, Estrada shot Nickel and for the scenario he was deceased before Gordon
arrived. Gordon responded to the scene and put handcuffs on Nickel (who was
deceased). After Gordon left, Nickel told Estrada that Gordon was the “biggest vagina
he’d ever seen.”
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Gordon said he felt like no matter what he did, Nickel was on him and he couldn’t get
him off and now he was talking about him to his classmates. Gordon believed that
Nickel treated him differently than everyone else in the class. When asked why he
thought Nickel did this, he said he thought that Nickel’s behavior was racially motivated.
When Gordon switched from Taylor to Pflugerville, Taylor PD went to the academy and
took their duty gear back. Nickel made an announcement to the class asking if everyone
knew what happened. Nickel said Gordon switched departments and asked Gordon why
he wanted to go to Pflugerville and then asked him where his loyalty was. The class was
uncomfortable and tried to get Nickel off the subject but he continued to address this
with Gordon. The treatment of Gordon by Nickel was so bad that the classmates started
trying to distract Nickel from Gordon.
The running joke throughout the academy was the treatment of Gordon versus the
other cadets. There was another African American male in the class named Carl Smith
however he was a Williamson County SO cadet. Nickel did make a comment about not
wearing basketball shoes to Smith and Gordon. They later talked about it and Carl told
Gordon to keep his mouth shut and not say anything and just get through the class.
Nickel had his favorites and one of them was Krompart. They would text each other and
on one occasion, Krompart was talking about who Nickel likes and doesn’t like in the
class. As he was saying the names, Krompart told Gordon, “The only thing you can
change is your color.” This meant that the only thing that would make Gordon fall into
Nickel’s “like” category of cadets. The whole class knew this and it was a running joke.
Gordon said he was #3 or #4 in academic ranking in class. When asked about testing,
Gordon brought up Dankert and his failure. He said they received a cadet manual and
were told that these were the hard and fast rules. One of those rules was you couldn’t
fail 3 tests or you’ll be dismissed. At one point, 3 or 4 WCSO cadets failed their 3rd test.
He remembered WCSO staff changed the rule after these failures. The rule then became
that all you had to do was maintain an 80 GPA. Gordon said the outside agencies felt
this rule did NOT apply to them and only applied to the WCSO cadets. The standards
were not clear. It seemed to Gordon that there were different standards for the WCSO
cadets and the outside agencies. One of the specific incidents aside from this drastic rule
change was there was a portion of the class (traffic code) that had 3 tests. Due to
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failures, the decision was made to combine the 3 scores of the tests and average them to
give a final grade on this portion therefore, no WCSO cadet would fail.
When asked about recalling any failures on the SFST portion of the class, Gordon said he
didn’t remember any failures but at that point it didn’t matter if you failed or not. WCSO
cadets didn’t care if they failed because they knew they could fail unlimited tests.
Gordon remembered the “best of” awards. WCSO won all of these awards at the end of
the class. One that stood out was that Buda PD, Tyler Brummel was doing really well on
the driving portion. At the end of driving portion, the WCSO staff would not reveal the
standings and said they would keep it until graduation. According to Gordon, all of the
cadets knew that Brummel won. At graduation, a WCSO cadet won the top driver for
the academy.
We asked Gordon who would be willing to talk to us about this academy inside WCSO.
He didn’t think many of the students there would be willing to tell us the truth. Prior to
our interview, Gordon met with WCSO Chief Deputy Ryle who was conducting an
internal investigation into these complaints. They mainly discussed Nickel’s behavior
and did not discuss testing, GPA’s, or rule changes in the middle of the academy.
This Police Academy held at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Training Center from
11/5/18 – 5/31/19 was identified through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Data
Distribution System (TCLEDDS) as Basic Police Officer Course (BPOC) #2. Sgt. Leonard Stewart
signed the roster on 5/31/19 and it was entered into TCLEDDS by Administrative Assistant Mary
Daniels.
On 9/4/19 at approximately 2:00p, Sgt. Norie and I went to Taylor PD and spoke with
Commander Branson and Commander Lagrone about Gordon and his transfer to Pflugerville
and his issues with the academy at WCSO. They told us when Gordon notified them of his
concerns at the academy they were worried that the travelling to WCSO would cause some
issues for him but that they wanted to let WCSO know they knew something was going on and
described it as a “shot across the bow.” They did not know about the “N-word” comment at
that time. We also met with Chief Fluke who gave us a copy of the emails where Gordon
resigned and Sheriff Chody asked Chief Fluke to be a part of the committee to advise him on his
academy. Fluke declined to participate and said he would not be sending cadets to the WCSO
academy in the future because he preferred other academies where his employees wouldn’t
get trained and go to another department. Taylor did send an instructor named Sgt. Brister who
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taught Criminal Investigations. Brister did not note anything out of the ordinary as Sgt. Stigent
of the Manor PD did in the SFST portion.
On 9/5/19, I spoke with Chief Kidd of the Buda PD; he set up a time for me to meet with Tyler
Brummel on 9/6/19. In this phone call, he told me based upon this information and talking to
Brummel, he would not be sending any cadets back to the WCSO academy. He sent Kevin Oats
to teach at the academy and Oats did not observe anything out of the ordinary while at the
academy.
On 9/6/19, I met with Tyler Brummel at the Buda Police Department. The following is a
summary of this recorded interview:
Brummel recalled the Jarrell PD cadet failing a test really quickly into the academy and
being dismissed. He said that he felt the PT sessions went a little overboard in the first
couple of weeks despite knowing that their (academy staff) job was to break you down.
The lead instructor for PT sessions was Deputy Nickel. The first day they spent 6 hours
outside. Because they spent so much time doing PT, they would rush through slides
during the classroom portions. This made it difficult to take tests because there would
be slides the cadets missed that would be on the test. There were a lot of injuries during
the academy for overuse.
He said he remembered receiving a cadet manual at the orientation and did not receive
a schedule until much later in the academy. The first series of tests were very difficult
because they would rush through the power point during classes. For example, the CCP
portion of the academy was 1000 slides and the cadets would ask what do we need to
study? The staff would answer with, “Good luck.” Brummel said 8 or 9 people failed that
one test.
Brummel said his understanding was that you could fail a test and if you passed the re-
test you could stay in the class. If you failed the original test twice, you would be
dismissed. Brummel said he remembered the cadet manual stating this rule. A few
WCSO cadets (Wolfe and Shanks) failed two tests and they changed the policy. He knew
they changed the policy because everyone expected the one WCSO to be dismissed and
he wasn’t and he was allowed to stay in the class after having seen the Jarrell PD cadet
dismissed for academic failures. He said the staff realized at some point how difficult it
was and started providing study guides for the tests and then the tests weren’t as
difficult as they were in the beginning. Brummel was relieved when this policy changed
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because then he didn’t have to worry about failing. Sgt. Stewart made an
announcement to the class of the policy change.
He said he remembered scoring really well on the tests and his posted GPA would drop
.1 or .2 weekly and being a cadet he wouldn’t question the instructors. He said Robert
Linn’s (Jarrell PD) grade seemed to do the same as his while a few WCSO cadets GPA
seemed to be going up. Brummel said it seemed strange that their (outside agencies)
grades were being affected. Example - He would look at his GPA weekly as they were
updated. He would have a 98.1 and would score a 100 on the test and when he would
look at his GPA after scoring the 100, expecting it to rise to a 98.3 but his GPA would be
down by .1. He never lost position on the class rankings. He also said that others
(Gordon and Linn) noticed the same thing happening to their grades. It seemed to him
and others they were doing whatever they could to keep the WCSO guy’s grades above
80% because that would’ve been above the standard that now counted. The majority of
the tests were taken online thru a web-based application called “Class Marker.”
One of the concerns Brummel had was with EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations
Course). He felt he won the Top Driver award and it was given to a WCSO cadet at the
end of the academy. Throughout the academy, scores were posted as they went along,
instantly. When they got to EVOC they started to tell the cadets the scores however, as
Brummel did better and better the WCSO staff started keeping the scores confidential
and wouldn’t reveal the results. At the end, cadets asked training staff what the scores
were and the staff answered, “Smith won the top driver.” Smith was a WCSO cadet.
According to Brummel, the other cadets knew he had won because it was obvious.
Brummel was proud that he did real well in this area and it was frustrating that he didn’t
win when it was obvious he won.
While discussing Cadet Carl Smith, Brummel asked me if I heard he was fired from
WCSO. I said I had not heard that and he said he was fired by text message and the text
said, he “wasn’t a good fit.”
We spoke about Cadet Gordon and the treatment he received from Deputy Nickel. He
heard that Nickel called him the N-word from other cadets. During PT, while running,
Nickel said, “Aren’t you people supposed to be fast?” Nickel also made sexist remarks to
cadet Maddera (both outside agency cadets).
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Brummel was complimentary of some of the WCSO training staff. In his opinion, Nickel
was the main problem with the academy. Brummel said there were so many times that
Nickel treated Gordon poorly that he couldn’t recall all of them. One of the main
incidents was when Gordon left Taylor to go to Pflugerville. In front of the entire class,
Nickel berated Gordon and said he shouldn’t even be a cop and he had no loyalty. At the
end of this uncomfortable exchange, Nickel said, “I probably would’ve done the same
thing for more money.” Brummel said Nickel was bad to everybody but there was
always a little extra for Gordon. Later in the interview, Brummel said he thought Nickel
was racist because of the comments he used towards Gordon.
We discussed the cadets that Nickel favored and Brummel said it was Krompart and
Counts that were closest to him. They would routinely make sexual innuendo to each
other. He didn’t think anyone in the class was homosexual but if there was someone in
the class that was, they would’ve been offended and it was inappropriate.
Sgt. Stewart called Brummel’s Captain at the Buda PD. There was some confusion about
the GI Bill and getting paid. Brummel was struggling to pay bills and had to get on food
stamps throughout the academy. When he didn’t get paid, he approached Stewart.
Stewart became frustrated and called his Captain. Brummel’s Captain “chewed him out”
and told him just to shut up and be a “sponge.” From that moment on, he would not
complain or mention anything about the academy.
On 9/9/19, I called WCSO Chief Deputy Tim Ryle and told him of our investigation and that we
needed to talk to 7 of his employees. He told me he was investigating the same thing and
recently was told to end his investigation because of ours. Ryle said he would call me back
when he had all of the Deputies lined up to be interviewed. Later, Ryle called and said he had all
of them ready to go and we agreed to meet at the WCSO Training Center on Wednesday at
7:00am.
On 9/11/19, Sgt. Norie, Sgt. Lyon, and Capt. Skolaut and I went to the WCSO training center and
interviewed seven WCSO deputies (then cadets). See Sgt. Norie’s and Lyon’s supplements.
Captain Skolaut and I met with Deputy George Krompart and the following is a summary of his
recorded interview:
Krompart was a cadet in the WCSO police academy from November 2018 – June 2019.
He was also the “Class President.” He mentioned Cadet Dankert from Jarrell PD was
dismissed early on in the academy for test failures. He said that no one else was
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dismissed for test failures in his academy. They started with 16 cadets and graduated
15. He did receive a cadet manual before the academy started and a schedule was
available for all cadets posted in the classroom a couple of days into it.
Krompart said he failed one test and it was on “Health and Safety” but passed the re-
test. Class rankings were based on your overall average in the class. He personally was
ranked just better than half with a 93 average. When asked if there were any problems
he said no and that the class was “good…tough, but good.” He said there were no
personality conflicts between instructors and students and conversely there were no
favorites or outsiders.
Krompart described his time as class president and that he was class president in the
beginning and remained class president 95% of the time. There were times that a
weaker cadet needed to take charge and they were assigned the duties for a week or
two then the responsibility went back to Krompart. Wolfe and Gordon were the cadets
that were assigned the duties. He was unsure why Gordon was assigned but Wolfe was
to strengthen him. Krompart felt that assigning this responsibility to him changed him
dramatically.
He said there were private meetings with staff and they consisted of logistical issues
such as vacation time usage before the academy and one meeting the staff told the
WCSO cadets they better be on the plaque (meaning to be top cadet in a field).
We discussed the testing and failure policy. Krompart recalled Dankert failing a test
early in the academy and also the re-test which was grounds for an automatic dismissal.
At some point, the 3-test failure rule changed. He said he remembered Sgt. Stewart
coming into the class and announcing they were changing that policy to simply
maintaining a “high average” shortly after WCSO cadet Shanks failed a third test. Shanks
was upset because he knew he failed 3 tests thus violating the 3-test rule which was also
grounds for dismissal. There was relief when Sgt. Stewart made the announcement they
were changing that rule. Krompart thinks that Shanks was the only WCSO cadet that
failed 3 times but he thinks Wolfe might have also. Other cadets that failed more than
one test were Lundry, Smith, Counts, Doan, and Roveli. None of the outside agency
cadets failed that he could remember.
To his knowledge, the GPA for each student was based upon the original test scores.
Example, if one made a 70 on the original test and a 100 on the re-test, the GPA was
based upon the original test score and NOT the re-test score. He said he didn’t notice
anything out of the ordinary with class rankings or movement.
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According to Krompart, they didn’t know the formula for scoring the driving portion of
the academy. He said there were clearly 3 people who were in the running for top driver
and they were himself, Herold, and Smith. He said Brummel thought he should have
been because he was fast but he knocked over a lot of cones and that added to your
times.
We discussed the driving course and that TCOLE mandates 32 hours. He said they
originally met in San Marcos and were told they couldn’t drive there because they
messed up the track reservation so they travelled back and later drove in Georgetown.
He said the classroom portion was a power point presentation on the first day in San
Marcos. Dep. Nickel and Sgt. Pierson taught this course and he estimated the classroom
portion was 2-3 hours.
He remembered the HazMat course. He said it was interesting because the instructor
did not show. Dep. Nickel taught the class and they took the test a month or month and
a half after the course was taught. He said he remembered they took the course and it
was fairly short. He estimated the classroom portion of hazmat was 2 hours.
The original instructor for Emergency Communications did not show. He did remember
taking a field trip through the communications center at Georgetown and attending
SWAT training at this time. The cadets acted as “bad guys.” He couldn’t remember the
test.
Krompart remembered a Manor Sergeant coming out and assisting the cadets with SFST
training and he did not remember anyone fail the SFST portion of the class.
He felt that the outside agencies were naïve civilians who were not used to the military-
style of training and “tough love.” Where the military guys were used to mass
punishment and being forced to get better. Krompart felt the outside agency cadets felt
like they were being “attacked.” There were no personal conflicts but certain cadets
took things personal. He said that instructors would come to him and ask him about
cadets but it was not personal. Krompart remembered Dep. Nickel coming to him once
asking about Gordon because Gordon had gone to Taylor PD and complained about the
academy.
Deputy Nickel was the main point of contact for the cadets. If Krompart couldn’t get in
touch with Stewart, he would contact Lt. Gripentrog.
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On 9/11/19 at 8:05am, Capt. Skolaut and I met with WCSO Deputy Alex Lundry. The following is
a summary of his recorded interview:
Lundry was a cadet in the #2 cadet class that ran from November 2018 – June 2019 at
the WCSO Training Center. He said the cadet class started with 16 people and graduated
15. One of the cadets failed out of the class at the beginning. There was a policy in place
for failing tests. If you failed, you could re-test. Lundry said this particular cadet failed
two tests and re-tests. Then he explained the testing rules of the academy as he knew
them. He said he received a cadet manual for the class at the orientation before the
academy started.
Lundry said that midway through the academy they changed the testing policy to the
only requirement is your GPA had to be an 80 or higher. He did not know why the policy
was changed just that Sgt. Stewart came in and made an announcement to the whole
class that the standard was changing to the 80 GPA or higher and getting rid of the 3-
test fail rule. He said he only failed two tests and one of them was “Health and Safety”
and couldn’t remember the second. Both failures were after the announcement of the
policy change. When asked who was “on the bubble” of failing out around the time of
the announcement of the policy change, Lundry said he thought Shanks and Wolfe had
failed multiple tests. Their tests were administered through a web-based application
called “Class Maker.”
I asked him how the class average worked. WCSO wanted the cadets to maintain an 80
GPA because TCOLE required a 70. The intent was to train harder than what’s required.
It was his understanding that the original test scores are what was averaged to obtain a
“class average” and this is what they meant by maintaining an 80 GPA or higher. The
scores were posted weekly in the classroom for everyone to see. He told us he failed
two tests with scores of 79 and 64 and despite these, he maintained, and graduated
with a 95.5 GPA. The scores used were all of his original test scores. He said Wolfe and
Shanks finished with a 92 and 93 average. He said he could not remember anyone
questioning the GPA’s of other students.
Lundry said the Driving course was a week long course and the classroom portion of that
was 4 – 8 hours and 60-100 slides. He remembered going to San Marcos and them
finding out it wasn’t reserved and having to come back and then go to another location.
His explanation of the classroom and driving on the first day did not make sense as he
said the cadets were dismissed for the day at 4pm.
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He stated the classroom portion of the HazMat course was all day (meaning an 8 hour
day). He remembered there was some confusion on who was teaching the course and
he said that something had come up and they took the test a couple of weeks after the
course. This was abnormal.
Emergency Communications was taught by someone from Pflugerville in a 4-8 block. He

said this was an all-day class as well and took the test right after that class. He did
remember walking through Georgetown Communications that same week. Hazmat was
taught by Nickel. Driving was taught by Nickel and Pierson and some lady taught
Emergency Communications. He also recalled doing some SWAT training after going
through communications but it wasn’t the same day as the Emergency Communications
class. He claimed that the SWAT training was for the cadets because they were getting
ready to go through training on those specific subjects such as ALERRT, Low-light
training, etc. He suggested attending SWAT training was to show the cadets what they
were about to learn. They did not teach those things that day. That day they watched
SWAT and did roleplay exercises by playing “bad guys” or “victims.” He said they only
stayed out there for an hour and Dep. Nickel was their instructor and tour guide.
Lundry said he never saw any personal animosities between instructors and students
and could not remember if anyone failed SFST.
The remaining WCSO cadets were interviewed by Sgt. Norie and Sgt. Lyon. See their
supplements for details.
On 9/13/19 at 8:45am, Sgt. Norie, Sgt. Lyon, and I travelled to Mexia, TX. and met with ex-
WCSO Sergeant Leonard Stewart at the Mexia Police Department. Stewart was terminated
from WCSO for reasons outside of this investigation in July of 2019. The following is a summary
of his recorded interview:
During this particular (#2) Cadet Class, Sgt. Stewart was the Sergeant over the Training
Center which included the BPOC and in-service training from October of 2018 – June
2019 when his suspension started.
We showed him a roster of the cadet class and explained some of the complaints. He
verified this was the class he was a Sergeant over and that one of the cadets from Jarrell
PD had been dismissed early on. When he arrived to the Training Center in October of
2018, he was assigned to supervise however the BPOC coordinator was David Nickel.
Nickel worked for Stewart. The assignment of BPOC coordinator to David Nickel was
prior to Sgt. Stewart being assigned to the academy.
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One issue he remembered with this cadet class was with Cadet Brummel and it had to
do with his not being paid by Buda PD while in the academy and having to deal with
some sort of grant. Another issue was Cadet Jerome Gordon. His grades were good and
he was sponsored by Taylor PD when he started and near the end of the academy he
decided to transfer to Pflugerville PD. They had to complete sponsorship paperwork to
satisfy TCOLE but that was accomplished quickly.
We talked about the cadet from Jarrell PD who failed early on. Stewart said that in the
beginning there was a policy in the student handbook that said if you failed two tests,
you were dismissed. He failed two consecutive tests (first two) and was dismissed. He
clarified that at some point in the academy “they” changed the policy. They meant Lt.
Gripentrog and higher. Instead of failing two tests and you’re out, you only had to
maintain an overall GPA over 80. He explained that upper managers felt that it was an
unfair policy and that maintaining an 80 or higher was a better standard. He said the
outside agency cadets did not have academic problems. The WCSO cadets such as
Shanks and Counts were having a tough time. Stewart had an issue with changing this
standard halfway through the academy and while speaking with Lt. Gripentrog about
the issue, he recalled Gripentrog may have called TCOLE seeking guidance on the
subject of changing policies during the academy as opposed to before or after. He said
he wasn’t sure if Gripentrog called TCOLE but he thought he did and he (Stewart) was
concerned. Stewart noted that the failures and testing policy change happened all in the
front half of the academy. Towards the end, everyone was doing fine.
We asked if the cadet class was disorganized and he said the only issue they were
dealing with was the testing. He characterized it as a “leaky bucket.” He elaborated by
saying that someone knew someone in another county and WCSO basically took the
other county’s curriculum and put their name on it conversely, a lot of the tests and
answer keys were wrong. Sgt. Stewart and Lt. Gripentrog were catching a lot of wrong
questions on the tests and they were based on dated information. Stewart said he and
Gripentrog were reviewing and correcting tests the day before the test was
administered. Most of the tests were taken via a web-based application but the first few
were done on paper.
Stewart said throughout the academy there was a rule that if you failed a test and then
the retake, you were dismissed. That rule never changed. There was a concern at some
point in the academy about all of the WCSO cadets that were failing tests and the
reason was because these guys were jailers for WCSO and were hand selected by the
upper management to attend the law enforcement (LE) academy. WCSO backfilled the
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empty jailer slots with new hires. The LE cadets were told if you fail out of the academy,
they would be terminated from the agency altogether and did not have a fallback job.
The WCSO is understaffed and if their cadets failed out of the BPOC it would be a waste
of time and money and they couldn’t meet their staffing needs. Stewart clarified that he
was never a part of conversations where this was said and this was his understanding
based upon working knowledge. He felt that the announcement of the new 80-GPA rule
was a catch-all because people were failing tests and it challenged their own policy. This
change did go up the chain of command because of the amount of WCSO cadets failing.
Stewart recalled that there was an issue between Nickel and Gripentrog. Nickel was in
charge of keeping track of all the grades including each individuals GPA. Stewart said
they were of the understanding that the TCOLE standard was to keep all grades and post
those grades for the cadets to see and this was Nickel’s responsibility as he was the
BPOC coordinator. Stewart said the computer did a good job of averaging scores after
they started using it for testing exclusively. Nickel was expected to average in the test
scores from the exams that were done on paper. At one point in the academy, Nickel
was always gone and doing a poor job. He was more concerned with his SWAT duties
and training than he was with his full time job of being an instructor. Due to this failure
of time and attention on Nickel’s part, Lt. Gripentrog had to take over these BPOC
coordinator duties. The reason Nickel’s behavior was not challenged was because he
always had an excuse and he was running around with Commander Deaton.
In factoring the cadets GPA, the scores used were the re-test test scores. Stewart said
no matter what you made on the re-test, that score was always a 70 to indicate a pass
however, that was the score used in the GPA. If a student failed an original test and they
made a 90 on the re-test, the score would be a 70 and that would be used. After telling
us this, I had him read the cadet manual’s policy for test failure, section D. and it states:
“When the cadet has passed the re-test, the original failing score will be left as the
grade on record and will be used to average his/her final academic average.” He nodded
and said, “Ok.” I asked if this was the policy all along and he said he thought it was.
Stewart said the only policy that changed that he is absolutely sure of was the 3-test
failure to maintaining an 80 or better GPA.
At some point in the academy the WCSO cadets understood a rumor to be that if they
passed the BPOC and there were no job openings on patrol for them that they wouldn’t
have a job. Chief Ficak met with WCSO cadets and reassured them this wasn’t the case
and they would have jobs even if there wasn’t a position on patrol for them. He could
not recall any private meetings specifically between he and the cadets.
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Stewart remembered that San Marcos was double-booked for the driving portion of the
course and they then had to use Kelly Reeves stadium. Hazmat was taught by David
Nickel because there was a problem with the original instructor and Emergency
Communications was taught by Nickel as well. He tried to fill time by taking the cadets
to Georgetown Communications Center on a field trip. They had to manipulate the
schedule based upon these issues. While telling us about these issues and without
prompting Stewart said, “There’s a common theme here…” referencing David Nickel.
We asked Stewart about any issues between Nickel and Cadet Gordon. As he thought,
he said he remembered that Gordon and Lt. Gripentrog spoke a lot. In person, via phone
and text, on duty and after hours. Gordon once came to Stewart and asked if there
would be any consequences in the academy if he transferred from Taylor to Pflugerville
and Stewart told him no. Gordon never said anything to Stewart about Nickel.
I asked Stewart if he ever heard of Nickel calling Gripentrog a “pussy” or if he called

Gordon a “pussy” or “nigger.” At the “pussy” comment Stewart said, “I didn’t hear
about that but I believe he would.” At the mention of the word “Nigger,” Stewart said,
“Even though I hate David Nickel, that’s a hard pill for me to swallow. The mention of
this word raised Stewart’s eyebrows and his response was genuine that it was hard for
him to believe that happened despite his personal dislike of David Nickel.
He said Gripentrog was “sketchy” when it came to tests. If there was a problem with a
question, it was always the test to blame and he looked for bias. He further explained
that Gripentrog did not like reporting up the chain of command that people failed a test.
He said when WCSO cadets were on the verge of failing, Gripentrog was very nervous.
Stewart said that when the Jarrell PD cadet failed out early on, there was not an issue
and that cadet was dismissed.
Stewart spoke of the culture at WCSO and how it has changed for the worse because of
Commander Deaton. Everything from hiring practices to changing FTO standards for
new WCSO deputies. It should be noted that Stewart was fired from WCSO in July of
2019 and his opinions mirrored his feelings of his termination. He appeared forthcoming
and despite hating Nickel, defended him and the allegations of unacceptable language
Stewart said that he believed this is a culture problem at the academy and Nickel being
at training adds to the problem. He characterized Nickel as terrible and shouldn’t have a
job. There were numerous issues with Nickel the entire time Stewart supervised him at
the Training Center and every time he brought it up, nothing happened. At one point, he
went to the SWAT team leader, Mark Luera who said he would talk to Nickel and take
23 | P a g e
care of the problem. Nothing happened. At one point Sgt. Stewart had a meeting with
Commander Deaton, Chief Tim Ryle, and Commander Carter. Deaton agreed Nickel
should be moved and they couldn’t find an assignment where he was wanted or would
be effective. I asked Stewart if he paid more attention to Nickel because of how bad
Nickel was and Stewart said he did but he couldn’t see all that he was doing because he
was the Sergeant over the entire training center and not just cadets. They were running
in-service training and firearms training at the same time as the BPOC. Near the end of
the BPOC academy (and Stewart’s career), it was known that Nickel couldn’t be touched
because he was good friends with Commander Deaton. Nickel was later promoted to
Sergeant and is currently the supervisor at the Training Center.
Note: In May 2018, TCOLE received a complaint from a TMPA lawyer named Robert McCabe.
McCabe complained about several issues and one of his complaints was that an instructor
named David Nickel taught 1.5 hours of a reported 8 hour class. His supervisor at the time
caught the discrepancy and made Nickel correct the issue. This complaint listed Nickel’s
supervisor as Sergeant Leonard Stewart. In Nickel’s statement, he stated he was reprimanded
by Stewart. The other complaints listed were either based on statements by uncooperative
officers at WCSO and/or were outside TCOLE’s jurisdiction. Due to the lack of cooperation by
the officers listed in McCabe’s complaint and that WCSO properly disciplined their instructor in-
house, the case was closed unfounded. Sgt. Norie and I spoke to Sheriff Chody about this
incident at the time and he explained what his agency did and their removal of the roster
because the instructor did not teach what he reported. Chody felt this was a political attack by
his opponents however; he was pleased to know his department handled the lack of training
appropriately. See TCOLE #19-05-0578.
On 9/18/19, Sgt. Norie, Sgt. Lyon, Capt. Skolaut, A.C.E. Malcolm Jackson and I went to the
Williamson County Training Center to meet with Lt. Luera and staff to go through BPOC #2
documents. All of their documents have been scanned and stored digitally. We were introduced
to Administrative Assistant Mary Daniels and Luera asked Lt. Gripentrog to attend to clarify any
issues in deciphering and navigating their documents and storage. Daniels pulled up a
spreadsheet with PID numbers and what appeared to be grades and put it on the conference
room monitor for all to see. We all immediately recognized missing columns of numbers inside
the spreadsheet and Gripentrog mentioned these missing numbers right away as if he had not
seen this prior to our arrival and asked how GPAs could be figured for the cadets in that class if
the numbers aren’t there. We had Daniels print a copy of what we were looking at on the
monitor and it is labeled as “May 2019 Grades” and added to the case file. While going through
the digital documents, it became apparent that we needed Gripentrog to explain the grading
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system he used for BPOC #2 and to help clarify where in the system everything was stored. We
decided to bring back Lt. Craig Gripentrog for assistance and to interview him about BPOC #2.
The following is a summary of Lt. Craig Gripentrog’s recorded interview:
Gripentrog said he started working at the Training Academy February 2017 and left in
April/May 2019. He was the Training Coordinator and assigned Deputy David Nickel to
be the BPOC Coordinator.
He said while he was the Lt. over the academy and during this cadet class he did not
hear of any complaints about the academy by cadets. He said when he left, he heard
cadets ask who was going to run the academy and that they hoped it wasn’t Nickel.
They did not expound on their desire to not have Nickel. He could not remember any
issues but did say that if there was a problem he would’ve addressed it with his
Commander.
Gripentrog said every cadet was given a cadet manual on a “thumb drive” before the
class started. I showed him a copy of the manual that a cadet from this class received.
We went over the test policy and he recited what he remembered the policies to have
been during the academy and I asked if he remembered any of those policies changing
and he said he did. Early on in the academy, they noticed people were failing tests
(scores below 80) and they were going to lose a lot of cadets. Cadet’s Wolfe and Shanks
were failing and he notified his Commander, Tony Carter of the impending
failures/dismissals. He and Carter had originally discussed amending the cadet manual
to make the cadet class more of a “college setting” and he told Carter if they did that
they would have to go to the Advisory Board to change rules but he found a rule that
stated:
XI. (A) (2) (e.) “Failure of any three written examinations of the failure of any
single re-test could result in a recommendation for dismissal from the class. Each
recommendation will be made with consideration given to other factors such as,
personal and professional conduct, physical skills, and/or any other disciplinary
problems.”
According to Gripentrog this rule allowed for an “exception” to failing the cadets. He
said Commander Carter and the people above him decided to exercise this exception
and keep Wolfe and Shanks. Gripentrog said he had an email with this documented and
we asked for a copy. It was later found to be a memorandum.
25 | P a g e
Gripentrog said he remembered Carter responding saying, “Let’s do that, let’s go off the
80 average as long as they’re a good student…” According to Gripentrog, they were
essentially removing rule (e.) because Williamson County Cadets were failing and
would’ve failed out. He claimed that he saw these coming and found the rule and that it
was up to people above him to make the determination. The intention of this rule
removal was to make it more collegiate and maintain an 80 average as long as the re-
test was passed. The failure of first and original tests had no bearing on a cadet’s status.
We discussed the Jarrell PD (Dankert) cadet that was dismissed for academic reasons
very early on in the academy. Gripentrog said Dankert wouldn’t have made it anyway
because he failed the re-test and explained because he failed the original and re-test, he
wouldn’t have fallen under this rule-amendment even if his failure occurred later in the
academy when the amendment was in place.
Gripentrog said he would’ve done this amendment for any cadets that were struggling
and that Dankert was dismissed because he fell under a different test failure rule. We
discussed that he didn’t do that for every cadet and only when the WCSO cadets started
failing was an amendment made, he read the rule again and said he understood what
we were saying and that it was his fault that he didn’t approach his commander when
the Jarrell PD cadet failed citing this same policy and factors that he used for the WCSO
cadets.
Gripentrog did make an announcement to BPOC #2 changing the policy on 3 test

failures. He said he made an announcement the cadet class saying that they were
getting rid of the “3-test failure” rule and were sticking to maintaining an 80 average to
relieve some of the stress or test anxiety that was on the students. He also
acknowledged that the policy was amended based upon the failures of WCSO cadets.
We discussed the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) portion of the cadet class.
He said his involvement in this portion was merely the “dosing” of the civilians during
the “Wet Lab.” I asked Gripentrog if he remembered Cadet Wolfe failing the practical
portion of SFST. He said he didn’t and he wasn’t in that portion of instruction. We
showed him the SFST score sheets that the instructor, Sgt. Stigent filled out to certify
that every cadet successfully passed the practical application of administering SFSTs.
Gripentrog explained you only get two chances to pass the proficiency tests. We looked
at all of the cadets proficiency score sheets and Stigent’s initials are on the score sheets
except for Wolfe’s. Wolfe’s score sheet shows a different set of initials. When we
showed this to Gripentrog, he said those are my initials and I did “do” him. He explained
26 | P a g e
that Wolfe must have failed the first one and I did the second one. We told him
according to Stigent and Wolfe, his (Gripentrog) was actually the third test of this
section. It should be noted several cadets needed two attempts but this is the only one
where he tested and initialed. Stigent initialed all of the cadet’s proficiency sheets.
Gripentrog claims that he came in at the end of the class and Stigent told him Wolfe had
a hard time passing this portion and he offered to evaluate Cadet Wolfe. He told us that
had he known it was his third attempt, Wolfe would’ve failed the class and Wolfe
would’ve been dismissed from the academy. Being an SFST instructor, he knew that an
officer/cadet only gets two attempts at passing the proficiency portion of this course
and he did not know it was his third attempt.
Shortened classes. Gripentrog said he remembered the driving course and having an
issue with reserving the track at San Marcos. He did not recall the classroom portion of
the class but he knew Pierson or Nickel taught the course. He had not heard that the
classroom portion of the class was rushed through by the instructor. Hazmat and
Emergency Communications was handled in the same manner and he had not heard
about it before today. Gripentrog said there were problems with the instructor for
Emergency Communications and they had to make up hours. We informed him that the
cadets stated they went to SWAT training after the field trip to Georgetown
Communications and played “victim” for SWAT to train with. Gripentrog lowered his
head and shook it in disgust. He said it didn’t surprise him because of Nickel. When I
asked why he said that he paused and said he thought one of the reasons he was
transferred out of the academy was because he wrote Nickel up for teaching 30 minutes
of an 8-hour class (referencing our TCOLE case 19-05-0578) and he refused to turn in the
roster and made him correct the issue. A few days later, Gripentrog was transferred.
Gripentrog confirmed that he did have text conversations with Cadet Gordon on and off
duty but they were limited to motivating Gordon to stay the course despite being
overwhelmed by the academy. Evidently, Gripentrog knew Gordon from working at
Seton off duty where Gordon was a security guard. Gripentrog said he didn’t remember
Gordon making any complaints about Nickel specifically.
He never heard any complaints about Nickel using derogatory language. He said if he
had heard anything about that, or received a complaint about Nickel using that
language, he would have taken care of it right then and there. I pointed out that Nickel
was the common theme in these complaints and despite the complaints; Nickel is a
Sergeant over the academy today. He nodded. Gripentrog explained how he wrote
27 | P a g e
Nickel up for the 30-minute class even though he was told Nickel was protected by
higher-ups in the department.
Class Averages. Nickel was in charge of maintaining the class’s individual GPA’s in the
beginning. He was tasked with entering the test scores into a spreadsheet that
automatically calculated their individual GPA based upon the test scores. The
spreadsheet we were looking at was designed by another agency (Hays County Sheriff’s
Office) and adopted by the WCSO along with the cadet manual, curriculum, tests, etc.
Luera was the first BPOC Coordinator for the first cadet class and Nickel became the
second BPOC Coordinator for class #2. Nickel started failing to enter scores in a timely
manner and Gripentrog took this task over. Sgt. Stewart later took over for Gripentrog.
Complaints about Physical Training (PT). He said the only complaints were the normal
complaints about being sore and having to exercise but nothing out of the ordinary.
Nickel was in charge of PT for cadets. Gripentrog said he watched a few of the sessions
and made a few inspirational speeches and he didn’t notice anything that would be
considered “abuse.”
GPA’s rising for some cadets and falling for others. I explained that one of the
complaints received was that a cadet noticed their GPA’s were dropping after scoring
higher on a test and that some cadets GPA’s were rising after scoring lower on the tests.
In other words, the GPA’s did not match the grades earned. According to Gripentrog,
the grades entered into the spreadsheet were original test scores and NOT the re-test
score(s). If someone scored a 50 on the original test and scored a 90 on the re-test, the
original test score was entered into the spreadsheet used to determine the students
final overall GPA. While looking at the spreadsheet on the monitor, Gripentrog noticed
that Stewart did not input some test scores into the spreadsheet and pointed it out to
us. I pointed out to Gripentrog that neither he nor anyone could tell us what the overall
correct GPA was for each student based on what we were seeing on the spreadsheet he
claimed they used for that very reason. He agreed and correctly noted that he would
have to look at every test and reconstruct the spreadsheet because he took over the
management of this spreadsheet in January 2019 (Cadets graduated in May 2019). The
reason he took over was that the scores weren’t getting entered quick enough by Nickel
and he wanted to be more involved and know more about the management of the
academy.
We asked Gripentrog where the Cadet Manual came from and he said that it was his
understanding the current Lt over the academy, Mark Luera, was involved heavily with
28 | P a g e
obtaining these documents from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office. Their badge was
removed and the Williamson County logo and badge was added. When asked if he was
aware of “Rule E” in the cadet manual prior to this issue of students failing, he said he
was not and that he went to the cadet manual looking for the rules. He said he had not
even read the cadet manual prior to either of their cadet classes.
At the end of the interview, Gripentrog said his only question was how did they come up
with the final score for each cadet? He recalled before he transferred out of the
academy (month before BPOC #2 graduated) giving Stewart everything he needed to do
just that and walked him through how to accomplish this task.
After interviewing Gripentrog, we interviewed Sgt. David Nickel at 2:00pm. The following is a
summary of his recorded interview:
Nickel was transferred to the assignment at the Training Academy in July of 2018 and
was involved in BPOC #1 as the PT instructor and ultimately left the academy in April
2019 just before BPOC #2 graduated. He was assigned to be the BPOC Coordinator of
BPOC #2. That job entailed coordinating the cadet’s schedule, scheduling instructors,
checking tests to lesson plans, managing their testing application “Class Marker,” and
ensuring the minimum BPOC standards are met.
We showed Nickel the spreadsheet that contained the BPOC #2 cadets’ grades. He said
that at some point he entered their individual test scores into the spreadsheet but did
not make the spreadsheet. In February, before he left the assignment at the academy,
Lt. Gripentrog asked him for the spreadsheet and he would take it over. Every grade
entered until that point was done by him (Nickel). Nickel explained that a cadet, who
scored a 50 on an original test and then an 80 on the re-test, would then get a 70 put in
their class average on the spreadsheet. He said the spreadsheet was given to him by Lt.
Gripentrog. He claimed Gripentrog gave him the direction to enter the scores in this
fashion. We pointed out a score that included a decimal. He explained the reason for
this was when a question on the test was thrown out and they then needed to
recalculate the score based on a 19-question test versus a complete 20-question test.
Nickel said every cadet received a cadet manual prior to their attendance in the BPOC
and that the version we had in our possession (obtained from cadet in BPOC #2) was
actually an edited manual from the 139th Austin Police Department Police Academy. We
told him that someone told us that it was from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office
Academy and he said, “that was the first one” and it had some major issues and he
29 | P a g e
(Nickel) made some changes and presented it to Gripentrog and that was presented to
the Training Advisory Board for approval.
We asked Nickel to read the testing policy in his cadet manual which read “(d.) When
the Cadet has passed the re-test, the original failing score will be left as the grade on
record and will be used to average his/her final academic average.” I asked him if this
was not what he was doing. He said, “To my knowledge, no.” This meant they were not
following their own policy. Again, Nickels “working knowledge” was that if a cadet failed
and passed the re-test, the score entered on the spreadsheet was 70.
Nickel explained that the 3 segments of the academy illustrated on the grading
spreadsheet were segments in time. He stopped entering the scores in February of 2019
and Gripentrog took over. He had no idea how they computed the student’s final grade
because he wasn’t at the academy when they graduated nor could he explain how they
would compute their final GPA. He said he was only responsible for submitting the
cadet’s final PT scores based upon a 2000 meter row and explained how he came to the
final grade.
There was confusion on the input of a grade on Cadet Shanks. Nickel pointed out a 79.2
that he received was the original score. Nickel stated that he could only assume that the
reason 79.2 was entered instead of the re-test 70 he should’ve received based upon his
earlier statement was because he didn’t fail below the TCOLE-mandated 70. We pointed
out there wasn’t a 70 on the spreadsheet and there were failures. He reiterated that he
was gone for the last part of the academy and was no longer in charge of entering
grades after turning it over to Lt. Gripentrog.
I asked Nickel if he ever heard of any complaints of GPA’s dropping or rising by a tenth
of a point after a test and he said he never heard anything about it but explained that
the formulas in the spreadsheet could be wrong and that could cause this to happen. He
could not speak to what occurred after he stopped managing the grades. He said that he
did enter the test scores as they were received and they were not “batched” by
collecting multiple tests then entering into the spreadsheet as a batch of scores.
According to Nickel, SFST was a pass/fail. If a cadet failed the first practical
demonstration they would get remedial training and re-test, if they failed the re-test,
they would be dismissed from the academy per the cadet manual. When asked if he
ever heard about any issues with anyone failing the SFST portion and he said, “Not until
after the academy.” We asked what that meant and he said that the FTO’s on patrol
were complaining that the cadets didn’t know how to properly administer SFST’s and
30 | P a g e
the instructor that taught that should not be invited back. When asked which cadets,
Nickel said one of the FTO’s relayed an incident where a probationary officer performed
the SFST so poorly that an arrest could not be made for DWI. The probationary Officer
was Miguel Wolfe. The FTO was Deputy Johnston. Johnston took Wolfe aside for a few
hours after this incident and trained or attempted to train Wolfe on SFST’s. We asked
Nickel again if he heard of anyone failing the SFST portion of the academy and he said
no. We showed Nickel the scoresheets for SFST and how Wolfe’s was the only one that
was initialed by Gripentrog. We asked Nickel if it would surprise him to learn that Wolfe
actually failed the SFST practical twice and Gripentrog administered a third test and
passed him. He said, “No.” We asked why and he said his experience was that
Gripentrog was very hesitant on kicking people out of the academy. Nickel explained
that if there was someone at the academy that would step in and prevent a cadet from
failing out, it would be him and that he would do that for every cadet.
When discussing the amended “3-test failure and you’re out” policy, Nickel stated there
were two cadets that were struggling, Wolfe and Shanks. He said to his knowledge there
was not an amendment to the policy and he did not know of any amendment. We
pointed out that he was there when the amendment occurred and he was the only one
who could not remember despite the training staff recalling the announcement to the
class and him being the “BPOC Coordinator.” Nickel responded, “Ok.” Nickel complained
that the Lt and Sgt. would routinely not relay information to him and no one told him
they were changing the policy in the middle of the cadet class. He said there were
multiple times Sgt. Stewart and Lt. Gripentrog would make changes and not tell him the
changes were coming or happening. Nickel cited examples of schedule changes such as
working hours for cadets.
Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC), Emergency Communications Course, and

Hazmat. Nickel said he remembered the EVOC but couldn’t remember the classroom
portion because he didn’t teach it and Pierson did teach that classroom. Nickel said that
Smith won the top driver award and Brummel was too interested in showing off for the
class and made too many mistakes. He also said he did not pick the top driver. Nickel
could not remember the Hazmat course. We asked about the Emergency
Communications course. He could not remember the classroom portion but he
remembered taking the cadets on a field trip to the Georgetown Communications and
then the cadets got to “see emergency communications in a tactical setting” by
attending WCSO SWAT training. Nickel said the classroom portion should have been
added towards the end of the academy. I asked Nickel if any cadets were used in the
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SWAT training as “bad guys” or “victims” during this training and he said one or two did.
The SWAT training lasted for an afternoon.
Inappropriate Language. After sparring about whether or not he used any inappropriate
language around cadets and him asking me to define inappropriate, I asked him if he
called anyone a “Pussy?” He said “No.” I asked if he used those words around other
cadets and speaking about cadets that weren’t present. He explained his conversations
with the Class President, Cadet Krompart. I asked him if he ever called his Lieutenant a
“pussy,” if he ever called Cadet Gordon a “pussy,” and if he ever called Gordon a
“Nigger.” He said, “No.” Nickel said he did not call anyone a “Whore.” When asked if he
insinuated someone was dressed like a “whore” Nickel said, “Yes I did.” He explained
that one of the corrections cadets frequently wore a spaghetti strapped shirt and high
cut shorts during PT and he addressed it one day by saying, “You need to come in here
in different clothes.” The next day, she came into the academy in the same clothes and I
think I said something along the lines of, “You shouldn’t be dressed like a whore at a
police training facility” to the cadets. That is not acceptable attire. Based upon this
answer, he was asked about the encounter with Cadet Gordon and the word “Nigger.”
Nickel explained that during drill and ceremony Gordon would make mistakes and when
corrected, would roll his eyes or exhibit facial expressions that would show his disgust at
messing up. He had been teaching the cadets about discipline and bearing. In the
context of discipline and bearing and maintaining both when you’re on the streets in the
face of people trying to push your buttons you must remain professional and maintain
your composure. He said that was the context in which he used the word “Nigger”
around Cadet Gordon. He said it to Gordon but did not call him that by saying “If
someone calls you a nigger, you’re going to have to maintain your composure. You can’t
get angry and you can’t punch them in the face.” Nickel said he said this to Gordon on
the drill field in front of the entire class on the east side of the building.
We discussed when he left the academy and how he was promoted to Sergeant in that
time and was reassigned at the academy after being promoted. He is now the Sergeant
over the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Training Center.
On 9/20/19, Gripentrog emailed me a pdf of a memo and said he misspoke and he thought he
had an email to Carter but it was in fact a memo to Carter with what he stated about the
current rule and the cadets impending failure(s). The memo included a summary of Wolfe’s test
and re-test scores. This memo and email were added to the case file.
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On 9/23/19 at 9:00am, Sgt. Lyon and I interviewed Anthony Carter. Carter was the Commander
over training during BPOC #2. The following is a summary of his recorded interview:
Carter has retired from the WCSO. He took over Training in April of 2018 and left in July
of 2019, just after BPOC #2 graduated in June. He couldn’t recall any problems out of
the ordinary with BPOC #2 but recalled having internal problems with their first cadet
class that he characterized as “domestic issues.” The one major problem with the
second cadet class was some kid left Taylor PD and transferred to Pflugerville PD
towards the end of the class. He described Cadet Gordon as a big guy. Carter
remembered calling Taylor PD and remembered how upset they were at the situation.
He did remember the Jarrell PD cadet that failed out of BPOC #2 because he had a
closed head injury or something of that nature. This caused a learning disability.
I referred him to the cadet manual and the “3-test failure” rule and showed Carter the
memo that was written to him by Gripentrog referencing Cadet Wolfe’s academic
failures. I also explained what Gripentrog told us about how the rule was changed in the
academy and that WCSO was now going to adhere to the 80 GPA rule instead. Carter
said, “No.” He explained that he only remembered one cadet that was in this
predicament that had failed 3 tests. With this memo from Gripentrog, Carter went to his
two chiefs (Fikac and Ryle) and explained what was going on and asked them what they
wanted to do. They decided to let the cadet continue in the academy. I then explained
the SFST failure of Cadet Wolfe and Gripentrog testing and passing him.
We discussed the rule change during the academy to the 80 GPA standard and I could
tell Carter didn’t understand. I explained the perception that WCSO cadets would
receive different treatment than outside agencies based upon what they had seen from
the dismissal of the Jarrell cadet to changing the policy when WCSO cadets started
failing. Carter said he understood the appearance and they took these on a case by case
basis. I asked why Gripentrog would make an announcement to the class saying the
policy was changed removing the “3-test failure” rule and the new standard would be
maintaining an 80 GPA. Carter said, “This is exactly why we moved him out of there
(training).” Carter characterized Gripentrog as inconsistent.
Sgt. Lyon explained Gripentrog’s grading spreadsheet to Carter. He knew there was a
product like this but had never seen it. Carter asked if Mary (Daniels) had this document
and we explained that Gripentrog managed it. Carter sighed. We explained that the
grades were not adding up and that no one knew how the GPAs were calculated. He was
33 | P a g e
visibly upset. Carter said no one should have had this but Mary. She should’ve been
doing this spreadsheet. He said had he known, he would’ve “cut someone’s head off.”
Carter never received any complaints in reference to inappropriate language by Nickel.

He said it wouldn’t surprise him either. We explained that we had complaints of Nickel
shortening classes and just speeding through the slides. Carter brought up the Cultural
Diversity class where they caught him doing that and when they learned about it, they
made Nickel correct it. Carter said he wrote Nickel up but once it got above him, he
couldn’t speak to the outcome.
I asked Carter how was it that everyone has been transferred, fired or retired out of the
academy except Nickel who has been promoted and placed back over the academy.
Carter said he actually moved him out of the academy because he wore fatigues around
all day and wanted to do SWAT stuff and he needed an instructor, not a SWAT operator.
Carter said that as far as he or anyone above him was concerned, there was no policy
change on testing as Gripentrog stated. They took each one on a case by case basis.
Carter said had he known Wolfe was failing and he was not fully committed to the
training, it would’ve been easy for them to dismiss him and they would have done just
that. They (WCSO Management) looked at each cadet as an “investment” and didn’t
want to dismiss students on a whim. Carter said managers above Gripentrog had no
knowledge of a “policy change” and were under the impression this was a case by case
basis. Had an outside agency employee been in this same situation the WCSO cadets
were in, they would’ve called their Chiefs and asked them what they wanted to do
because those cadets are their Chiefs investment and essentially they’re all on one
team. He also knew they were on their second cadet class and they had problems they
needed to correct. Additionally, they knew the quality wasn’t as good as it should’ve
been because it was only their second class and they were new at academies. There was
an issue with turnover and people being assigned to him that wouldn’t necessarily have
been his first choice.
Carter explained the history of the Training Academy and how there was an idea to
assign SWAT officers as instructors because they had free time. He told us that when the
idea was brought up in a meeting to have SWAT operators also act as instructors, he
voiced his opinion that this was not sustainable and not a good idea. As we agreed in
the interview, a SWAT operator would be great at teaching how to breach a door but
not so great at CCP. Their interests do not align.
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Sgt. Lyon was able to reconstruct the grading system based upon the documents provided and
could not determine how exactly each students GPA was achieved. In fact, the class ranking was
different than the class rankings provided by WCSO.
No one who had direct control over this BPOC #2 could tell us how the final GPA for each
student was achieved. While Stewart and Gripentrog’s explanation were plausible, Nickel’s
explanation was completely inaccurate. Nickel’s assumption that the scores were down to the
tenth of a point because their scores fell below the TCOLE-mandated 70 level was false. The
Cadet Manual provides a formula for determining a final GPA however; their final averages
were not achieved by using this formula. When Sgt. Lyon used their own formula, there are
changes to individual GPA’s and drastic changes to class rankings than what WCSO has listed.
See her supplement
BPOC #2 Coordinator Deputy Nickel claimed their Cadet Manual was formed from the Cadet
Manual from the 139th Cadet Class of the Austin Police Department while Lt. Luera said the
Cadet Manual used for BPOC #2 was from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office Training Academy. I
obtained a copy of the APD 139th and a copy from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office training
academy. The version used by the WCSO training academy was identical to the Hays County
Manual. Nickel’s assertion that they used the 139th APD Cadet Manual is false. WCSO BPOC #2
was issued a version of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Manual.
We obtained the minutes from the WCSO Training Advisory Board and email correspondence
regarding their cadet manual. Reconstructing the timeline it appears that the version of the
cadet manual given to and approved by the board was not the manual used for BPOC #2:
1/18/2018 – 10-member Training Advisory Board (TAB) approves Cadet Manual.

Unknown version
1/23/2018 – Revised Manual sent via email by Lt. Dutton with signature page sent to
local Police Chief’s. 35-page version
7/11/2018 – 9-member TAB meets and approves minutes from 1/18/2018 meeting.
10/23/2018 – A 67 page version of the Cadet Manual is sent to the voting members of
the TAB for approval for BPOC #2 starting November 5, 2018 asking for approval. Admin
Assistant Mary Daniels asked Lt. Gripentrog if he wants the members to vote via email
and he replied, “Yes. ASAP, respectfully.” Lt. Gripentrog stated in his emails in response
to the changes that he “Made it more descriptive in the Rules and Appearance section.
Added stuff about technology usage, parking. Beefed up the mission statement.
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Included the COC rather than me going straight to the Chief for discipline. Removed
Cooper stuff. The procedural workings didn’t change.”
10/23/2018 – Lt. Dwain Jones approves saying, “Looks ok to me, can you advise what
the changes are?”
10/23/2018 – Patterson approves the BPOC manual revisions.
10/24/2018 – Halverson approves
There were only 3 members that responded of the 10-member (as of 7/18) panel. All approved
the revised cadet manual version for use in BPOC #2. This manual was used for the dismissal
of Cadet Dankert from Jarrell PD for academic reasons:
“2. PROCEDURES FOR TEST FAILURE; a. If a cadet scores below eighty (80) percent on
any written examination, he/she will be re-tested over the material. The cadet must
score eighty (80) percent on the re-test; c. Cadets must pass the re-test. In the event a
cadet does not pass the re-test, a recommendation will be made to the Training
Coordinator through the chain-of-command.”
And in the same rule, the retention of the WCSO cadets that failed 3 tests (below 80):
“2. PROCEDURES FOR TEST FAILURE; e. Failure of any three written examinations of the
failure of any single re-test could result in a recommendation for dismissal from the
class. Each recommendation will be made with consideration given to other factors such
as, personal and professional conduct, physical skills, and/or any other disciplinary
problems.”
Gripentrog stated that he found this rule when multiple cadets failed two tests and it appeared
they were going in the direction of failing out of the class. He also said that he would have done
this for any cadet, not just Williamson County cadets and he was asked why he didn’t use the
same rule (e.) for the Jarrell PD cadet at the beginning of the academy and Gripentrog did not
have an answer other than to say he messed up because he didn’t consider this rule for Cadet
Dankert. He read the rule several times and understood why we asked. Gripentrog admitted
that he made an announcement to BPOC #2 that the rule relating to test failures was not going
to be used as a minimum standard and that the 80 GPA was the new standard. Several Cadets
stated that Sgt. Stewart made this announcement. Gripentrog claims he did this to remove test
anxiety and he had the backing of his supervisors. Commander Carter stated this was wrong
and that upper management at WCSO did NOT change the standard and Gripentrog should not
have made this announcement. Carter said they would have needed the Training Advisory
36 | P a g e
Board’s approval before changing a policy. Gripentrog was very concerned about the failures
and challenged his own tests for biases. It is unclear if he was concerned because of the
number of cadets that were on the verge of failing or which agency employed the cadets that
were on the verge of failing.
The Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course was taught by Sgt. Stigent of the Manor Police
Department. During the proficiency testing, Stigent failed Cadet Wolfe after Wolfe failed to
successfully complete the proficiency test on two occasions. The National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration (NHSTA) standard is two attempts. Stigent told Gripentrog
that Wolfe had failed the two tests and “he wasn’t cutting it.” Gripentrog, knowing the national
standard, administered the test to Wolfe and he subsequently passed. Of the 15 cadets that
attended this course, only Wolfe’s score sheet displays Gripentrog’s initials. Gripentrog claims
that he didn’t know it was Wolfe’s 3rd attempt and Wolfe states that he took the test twice with
Sgt. Stigent and Gripentrog on the third attempt. After graduation, Wolfe was assigned to a
Field Training Officer (FTO). The FTO, Deputy Johnston, complained to Deputy Nickel that the
SFST training at the academy was bad because Cadet Wolfe was so poor at administering them
to suspects. Johnston stated he had to train Wolfe again on the proper administration of SFST’s
and that two of Wolfe’s DWI cases have been thrown out of court for the inability to perform
these SFST tests correctly.
Once we learned that this NHTSA standard had been violated and Wolfe should have failed and
been ultimately dismissed from the academy, Sheriff Chody was made aware and his staff
corrected the issue by dismissing Deputy Miguel Wolfe from BPOC #2 effective 1/30/2019
which is the date of the SFST proficiency test failure.
Deputy David Nickel was assigned to the WCSO Training Center in July of 2018 and transferred
out of the Training Command in April2019. Officer Jerome Gordon and Amanda Meddara
claimed Nickel used inappropriate language and mistreated cadets. Others recalled about
Nickel’s unprofessional behavior:
Cadet Bryan Estrada (Manor PD) –
Stated that they (cadets) received racial slurs from the instructors during
“practical” scenario training. He talked about one in particular where the officer
met with a business owner whose business had just been burglarized. The
business owner just started complaining about the “stupid Mexicans” who stole
from him. Before Tactical Spanish, Nickel told him “You’re going to have an easy
time with this…” because he was Hispanic. Estrada said “The hard N word was
37 | P a g e
used on Jerome (Gordon).” He described Nickel getting in Jerome’s face and said
“You got to get used to people calling you a Nigger.” During another practical
scenario, Nickel told Estrada that Gordon was “the biggest pussy he’s ever seen.”
Nickel also fraternized with the WCSO cadets.
Estrada characterized the treatment of Gordon and Brummel as “Bullying.” The

treatment had nothing to do with breaking someone down to build them back
up in the end like the military and he said the justification of using the racial slurs
as “this is what you will be called on the streets” was just a ruse to say what they
wanted to say.
Cadet Amanda Maddera (Pflugerville PD)-
Due to the lack of time because of the disorganized academy staff, they were
forced to run through the PowerPoint presentation quickly. This caused the
cadets to guess on their written tests for which they would be held accountable.
Maddera stated this was not the only course where this happened. The other
courses that were taught by Nickel that were handled similarly were Hazmat and
Emergency Communications. After repeated questions from the cadets, they
were told by Nickel to stop asking about the test and the Hazmat test was given
a month later. Nickel rushed through Emergency Communications to attend
SWAT training at another location. The cadets were in attendance and watched
the training. Additionally, they used the cadets as “bad guys” in the scenarios.
Maddera was a “bad guy” in a house for the SWAT team to assault.
At some point in the academy, Nickel announced to the class that if they had a
problem they needed to come to him and not their agency. Nickel retaliated
against Gordon because he told his original agency about the issues at the
academy and his original agency approached WCSO about what they were
hearing.
Nickel had a personal issue with Gordon and singled him out. Nickel called
Gordon a “Nigger” and said that this is what they would call him on the street.
Gordon was very quiet and professional despite being mistreated. The cadet
class knew that Gordon was being mistreated by Gordon. Everyone was
uncomfortable with this treatment.
38 | P a g e
Nickel made inappropriate comments to Cadets. Nickel asked Maddera if she
and Carl Smith were a thing. He also talked about his Lieutenant (Gripentrog) to
cadets Maddera and Gordon by saying he was “going to run the bus over him…”
meaning that he was going to get back at his own Lieutenant for trying to correct
his behavior. This made them both uncomfortable. Nickel fraternized with
certain WCSO cadets and made inappropriate comments to them and they
would make them back.
Maddera said she felt WCSO academy had an instructor problem with Nickel and
not a systemic problem. She said she heard later Nickel was promoted to
Sergeant over training and she was stunned. She said Gripentrog and Stewart
were good instructors and they were both transferred.
Cadet Jerome Gordon (Pflugerville PD) –
When recalling going to his agency with complaints and representatives calling
the academy: The next Monday, Gordon approached Stewart and Gripentrog. He
explained that he did not mean for this to happen and he was merely doing what
he thought was right. Stewart and Gripentrog accepted his apology and decided
to move forward. Gordon then approached Deputy Nickel to do the same thing
and apologize. Nickel said “you knew I was talking about you?” Gordon said he
could feel it and knew. Nickel said he better not hear anything else from Taylor
PD and that he didn’t care if Taylor PD ever returned to the academy because he
didn’t care about working with them. While discussing this, Nickel got very close
to Gordon’s face and said, “You’ve got to understand that people on the streets
are going to call you a fucking nigger.” Gordon demonstrated how close Nickel
got to him when saying this and Gordon didn’t understand where this was
coming from. Gordon explained that Nickel used the “hard R” meaning he
enunciated “nigger” as if to say it is more insulting. Gordon said from this point,
everything went downhill in the academy especially between him and Nickel.
Gordon said this occurred in the hallway to their armory.
Gordon recalled while completing a scenario that required the cadets to use
force on the actor played by Nickel. Gordon partnered with Estrada. As the
scenario unfolded, Estrada shot Nickel and for the scenario he was deceased
before Gordon arrived. Gordon responded to the scene and put handcuffs on
39 | P a g e
Nickel (who was deceased). After Gordon left, Nickel told Estrada that Gordon
was the “biggest vagina he’d ever seen.”
Gordon said he felt like no matter what he did, Nickel was on him and he
couldn’t get him off and now he was talking about him to his classmates. Gordon
believed that Nickel treated him differently than everyone else in the class.
When asked why he thought Nickel did this, he said he thought that Nickel’s
behavior was racially motivated.
When Gordon switched departments from Taylor to Pflugerville, Taylor PD went

to the academy and took their duty gear back. Nickel made an announcement to
the class asking if everyone knew what happened. Nickel said Gordon switched
departments and asked Gordon why he wanted to go to Pflugerville and then
asked him where his loyalty was. The class was uncomfortable and tried to get
Nickel off the subject but he continued to address this with Gordon. The
treatment of Gordon by Nickel was so bad that the classmates started trying to
distract Nickel from Gordon.
The running joke throughout the academy was the treatment of Gordon versus
the other cadets. There was another African American male in the class named
Carl Smith however he was a Williamson County SO cadet. Nickel did make a
comment about not wearing basketball shoes to Smith and Gordon. They later
talked about it and Carl told Gordon to keep his mouth shut and not say anything
and just get through the class.
Nickel had his favorites and one of them was Krompart. They would text each
other and on one occasion, Krompart was talking about who Nickel likes and
who he doesn’t like in the cadet class. As he was saying the names, Krompart
told Gordon, “The only thing you can change is your color.” This meant that this
was the only thing that would make Gordon fall into Nickel’s “like” category of
cadets.
40 | P a g e
Cadet Tyler Brummel (Buda PD) –
Recalled the Jarrell PD cadet failing a test really quickly into the academy and
being dismissed. He said that he felt the PT sessions went a little overboard in the
first couple of weeks despite knowing that their (academy staff) job was to break
you down. The lead instructor for PT sessions was Deputy Nickel. The first day
they spent 6 hours outside. Because they spent so much time doing PT, they
would rush through slides during the classroom portions. This made it difficult to
take tests because there would be slides the cadets missed that would be on the
test. There were a lot of injuries during the academy because of overuse.
He said he remembered receiving a cadet manual at the orientation and did not
receive a schedule until much later in the academy. The first series of tests were
very difficult because they would rush through the power point during classes.
For example, the CCP portion of the academy was 1000 slides and the cadets
would ask what do we need to study? The staff would answer with, “Good luck.”
Brummel said 8 or 9 people failed that one test.
Cadet Gordon and the treatment he received from Deputy Nickel. Brummel said
that during PT, while running, Nickel said to Gordon, “aren’t you people
supposed to be fast?” Nickel also made sexist remarks to Cadet Maddera.
Brummel said there were so many times that Nickel treated Gordon poorly that
he couldn’t recall all of them. One of the main incidents was when Gordon left
Taylor to go to Pflugerville. In front of the entire class, Nickel berated Gordon
and said he shouldn’t even be a cop and he had no loyalty. At the end of this
uncomfortable exchange, Nickel said, “I probably would’ve done the same thing
for more money.” Brummel said Nickel was bad to everybody but there was
always a little extra for Gordon. Later in the interview, he thought Nickel was
racist because of his comments.
Nickel favored Cadets Krompart and Counts. They were closest to him. They
would routinely make sexual innuendo to each other. He didn’t think anyone in
the class was homosexual but if there was someone in the class that was, they
would’ve been offended and it was inappropriate.
41 | P a g e
Cadet Travis Counts (WCSO) –
Counts advised he never had an opportunity to hear or know about Deputy

Nickel calling Jerome Gordon a “pussy” or by a racial slur.
I asked Counts if he recalled a story about a watch Gordon may have had on. A
count vaguely remembers a comments being made about how Gordon could
afford the watch. Counts did not believe the comment was that bad.
Cadet George Krompart (WCSO) –
TCOLE mandated 32-hour Driving Course (EVOC). Krompart said they originally
met in San Marcos and were told they couldn’t drive there because they messed
up the track reservation so they travelled back and later drove in Georgetown.
He said the classroom portion was a power point presentation on the first day in
San Marcos. Dep. Nickel and Sgt. Pierson taught this course and he estimated the
classroom portion was 2-3 hours.
Krompart remembered the HazMat course. He said it was interesting because

the instructor did not show. Dep. Nickel taught the class and they took the test a
month or month and a half after the course was taught. He said he remembered
they took the course and it was fairly short. He estimated the classroom portion
of hazmat was 2 hours.
The original instructor for Emergency Communications did not show. Krompart
remembered taking a field trip through the communications center at
Georgetown and attending SWAT training at this time. The cadets acted as “bad
guys.”
Cadet Alexander Lundry (WCSO) –
Emergency Communications was taught by someone from Pflugerville in a 4-8

block. He said this was an all-day class as well and took the test right after that
class. He did remember walking through Georgetown Communications that
same week. Hazmat was taught by Nickel. Driving was taught by Nickel and
Peirson and some lady taught Emergency Communications. He also recalled
doing some SWAT training after going through communications but it wasn’t the
same day as the Emergency Communications class. He claimed that the SWAT
42 | P a g e
training was for the cadets because they were getting ready to go through
training on those specific subjects such as ALERRT, Low-light training, etc. Lundry
said attending SWAT training was to show the cadets what they were about to
learn. They did not teach those things that day. That day they watched SWAT
and did roleplay exercises by playing “bad guys” or “victims.” He said they only
stayed out there for an hour and Dep. Nickel was their instructor and tour guide.
Cadet Miguel Wolfe (WCSO) –
I then quizzed Wolfe about any conflicts between cadets and any instructors at
the academy. Wolfe immediately responded and asked if it was him. I then
mentioned Jerome Gordon, Pflugerville PD, and Deputy Nickel.
Wolfe advised the only conflict he witnessed was during PT, but he said Nickel
was hard on everybody during PT.
I then specifically asked Wolfe if he had any knowledge of Nickel using any racial
slurs, calling him a “pussy” or talking about a specific watch Gordon was wearing.
Wolfe thought he remembered Nickel telling Gordon to wear a different watch
because he was wearing a thousand dollar Apple Watch. Wolfe further stated he
never heard Nickel use any racial slurs to Gordon and further stated Nickel was
usually very guarded with his words.
Cadet Robert Linn (Jarrell PD) –
Officer Linn advised that he did not witness, but was told by Cadet Gordon, that
there was an incident between him and Sgt. Nickel that had racial implications to
it. He stated that incident apparently occurred earlier on in the academy. Officer
Linn also stated that there was another incident between Sgt. Nickel and Cadet
Gordon that occurred in front of the entire class that was awkward. He stated
that Sgt. Nickel commented on Gordon’s apple watch in front of the class and it
became very awkward and uncomfortable situation for the entire class.
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Cadet Christopher Shanks (WCSO) –
Deputy Shanks advised that there were some issues between Cadet Gordon and
Sgt. Nickel. He stated that Cadet Gordon wrote an email to his training
coordinator at Taylor PD, voicing his concerns about the academy and some of
the issues he was struggling with. Deputy Shanks advised Taylor PD supervisors
came to the academy to conduct a visit and check on everything. Deputy Shanks
stated this “ruffled feathers” with Sgt. Nickel and he voiced his opinion to
Gordon by saying, if he had a problem with how things were going in the
academy, he needed to come to him first. That incident sparked conflict
between Cadet Gordon and Sgt. Nickel. Deputy Shanks stated that Sgt. Nickel got
upset with Cadet Gordon again when it was found that Cadet Gordon moved
from Taylor PD to Pflugerville PD. Shanks stated Sgt. Nickel voiced his opinion
again to Cadet Gordon in front of the class and said (summarized), “going behind
Taylor’s back and moving to Pflugerville, shows your true character, and I would
never trust you now, after that.” Deputy Shanks stated Gordon did not respond
and just kept quiet. Deputy Shanks stated he never heard racial remarks or heard
anyone else talk about any racial remarks that were said to Gordon.
Shanks did bring up the incident about Sgt. Nickel commenting on Cadet
Gordon’s watch. Cadet Gordon made a comment about how his girlfriend buys
his watches. Deputy Shanks stated Sgt. Nickel then made a comment (could not
remember what was said) about the watch and he could tell there was “tension”
in the conversation.
Cadet Doan Cesar (WCSO) –
Deputy Cesar stated that Cadet Gordon had concerns about Sgt. Nickel not liking
him. Deputy Cesar was then asked if Sgt. Nickel ever called Cadet Gordon a
“pussy.” Once again, Deputy Cesar was extremely apprehensive about answering
the question and clearly trying to think of a lie. Finally, he stated yes, that he did
hear the comment made by Sgt. Nickel to Cadet Gordon during a workout.
I then asked Deputy Cesar if Sgt. Nickel ever made a comment about Cadet
Gordon’s watch. He stated that Sgt. Nickel made a comment to Cadet Gordon
about his watch during PT. Deputy Cesar stated Sgt. Nickel said something like;
“how can you afford that watch.” Then there was back and forth comments
made but Deputy Cesar stated he did not remember what was said.
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Cadet Carl Smith (WCSO) –
Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel and Cadet Gordon had a feud. He stated that
Sgt. Nickel would pick on Cadet Gordon to the point it appeared to become
personal. He stated Sgt. Nickel would always make comments to Cadet Gordon
to try and piss him off but Cadet Gordon would never react. Officer Smith
advised Sgt. Nickel made a comment about Cadet Gordon’s watch and how he
could afford it. He stated that Sgt. Nickel also called Cadet Gordon a “pussy.”
Officer Smith advised that Cadet Gordon also told him about an incident where
Sgt. Nickel called him the “N word.” He advised Cadet Gordon told him that Sgt.
Nickel’s stepped up to him and said “what if someone got in your face and called
you a nigger.” Officer Smith stated that no instructor ever talked to him like that
or said that word to him personally in the academy. Officer Smith stated that Sgt.
Nickel looked worse after that comment to Cadet Gordon because he had
already been picking on him so much. Officer Smith stated that Sgt. Nickel had
“his boys” which were Cadets Krompart and Counts.
Cadet Alexandra Pereira (WCSO) –
Deputy Pereira stated Gordon and Maddera were the only ones that had any
issues with instructors. She stated that Maddera would complain all the time and
felt victimized. She advised Maddera was not victimized or singled out. Deputy
Pereira stated Maddera had a major attitude problem; she would talk back to
the instructors all the time, run her mouth, and “flipped off” Sgt. Nickel during
the driving portion. Deputy Pereira stated that she never felt victimized and tried
to tell Maddera to stop running her mouth and giving attitude but she did not
listen. Deputy Pereira stated Cadet Gordon had the same issue and was very
cocky.
Deputy Pereira stated that when Cadet Gordon switched agencies, Sgt. Nickel
told him that he burned bridges with Taylor PD, in front of the class. She also
mentioned the “watch” incident and stated that Sgt. Nickel made comments
about how expensive it was and Cadet Gordon did not like it. Deputy Pereira
stated she never heard Sgt. Nickel or any other instructor call any of the cadets a
“pussy.” Deputy Pereira stated that she heard that an instructor called a jailer
cadet a “whore,” but did not know who the instructor or jailer was.
45 | P a g e
Deputy Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon told her that Sgt. Nickel pulled him
aside in the hallway and told him to toughen up because people are going to
come up to you on the street and call you a “nigger.” She stated that every time
Cadet Gordon would bring up the incident, his story would change and he would
say that Sgt. Nickel called him a “nigger.”
Deputy Pereira stated that Cadet Gordon would make sexual comments to her,
about her butt, all the time. She stated that she never complained to instructors
because she is a big girl and could deal with him.
Jailer Jenna Geyman (WCSO) –
Geyman advised that her jailer instructor told her class to go run laps around the
training building. Geyman stated they could wear workout clothes or their
uniform. She advised she wore Nike shorts and a shirt. Geyman advised that her
class did their run and were about to walk in, when Deputy Nickel walked out.
Geyman stated Deputy Nickel looked right at her and stated, oh we don’t allow
whores here. Geyman stated she was in shock and didn’t say anything. Geyman
stated Sgt. Nickel said it to her, in front of her class. She said no one in the class
said anything right then because they all knew he was an instructor for BPOC and
they all eventually want to go to the academy and don’t want to make trouble.
Geyman stated she does not know Deputy Nickel and had never spoken to him
before. She stated she only knew he was an instructor for BPOC.
Geyman stated she ran inside and told Sgt. Wallace (Jailer instructor) that she
was leaving and advised what happened. Geyman advised that two other jailer
instructors found out about what happened but she does not know if anything
was ever said to Deputy Nickel.
Sgt. Leonard Stewart (WCSO) –
Recalled that there was an issue between Nickel and Gripentrog. Nickel was in
charge of keeping track of all the grades including each individuals GPA. Stewart
said they were of the understanding that the TCOLE standard was to keep all
grades and post those grades for the cadets to see and this was Nickel’s
responsibility as he was the BPOC coordinator. Stewart said the computer did a
good job of averaging scores after they started using it for testing exclusively.
46 | P a g e
Nickel was expected to average in the test scores from the exams that were
done on paper. At one point in the academy, Nickel was always gone and doing a
poor job. He was more concerned with his SWAT duties and training than he was
with his full time job of being an instructor. Due to this failure of time and
attention on Nickel’s part, Lt. Gripentrog had to take over these BPOC
coordinator duties. The reason Nickel’s behavior was not challenged was
because he always had an excuse and he was running around with Commander
Deaton.
Stewart said he believed this is a culture problem at the academy and Nickel
being at training adds to the problem. He characterized Nickel as terrible and
shouldn’t have a job. There were numerous issues with Nickel the entire time
Stewart supervised him at the Training Center and every time he brought it up,
nothing happened. At one point, he went to the SWAT team leader, Mark Luera
who said he would talk to Nickel and take care of the problem. Nothing
happened. On another occasion Sgt. Stewart had a meeting with Commander
Deaton, Chief Tim Ryle, and Commander Carter in reference to Deputy Nickel’s
performance. Deaton agreed Nickel should be moved and they couldn’t find an
assignment where he was wanted or would be effective.
Lt. Craig Gripentrog (WCSO) –
While he was the Lt. over the academy and during this cadet class he did not
hear of any complaints about the academy by cadets. He said when he left, he
heard cadets ask who was going to run the academy and that they hoped it
wasn’t Nickel.
Deputy David Nickel has a history of shortening classes for his own benefit and the Williamson
County Sheriff’s Office has reprimanded him for this behavior. Sgt. Nickel’s interview was less
than impressive. He lied, played word games, exaggerated and was not completely
forthcoming. After his interview was over, and recorder stopped, Nickel asked Sgt. Norie why
he came at him so hard during the interview and Norie responded by saying he knew what we
were asking and Nickel said, “That’s not what he asked” referring to the question about calling
cadets names. Nickel then joked as if he was in a courtroom setting and he only answers the
questions that are asked of him. I advised him we were not in a courtroom and that we were a
regulatory agency trying to find the truth.
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When prodded, Nickel explained he used the language to the cadets to teach a lesson. I believe
Nickel did use the offensive words without regard to professionalism or the cadets
understanding of his “lessons.” He chose poor words and poor actions and has convinced
himself that his rationale for using those words is acceptable. He has gone unchecked for so
long that he feels he can say or do anything from calling cadets the most insulting names to
attending SWAT training to benefit himself when he should seize every opportunity to teach
individuals the most basic police functions. The WCSO cadets were admittedly struggling
academically and his answer to a missing instructor was to take the cadets to watch him train
with the SWAT team under the guise of “listening to tactical communications.” Listening to
veteran SWAT officer’s communications while assaulting a building was as untruthful as his
confidence that his own cadet manual was taken from the Austin Police Department’s 139th
Cadet Class and/or his statement that he never called anyone a racial slur. His decision to use
the word “Nigger” when addressing an African American cadet to teach him a lesson violates
the lesson he was allegedly trying to teach: maintaining your composure in the face of stress.
Nickel’s immaturity and lack of leadership will not assist a struggling new police academy
achieve TCOLE’s minimum standards and ultimate goal of achieving compliance.
CONCLUSION
This complaint started from a police chief overhearing officers complain about their experience
in their Police Academy. Their main complaints were mistreatment of cadets, a policy change,
and an extremely disorganized academy. The investigation revealed more deficiencies and
mismanagement than originally thought.
While the assignment of SWAT team members to be full time instructors at the police academy
is convenient, it is not recommended. As Commander Carter stated in his interview, “This is not
sustainable.” Their motivation to teach is unquestioned yet their interest in teaching non-
tactical topics is evident. Sgt. Nickel is obviously knowledgeable and talented at Physical
Training and being a member of a SWAT team. According to Carter, he has survived a re-
engineering of the SWAT team and remains a member to this day however; Nickel is hardly the
best choice to be a BPOC Coordinator and a role model for impressionable police cadets. He
lacks maturity, organization, and interest in this type of assignment.
The common theme at this particular police academy is laziness and lack of attention to detail.
No one would admit to knowing how cadets were graded. The chain-of-command disagreed on
multiple details and weren’t consistent in following their own policy manual. They weren’t
consistent on where the manual came from.
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Lt. Gripentrog asserted that the policy manual change was made with his supervisors’ approval
however, his immediate supervisor said he was under the impression they were considering
each cadet with a third failure on a case by case basis and not a wholesale change in the policy
on testing failures. Yet, Gripentrog made an announcement there was a policy change.
TCOLE received two telephone calls from individuals that worked at the Williamson County
Training Center while BPOC #2 was in session. Both individuals wished to remain anonymous
for fear of retaliation from their agency WCSO.
Caller #1 stated:
• BPOC #2 did not qualify with their shotgun until after they took and passed their
state licensing exam.
• I obtained Firearms records from WCSO and BPOC #2 ended on 5/31/19 and
qualified with shotgun on 6/5/19.
o TCOLE learning objectives for firearms mandates the qualification of both
handgun and shotgun during the BPOC.
Caller #2 stated:
• Instructor David Nickel shoved and started to fight a cadet during role-play
exercises. This was after the scenario was ended by safety officer and NOT a part of
the scenario.
o Caller said the role-play required the cadet to use intermediate force, which
the cadet did properly. Nickel told the cadet to let go of his arm and did not
give the “cut” word to immediately stop the role-play.
o The safety officer realized Nickel’s tone and pitch changed therefore he/she
stopped the exercise and Nickel jumped up and started yelling at the cadet
wanting to fight him. The cadet began to cry and other instructors had to pull
Nickel out of the room to calm him down. Caller stated it is never
appropriate to touch a cadet.
o Cadet identified as Lukas Rovelli.
 TCOLE rosters list Rovelli as attending BPOC #2
o Caller also said it was routine for instructors to teach a segment of the
academy, test the cadets and then be told they didn’t get enough hours of
instruction in and needed to teach another hour or two, of the
segment/course just taught, at a later date.
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Twenty five (25) witnesses were interviewed and 5 TCOLE investigators spent two days at the
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Training Center reviewing documents for WCSO BPOC #2.
The conclusions made after this investigation were that the complaints are sustained and the
following is a list of the deficiencies/violations:
• Cadet Manual -
o The version used was not the version approved by TAB
o Did not follow Cadet Manual for calculation of GPA
o Gripentrog “changed policy” without approval from TAB:
“3-test failure minimum standard to maintain 80 GPA minimum standard.”
• Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST)–
o Cadet Wolfe admitted to taking the proficiency test 3 times
o Sgt. Stigent told Lt. Gripentrog Wolfe failed the SFST proficiency test
o Lt. Gripentrog allowed and re-tested Wolfe for a third time violating NHTSA
standard.
• Deputy Nickel –
o Used inappropriate language to BPOC and COBRA cadets (Gordon and
Geyman)
o Mistreatment/Bullying cadets
o Shortened classes - Hazmat, Emergency Communications:
 Attended SWAT Training
Commander Carter has retired and Sgt. Stewart has been terminated for an unrelated issue.
Deputy Nickel was transferred, promoted to Sergeant, and reassigned to Training. He remains
at the WCSO Training Center and is now a supervisor over instructors.
50 | P a g e
CASE INFORMATION
Offense: Deficiencies at Williamson County Training Center
Licensee:
NOTES:
Robert Chody/ PID
- (Sheriff, Williamson County)
TCOLE received two telephone calls from individuals that worked at the Williamson County Training
Center while BPOC #2 was in session. Both individuals wished to remain anonymous for fear of
retaliation from their agency WCSO.
Caller #1 stated:
• BPOC #2 did not qualify with their shotgun until after they took and passed their state
licensing exam.
• I obtained Firearms records from WCSO and BPOC #2 ended on 5/31/19 and qualified with
shotgun on 6/5/19.
o TCOLE learning objectives for firearms mandates the qualification of both handgun
and shotgun during the BPOC.
Caller #2 stated:
• Instructor David Nickel shoved and started to fight a cadet during role-play exercises. This
was after the scenario was ended by safety officer and NOT a part of the scenario.
o Caller said the role-play required the cadet to use intermediate force, which the
cadet did properly. Nickel told the cadet to let go of his arm and did not give the
“cut” word to immediately stop the role-play.
o The safety officer realized Nickel’s tone and pitch changed therefore he/she stopped
the exercise and Nickel jumped up and started yelling at the cadet wanting to fight
him. The cadet began to cry and other instructors had to pull Nickel out of the room
to calm him down. Caller stated it is never appropriate to touch a cadet.
o Cadet identified as Lukas Rovelli.
 TCOLE rosters list Rovelli as attending BPOC #2
o Caller also said it was routine for instructors to teach a segment of the academy,
test the cadets and then be told they didn’t get enough hours of instruction in and
needed to teach another hour or two, of the segment/course just taught, at a later
date.
CASE INFORMATION
Investigator: Sergeant Shane Norie
Involved Agency: Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Training Academy
SUPPLEMENT
On September 11, 2019 I traveled along with Sergeant Dave New and Sergeant Hillary Lyon to the
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Training Academy to perform interviews of cadets who attended the
Basic Peace Officer Course #2. Those interviews were digitally recorded and will be included with this
supplement. The following is a summary of those said interviews received from the cadets.
The first interview I conducted was with Deputy Travis Counts, PID
Office. The summary of his interview is as follows:
- , Williamson County Sheriff’s
Counts outlined the process for test taking in the academy. Counts advised there was one
student from Jarrell Police Department that was dismissed for a test failure within the first
couple of weeks. Counts stated when you took a test and failed it you would be allowed to take a
retest. If the cadet failed the retake then you were dismissed from the academy.
Counts further advised the testing policy changed about half way through the academy. Counts
recalled it was changed from if you failed a test three (3) times then you were dismissed to you
could take as many retest as long as you were passing and maintained a minimum score of 80.
I asked Counts why it was changed and he stated “I couldn’t tell ya”. Although, he did recall a
“couple” of cadets failing exams. I asked Counts who those cadets were and he advised Shanks
and Wolfe, whom were both Williamson County Sheriff’s Office cadets.
Counts also described the student averages were derived from the grades of the initial failure.
The student average was not derived from the retake score.
I asked Counts if he observed any friction between and instructor and a cadet. Counts advised all
cadets were fairly treated. I then specifically asked if there was any friction between Deputy
Nichols, who was an instructor at the academy, and Jerome Gordon, Pflugerville PD cadet.
Counts advised he never had an opportunity to hear or know about Deputy Nichols calling
Jerome Gordon a “pussy” or by a racial slur.
I asked Counts if he recalled a story about a watch Gordon may have had on. A count vaguely
remembers a comments being made about how Gordon could afford the watch. Counts did not
believe the comment was that bad.
1
Counts went on to state how the academy was a little disorganized, but qualified it by stating it
was only the second academy class.
Counts was asked about any comments that were announced advising the Williamson County
cadets will be on top of the leaderboard for the various awards. Counts stated there was an
announcement made about the Williamson County cadets need to be on top, but it was due to a
Georgetown PD cadet winning all the top awards from the first academy class.
The interview was then ended.
I conducted a secondary interview with Deputy Miguel Wolfe, PID

- Williamson County Sheriff’s
Wolfe started the interview by stating when the Basic Peace Officer Course (BPOC) started the
class had a Jarrell PD cadet dismissed due to a test failure.
Wolfe then explained the testing policy of the academy. Wolfe described the process as if you fail
three (3) tests or failed a retest you were dismissed from the academy.
Wolfe advised the policy was changed approximately half way through the academy. The policy
was changed to any cadet could fail as many tests (removing the three test rule), but had to pass
the retest and maintain an 80 average. I inquired as to why he believed the policy was changed
and he said there were people struggling to pass. I asked which cadets were struggling and he
identified the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office cadets (including him) and the Buda cadet.
Wolfe said the cadet’s average was based off the original test score and not the retest score.
I then spoke with Wolfe about the Standardized Filed Sobriety Testing (SFST) he performed.
Wolfe initially said he passed the SFST portion of the BPOC. I then asked Wolfe if he was sure if
he passed. Wolfe stated Sergeant Stigent, Manor PD Instructor, repeated the test with Wolfe.
Wolfe then said he had to perform the test twice and then he passed.
I then attempted to clarify with Wolfe by saying Sgt. Stigent administered the test twice (2 times)
with Wolfe. Wolfe was then handed off to Lieutenant Gripentrog, Williamson County SO, who
then administered the test a third time and it was only after the third time that Wolfe passed.
It was at this time Wolfe recalled that was correct and he had struggled with the walk and turn
portion of the test.
I clarified with Wolfe one more time about the process he went through in regards to the SFST
test. I went over with Wolfe by stating Stigent tested Wolfe once and he failed. Then Wolfe was
administered the test a second time by Stigent and he failed. Wolfe was then passed off to Lt.
Gripentrog based on those two failures for a third time and Wolfe was passed by Lt. Gripentrog.
Wolfe acknowledged that was correct.
2
Wolfe was then asked about any meetings which took place with just Williamson County cadets.
Wolfe advised the only meeting he could recall was a meeting in reference to overtime.
I then quizzed Wolfe about any conflicts between cadets and any instructors at the academy.
Wolfe immediately responded and asked if it was him. I then mentioned Jerome Gordon,
Pflugerville PD, and Deputy Nichols.
Wolfe advised the only conflict he witnessed was during PT, but he said Nichols was hard on
everybody during PT.
I then specifically asked Wolfe if he had any knowledge of Nichols using any racial slurs, calling
him a “pussy” or talking about a specific watch Gordon was wearing.
Wolfe thought he remembered Nichols telling Gordon to wear a different watch because he was
wearing a thousand dollar Apple Watch. Wolfe further stated he never heard Nichols use any
racial slurs to Gordon and further stated Nichols was usually very guarded with his words.
I asked Wolfe about the driving portion of the academy and he said it was fine. I inquired if the
training was complete, meaning all the required training was given (ie: class times and driving
time).
Wolfe was then asked if there were any classes being instructed by Nichols were he just went
through the slides and not teaching the allotted time per subject matter. He said there was no
instance of that happening.
The final interview conducted was with Deputy Lukas Rovelli, PID
- Williamson County Sheriff’s
The interview was started with Rovelli by identifying a cadet had been dismissed from the
academy for failing a test.
Rovelli then explained the testing procedures for the academy. He stated a cadet had to pass
with 80% and pass the test. If you failed a test you had to pass the retest and you couldn’t do
that more than 2 or 3 times.
He then described the procedures changing to you could fail as many test as you wanted, but you
had to pass the retest and maintain an 80 average, they did away with the 2 or 3 test limit.
Rovelli thought the change was made due to some of the cadets struggling.
Rovelli advised the first test score was utilized for their grad average.
I asked Rovelli if was aware of any conflict between Nichols and Jerome Gordon. Rovelli advised
he felt Gordon was struggling with the academy due to its paramilitary style. Rovelli said he
attempted to assist Gordon by telling him to just buckle down and push through it. He said he
felt Nichols was no more “heavy handed” with Gordon as he was with anyone else.
3
I asked Rovelli if was aware of any instance were Nichols used a racial slur. Rovelli revealed
Gordon told him of the story involving Nichols. Rovelli said the way the story came off to him was
that Nichols was trying to instruct Gordon. He stated it was like Nichols was telling Gordon
you’re a big guy and you are going to be tested on the street and asked Gordon what he was
going to do when a car full of gang members get out of a car and start calling him the “N” word.
Rovelli said the “N” word was being “thrown” around all the time by Gordon and Smith. Rovelli
told Gordon it sounded like Nichols was being instructional and wasn’t being racial. Gordon told
Rovelli it seemed like by making it sound instructional it was giving Nichols a reason to call
Gordon the racial slur. Rovelli disagreed with Gordon on that interpretation.
Rovelli said Gordon was no saint and he felt like he could have convinced someone to report
several instances of sexual harassment on Gordon.
Rovelli said Wolfe was talked to harsher than Gordon.
I asked Rovelli about an incident regarding a watch. Rovelli recalled maybe Nichols saying
something about Gordon’s watch being expensive. He said it was no different than Nichols
making fun of Rovelli’s old age while he ran.
I asked Rovelli about the driving training in the academy. Rovelli advised the class was taught
under the appropriate amount of time.
Lastly, I asked him about any meetings that were conducted with just Williamson County cadets.
Rovelli said the only meetings he could remember they were talking about uniforms and
overtime.
The interview was concluded.
At this time all interviews were concluded and I departed the training academy.
END OF REPORT
RSN
4
Doug Skolaut
From: Michael Antu

Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2019 11:25 AM
To: Doug Skolaut
Subject: Fwd: Sheriff Robert Chody
See below
Deputy Chief Michael Antu,

Director Enforcement and Special Services
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Office: 512-936-7750
Begin forwarded message:
From: Kim Vickers <Kim.Vickers@tcole.texas.gov>

Date: October 10, 2019 at 9:46:52 AM CDT
To: Michael Antu <Michael.Antu@tcole.texas.gov>
Subject: Fwd: Sheriff Robert Chody
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Michelle Litz

Date: October 10, 2019 at 08:50:38 CDT
To: Kim Vickers <Kim.Vickers@tcole.texas.gov>
Subject: Sheriff Robert Chody
Dear Chief Vickers,
I was advised to contact you regarding issues I am having with Sheriff Chody at
the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. I will try and highlight just the important
facts so as not to waste too much of your time. I am just seeking direction on my
options (if any) with this matter. My beginning with the WCSO was in April of
2019 when I approached Sheriff Chody regarding the Elf on a Shelf photos
posted by Steve Deaton. I was merely given a thumbs down emoji as a response
from Sheriff Chody. As a rape victim, I was very upset about the date rape
depictions that were posted. I was contacted by several news outlets to do a
story on this. The first was SPLC who did a story and kept my name confidential
as I did not want to take away from the message. After this story was published,
I began to notice that WCSO vehicles would be following behind me on several
occasions as well as drive my home in Round Rock. Due to the harassing nature
that I felt I was becoming a victim to, I decided to send a letter with my real
name to the Commissioner's Court and explain what happened to me in my past
1
and why I felt it was important to speak my truth and not let myself become
another victim to negative behavior towards me, as well as advise them on the
harassment I was receiving. My letter was received by the females with the
Commissioners Court and I did receive their support, but they advised that their
hands are tied since he is an elected official. This obviously became an interest
to news outlets and there were a few that did follow up stories and
interviews. My goal throughout the Steve Deaton time was honestly to only
receive an apology from him, but Sheriff Chody would not allow him to do
this. My anger was there, but more importantly I was seeing that my story was
giving strength and words to so many victims. I was then harassed on Twitter by
anonymous individuals with photographs they took from my Facebook
profile. These people also obtained my husbands name who is an APO Motors
Officer. Please note that he has never, nor has he ever used
Twitter. They published his name and department to many people on Facebook
and Twitter. The veiled threats were getting a little more frequent after
this. During this time I was requesting Open Records Requests from the WCSO
which never raised any issues or never warranted what is happening currently.
simply wanted to know what was going in the Sheriff's Office, and as a public
citizen, I believe that I had the right to do this. The first issue I had was when I
asked for salary information on Roy Fikac. I received an email personally from
Chief Fikac advising me that I had misspelled his name, "good luck" in what I was
doing and he would be praying for my heart. He also called my by my married
name. During all of my open records requests, I used my maiden name of
Michelle Litz simply because of my email address being michellelitz@msn.com
and I didn't want any confusion. By him using my married name, it was his was
to attempt to bully me by saying he knows who I am . I have never hid who I am,
what I have been saying and what my intentions are with the WCSO. The only
reason that Chief Fikac sent that email was to harass me and abuse his power as
a law enforcement officer. I have been sending open records requests to WCSO,
and I will continue to do so because that is my right as a public citizen. I am not
abusing the system or being a vexatious requester. This week, I sent in a request
to ask for the background check done on Mark Luera. Since this request was
submitted to the PIA Katie Lentz, Sheriff Chody has posted my request with my
name on social media and again calling out my husband and his department. In
retaliation to my open records requests, they have admitted that they have
submitted requests to APO regarding my husband's file in an attempt to affect
his exemplary career in law enforcement. Sheriff Chody is actively bullying me in
an attempt to stop me from holding the SO accountable and submitting further
public information requests. I believe that this is official oppression on his part.
There is a twitter page @wilcoStrong that has repeatedly used underlying
threats against me and my husband . They have admitted that they are
employed with the WCSO by stating that if "she" (me) wants to come after "His
Lt." (Lt. Luera) then they will do the same to my husband. I currently have a
complaint in to the Attorney General regarding the attempt from Chief Fikac and
will be filing another today due to the circumstances this week. Sheriff Chody
has become obsessed with trying to figure out who people are on social
media and because I am the only person he knows the true identity of, he directs
his attacks at me. There have been attempts to facilitate meetings with the
2
Sheriff by his staff using Government property utilizing their twitter handle of
@wilcostrong with a particular person who is @BuddyFalcon. When these
attempts failed, they redirected their attacks back at me. My concern at this
stage is that the anger being displayed by Sheriff Chody has now made me
question my safety. I have been told by inside employees that Sheriff Chody is
like a "caged animal" with his anger over his social media presence and each day
he becomes more "unhinged" and that I need to be concerned for my safety. I
feel as though his abuse of power is a concern and that his anger towards this
situation is spiraling to a place where I am having to look over my shoulder
constantly, purchase security cameras for the outside of my home and
consistently be prepared for what he or his selected deputies may or may do to
me next.
If you could direct me on options I may have regarding this matter, I would
greatly appreciate it. I am available to speak if you have additional questions.
do have emails and screen shots of the particular instances I have mentioned if
you would like to review.
Thank you,
Michelle (Litz) Clawson
- -
3
TEXAS COMMISSION ON
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Kim Vickers
Executive Director
October 28, 2019
Michelle (Litz) Clawson

Unknown Address
Email :
Re : Your complaint regarding Williamson County Sheriff Office, specifically Sheriff Robert Chody, Chief
Deputy Roy Fikac, Commander Steve Deaton and Lieutenant Mark Luera .
Dear Mrs. Michelle (Litz) Clawson,
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement has received your complaint against regarding the
Williamson County Sheriff Office, specifically Sheriff Robert Chody, Chief Deputy Roy Fikac, Commander
Steve Deaton and Lieutenant Mark Luera . Please understand that the Commission has no direct
authority to investigate complaints against law enforcement officers or agencies unless a violation of
law or rule occurs related to licensing, training, certification, appointment, or other related standard, or
upon conviction of a covered criminal offense.
Complaints against law enforcement agencies or individuals within those agencies should be directed to
the Internal Affairs unit of the department, or to the governing body of the agency, such as the city
council or county commissioner's court . In the event that you believe a civil rights violation has
occurred, you may also seek redress by writing to the Federal Bureau of Investigation . The FBI uses
applicable federal laws to investigate violations by public officials in federal, state, and local
governments. A public official is any person elected, appointed, employed, or otherwise having a duty to
maintain honest a faithful public service. The categories of public corruption investigated by the FBI
include corruption within the ranks of law enforcement.
You may also wish to discuss this matter with private legal counsel. The Lawyer Referral Service of the
State Bar of Texas can assist you in contacting an attorney in Texas with relevant expertise. The Lawyer
Referral Service can be reached at (800) 252-9690.
Since rely,
JI 1
(_ ;.,;iz,_ fJ d,r .M
·, r
~
_t.-
?&;-~in Douglas Sko laut

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
6330 East US Hwy 290, Suite 200
Austin, TX 78723
Phone: (512) 936-7700 633 0 E High way 29 0 ST E 200 Austin TX 78723- 1035 http: / /www. tcole. texas.gov
Training Incident WILCO Beginning May 1, 2020
This incident started innocently with a question to another

deputy (Gauvin) about an order to teach a class that I would
have expected to help teach.
During the COVID-19 issue, the need for additional field

training officers at the Williamson County Sheriff Office
became necessary to train new deputies. Commander Bomer
instructed the academy staff they could possibly be tasked to
return to patrol as FTO’s. Not all the instructors were qualified
to be FTO’s since they hadn’t received the mandatory TCOLE
24 hour training. Personally, I thought it was unusual an
academy instructor who teaches both recruits and in-service
would not have experience as a field training officer before
they would be assigned to the training unit. Commander
Bomer instructed the staff to conduct the class for those who
needed the training. The commander did not tell me personally
to do the class however; I overheard her tell the other
instructors.
May 1, 2020
A couple weeks passed and on May 1, 2020, I asked Deputy
Gauvin when the class would be presented as I assumed I
would be involved as one of the instructors. I had offered to
show Deputy Johnston training material from both DPD’s class
and my class with Calibre Press. Deputy Gauvin indicated that
Deputy Jason Johnston had taught the class already. Knowing
this was a 24-hour course (minimum) and assuming I would be
involved, I was surprised and asked when and where it was
conducted. Deputy Gauvin looked for the certificate given to
Deputy Trevone Johnson but didn’t see it on his desk. My
understanding by Gauvin’s actions and demeanor inferred that
feeling. It appeared there was no actual class, just a certificate.
If the training had been conducted at the training facility, I
certainly would have known. Deputy Gauvin’s demeanor was
clear there was no class. My comment to him, out of disbelief,
was to say, “I can’t believe you’re telling me that.” I was
shocked that if what he was saying was true, something would
have to be done.
May 7, 2020,
Notes:
Thursday, May 7, 2020
9 am, contacted Jim Clifton (512-750-6370) to see if a training
roster for the FTO class was submitted to TCOLE. Jim referred
me to Malcolm Jackson.
Called Malcolm Jackson (512-940-0635) and asked if he could

confirm that WCSO submitted a training roster for the FTO
class. He advised that according to their records, the class was
submitted. I advised him that I felt the class was not conducted
and an investigation should be done.
Reason for not consulting my chain-of-command:

I have been a Peace Officer in the State of Texas for 43 years
and have been involved in many aspects of training as an
instructor for over 30 years and know this is not acceptable.
The reason I contacted TCOLE and not my chain of command is
the following.
1. I have been and am currently excluded from staff
meetings and am not consulted on any current training or
future training.
2. I have received no information from the chain about my
duties and responsibilities. I have not had any one-to-one
meetings with my sergeant or lieutenant concerning my
duties.
3. I basically look at power points and lesson plans in my
cubicle daily with seldom assignments.
4. Most importantly, all training classes are submitted to the
lieutenant for approval then forwarded to the admin
person to submit to TCOLE. I would assume Lt. Luera
would have seen the roster and should have questioned
the validity of the paperwork that was submitted. I do
know that one is sufficient for dismissal as a trainer. I
would have known that from my experiences as a
supervisor in the training unit from Dallas PD .
About 10 am.
During the morning, Commander Bomer, Lt Luera, Sgt Alafa

and all the training instructors met for a meeting in which I
was not invited to attend. I learned the following day (May 8,
2020) from Deputy Gauvin that the meeting concerned future
training issues. Gauvin was phoned during the meeting to
inform him of issues as he was working from home on that day.
This was another example where I was not included in the
training program.
11:am : Called TMPA to seek legal assistance. Spoke with

Charlie Wilkerson 1-800-848-2088. He referred me to attorney
Randall Moore.
Cell 817-692-5067
Office 817-348-9339
Randall advised me to contact the Texas Rangers to file a
report of the offense. I called Gary Phillips 512-298-8907 but
only left a message. No return call from the Ranger.
5:00 pm: Spoke with Chief Doyer and told him what I had done
and sought his guidance. He advised to let the investigation
take place and not to advise my chain since I don’t know who
might also be involved.
May 8, 2020
Submitted complaint form to TCOLE by email.
9:45 am, spoke with Ranger Veronica who advised me to
contact her Lt. Left a message with her Lt.
11:00 am, Ranger Phillips phoned me and stated he would
contact the Williamson County DA on my behalf per their
policy on investigating a complaint.
5:00 pm- Chief Doyer tried to call but wasn’t able to talk due to
an incident at the jail.
May 11, 2020

Monday
7:15 am, spoke with Chief Doyer who said he felt it was his
duty to notify the Sheriff about the issue. I told him I
understood and that if I were him I would do the same. Again,
the reason I informed Chief Doyer was because I’m not
comfortable with my immediate chain including the sergeant,
lieutenant, and commander. Chief Doyer probably had already
informed the sheriff since it wasn’t too long he was at the
Dawg.
Sometime between 8-9 that morning, the sheriff showed up to

the Dawg and went to Lt. Luera’s office. When he left, he didn’t
say anything to me. Chief Doyer said the sheriff said he tried to
call but I didn’t get a missed call.
During the day, another staff meeting took place where I was
not asked to join.
3:00 pm. Spoke with attorney Moore concerning the events.
Inquired about the potential issue of a hostile work
environment.
May 13, 2020

There was a staff meeting with everyone who works at the
training office. Several issues were discussed about future
training and assignments. One of the main points was that we
were a unit and that any problems that come up should be
addressed in-house. I was aware that Sheriff Chody had been at
the training office and spoke with the Lieutenant Luera so I
assumed he was aware of the complaint.
The CO’s were dismissed and just the LE remained in the

meeting. Deputy JJ Johnson looked at me and asked why there
was no communication with the other instructors? I replied
that I was confused as to why I was not included in any of their
conversations or plans. They essentially put the blame on me
and then said that they were told by the higher ups that I
wouldn’t be there very long (a month). I questioned what that
meant and they didn’t have an answer.
I expressed that as the new person, I was trying my best to fit
in and not be one of those who felt they were in-charge. The
meeting ended on a positive note with a feeling that as a group
we could work together to train.
May 15, 2020

Friday
During the morning, I spoke with Chief Doyer who said the
Sheriff told him he did not plan on informing those who were
suspected of submitting false rosters of my identity.
At about 10 am, the Lt. and Johnston/T. Johnson left together.
When they returned, their earlier mood differed from their
present mood. They were now happy and eager to
communicate about training needs. I don’t know whom they
met with or any other details. I still felt that they were not
aware I had made the complaint.
Monday, May 18, 2020

When I arrived at work Deputy Gauvin and I talked about the
overall demeanor of the other instructors. No doubt he
questions their behavior. They were all at DPS training EVOC.
Sergeant Alafa came to me and said the others were tiffed at
the CO’s and hinted that they made a complaint which required
that in the future, we would have a “pre-check” list to submit to
him when we did a class.
After lunch, the other instructors returned and other than JJ
Johnson, the rest were visibly angry or upset. At about 3 pm,
the Lieutenant told me I would be assigned to patrol starting
next Monday to complete a four week training assignment and
that he wasn’t sure what would happen after that. I didn’t ask
him what that meant because his words told me he wasn’t
making the decisions.
I sent an email to Chief Fikac and cc’d Commander Bomer
asking for clarification and a meeting.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Left message at 9:12 am for Chief Antu to call me back.
9:15 am- sent email asking to meet Chief Fikac to discuss issue
and other concerns.
11:00 am- spoke with Chief Antu along with his captain on
speaker phone. I asked if the inquiry into my complaint was
complete and he said they had not even started but would start
the investigation soon. My question was based on what
appeared at the office as the parties had met with someone in
the organization and seemed as though there was no violation.
1:00 pm- Chief Fikac replied that I had to meet Chief Ryle.
2:00-3:50- Met with Chief Ryle at his office and discussed my
transfer/assignment. He asked about the incident at the
training unit and I explained in detail every fact I knew with
the exception of speaking with Chief Antu at TCOLE. Chief Ryle
acted as though he had no knowledge of the complaint.
Those facts include:
1. I learned about the incident from Deputy Gauvin through
words, body language, and actions.
2. I don’t know how high up the chain it went towards
corruption so I informed Chief Doyer.
3. There has been a “hostile” or just plain lack of acceptance
at the TO from the cadre and supervisors.
4. That at my age and past heath concerns, why was I being
assigned to an FTO as a rookie. 43 years as an officer,
retired honorably and hired by the SO for the specific
reason to make the training unit better but not being
tasked to perform duties that would make it better.
5. And finally, I wanted to know if he was willing to change
his orders, which starts next Monday.
When I made a statement that I hoped there wasn’t a
connection between my filing a complaint and the IPO
assignment, the chief was agitated and stated that I better not
accuse him or challenge his integrity. I obviously struck a nerve
with my question.
I followed up with wanting to know when he would make his
decision on my new assignment and he said he would have to
further his investigation into the training issue and speak with
others and then let me know. I expressed my concern again
about making a 63 year old deputy with past health concerns
having their assignment changed from when I was hired 3
months ago. His answer was sometimes assignments change
and that is the nature of the profession.
5:00 pm- spoke with Randall Moore and was advised to re-cap
my meeting with Chief Ryle and sent an email with that
information to him (Chief Ryle).
Email information sent to attorney

Chief Ryle,
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday and discussing my
concerns with the impending assignment/transfer to IPO status in the patrol
function.
As a re-cap of our meeting:
I was hired the first part of February and during my interview with Chief Fikac and
Commander Bomer, they enlisted me to leave the constable’s office and take a
position at the training facility to help improve the training. As you know, TCOLE
had recently found many issues that needed improvement. My past experience of
both instructing and managing a training unit with many specialized skills in various
areas would benefit the training unit. The past two months have been difficult
concerning training during the virus pandemic. We discussed several issues with
regard to my treatment by the cadre that have made it difficult to join the training
team. I passed my prescribed FTO program for the training officer position I was
specifically recruited and hired for.
In the meeting, I informed you of an issue involving a TCOLE class that I have reason
to believe was not conducted. I provided you with my observations and what I
learned from others about the possibility that includes a violation of TCOLE rules
and possibly a state law violation. I believe you did not know this information prior
to this meeting. I did report this issue to Chief Doyer and learned by him that he
provided the information to Sheriff Chody as I would have expected.
On May 18, 2020, Lt. Luera informed me that my assignment/transfer would change
effective Monday, May 25th. I was told to report to patrol to begin training as an IPO
in the FTO program. We discussed my concerns about this assignment. I was
specifically hired to be an instructor at the academy. Chief Fikac and Commander
Bomer told me that I would not be required to complete a patrol FTO program. Now
suddenly that has changed. As you stated in the meeting, the reason for this
assignment, is that I need the training in order to field train others if the manpower
need arises. As I said, I can’t imagine that a former retired sergeant from the Dallas
Police with now 43 years of service would be needed to train rookies in a patrol unit
rather than a classroom or academy environment. At 63 years of age, I find it
unbelievable that I would be needed to fill a vacancy in the FTO program even
temporarily. To think that I am needed in the field is unreasonable based on my
years of experience. I previously trained rookies from about 1980 to 1988 and also
performed the duties as the FTO supervisor various times in my 20 plus years as a
patrol sergeant.
In light of the timing of this new assignment, which coincides with the complaint, I
would like to know why my job description has changed.
If there are specific issues at the training facility that keeps me from doing the job I
was recruited to do while this investigation is on-going, I request that there be some
“reasonable accommodations” made to place me in a position that coincides with my
experience and skill set.
May 20, 2020 5:00 pm…Received email from Chief Ryle which
stated he hadn’t made a decision but indicated the original
order would stand unless something changes.
May 21, 2020

I used a sick day due to a doctor’s appointment. Sent email to
Sgt Alafa but had no response.
Meeting with TCOLE investigator at 9:00 am.

As of 6 pm, no reply from Chief Ryle.
CASE INFORMATION
Offense: Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Rule, Title 37 Texas Administrative Code, and
§218.1 Continuing Education,
§218.1 Continuing Education Credit for Licensees.
and;
Chapter 1701 Texas Occupations Code Subchapter K. Disciplinary Procedures
§1701.501 Disciplinary Action
Licensee: Jason M. Johnston PID# (Deputy, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office), Trevone
M. Johnson PID# (Deputy, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office)
SUMMARY:
TCOLE received a complaint from a Williamson County Sheriffs Office Deputy that two deputies had
committed training fraud at the Deputy A.W. Grimes Training Academy between 4/24 - 4/28/20.
Investigation revealed no violations of TCOLE rule.
INVESTIGATION:
On 5/7/20, TCOLE ACE Malcolm Jackson received a phone call from a deputy at the WCSO stating he
thought two other deputies committed training fraud specifically, submitting a training roster for TCOLE
course #3702 – Field Training Officer (FTO). The instructor for this class reportedly had a day off on
Tuesday and weekends off normally. These dates fell on a weekend and the last day being on a Tuesday.
The complainant was later identified as Keith Wenzel (WCSO Deputy, commission date 2/21/20).
I pulled TCOLE training roster #10995438 from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. The course was
titled “Field Training Officer” and it was listed as a 40-hour course with a start date of 4/24/20 and an
end date of 4/28/20. Two students were listed:
• Jason M. Johnston PID

• Trevone M. Johnson PID
Page 1 of 11
On 5/21/20, at approximately 9:00am, Sgt Shane Norie and I met with Wenzel at the TCOLE offices. In
his recorded interview:
Wenzel stated he had been a police officer for approximately 42 years. He worked in the
Training Division at the Dallas Police Department and has taught all over the country with a
company called Caliber Press. He also has his own training company. Chief Doyer at WCSO called
him and asked him if he would come work for the WCSO at the academy. He interviewed with
Chief Fikac, Commander Bomer and Sgt Alafa. He was offered the job and accepted the position
in February 2020.
His chain of command at the Academy was Chief Fikac, Commander Bomer, Lt Luera, and his
direct supervisor, Sgt. Alafa. In mid-April, he overheard Commander Bomer telling the academy
staff that there was a good chance they would have to go back to patrol to train new hires and
act as an FTO and whoever needed the class to become an FTO should take the class and the
instructors needed to put one on. He said he went to Jason Johnston and told him that he used
to teach a class on how to be an FTO. After several weeks went by on May 1, 2020, he asked
another instructor named Gavin why they hadn’t put on the FTO class like the commander had
asked. Gauvin smiled and got up from his cubicle and walked over to Trevone Johnson’s cubicle
and says, “Let me find the certificate.” Although he couldn’t find the certificate on Trevone’s
desk, he said Jason Johnston nicknamed “Ginger,” passed out certificates. He wasn’t sure how
many certificates were passed out. Due to Gauvin’s behavior, Wenzel thought something was
wrong with the course. Wenzel explained that one day a week everyone works from home and
he knew that Ginger and he were working from home on Tuesdays. Their remaining work
schedule is a normal Monday through Friday with weekends off.
Wenzel was upset that he was not asked to help with teaching this course and wondered how
the course was taken considering the work from home days and the schedule. Out of curiosity
Wenzel waited a week and called FSA Jim Clifton with TCOLE and Clifton forwarded him to
Malcolm Jackson to check on this FTO course. Jackson told Wenzel to file a complaint with the
Enforcement Division of TCOLE.
We showed him a roster of the course we found dated 4/24 – 4/28/20. Jason Johnston was the
instructor and he was listed as receiving the 40-hours of training. We explained that by TCOLE
rule it was acceptable for an instructor to put himself on a roster of a course he/she teaches
once a training unit. He looked at the roster and saw the dates matched to 5 days. He explained
that “Ginger” would have been home on Tuesday and that there was no way he could’ve taught
the class from home. Wenzel was at work on Friday 4/24 and Monday 4/27 and did not see
them (Johnston and Johnson) having the class. This combined with Gauvin’s behavior was
suspicious to him.
The first person he went to with his concerns about the training was Chief Doyer on 5/11/20,
because of their past relationship. He did not trust his chain of command and had to cover
himself and had to tell someone. Doyer said he had to tell Sheriff Chody. Later, he got a call back
from Doyer. Within an hour of this return call, the Sheriff came to the academy and walked past
Wenzel and went to Lt. Luera’s office. Wenzel said he knew then that Lt. Luera knows from the
Sheriff that there was a problem.
Page 2 of 11
On Wednesday 5/13/20, a meeting was held at the training academy with the training staff. The
subject of this meeting was to discuss any issues and the proper way to handle issues by going
to your chain of command first. Lt. Luera went around the room asking if anyone had any
problems they wanted to bring forward. At some point, the Corrections Instructors were
dismissed with only the LE instructors remaining in the room. Jason “Ginger” Johnston looked
over at Wenzel and said, “we need to clear the air and asked why everyone felt they couldn’t
talk to you?” That caused them to openly discuss how they felt about each other and the office
environment. It was a productive meeting.
On Friday 5/15/20, Lt. Luera, Jason Johnston, and Trevone Johnson left the academy for a few
hours and when they returned seemed like they were in good spirits.
Wenzel stated on Monday 5/18/20, Wenzel was told he was being transferred to patrol to be
trained by an FTO. The two that were involved in the suspicious training were still working as
instructors at the academy. Later that day, he emailed Chief Fikac. Fikac transferred him to Chief
Ryle. Wenzel met with Ryle that same afternoon for approximately 2 hours. Ryle asked Wenzel
questions and took notes about his concerns and complaint that this course would be difficult to
complete remotely. Wenzel also made it clear in this meeting that he hoped his impending
transfer was not because of this complaint and Ryle became upset and demanded Wenzel not
question the integrity of the Sheriff’s office.
Wenzel referred to him being fired over this complaint. He explained that he knew there would
be repercussions for “doing the right thing” and was concerned about his professional well-
being. Interview ended at 10:35am.
Towards the end of his interview, I asked Wenzel to email me a copy of his journal and on 5/22/20, I
received a copy of Wenzel’s journal of events over the past few weeks. The journal matched his prior
statement except for the date that he met with Ryle.
Later, on 5/21/20, I met with Administrative Assistant Virginia Johnson at the WCSO training academy.
She provided me with the original roster dated 4/24/20 – 4/28/20 titled “Field Training Officer.” The two
students listed on the roster were Jason Johnston and Trevone Johnson. Both initialed for each day of
class in the morning and afternoon. It was signed by the instructor Jason Johnston (4/28/20) and the
Training Coordinator Mark Luera (5/6/20). Virginia Johnson submitted the roster to TCOLE on 5/6/20.
This was noted with an ink stamp and the roster number given by TCOLE: 10995438. She stated that she
stamps each roster with the date submitted to TCOLE and the she was the one who entered the roster
into TCLEDDS. She provided me with another roster where Jason Johnston taught a TASER course from
this time frame and the rosters format were the same. Signatures, student initials, and date stamp. I
took the originals and provided her with a Property and Evidence receipt which we both signed.
Virginia Johnson was also able to access the WCSO computer records and provided me with Deputy
Jason Johnston and Trevone Johnson’s timesheets for the time frame of 4/17/20 – 4/30/20. Both
Johnston and Johnson appeared to have weekends off and worked Monday thru Friday. I asked her to
provide me a list of when deputies worked from home and she said she did not have that list but knew
that Jason Johnston worked from home on Tuesdays. She was able to get a list from Lt. Luera and later
emailed it to me.
Page 3 of 11
A check of the dates listed for the course in question (Field Training Officer – 40 hours) showed:
4/24/20 – Friday: Trevone Johnson (student) work from home

4/25/20 – Saturday: Both off
4/26/20 – Sunday: Both off
4/27/20 – Monday: BOTH IN OFFICE
4/28/20 – Tuesday: Jason Johnston (instructor) work from home
On 5/22/20, I received a telephone call from Lt. Luera. He said that Chief Ryle had already done an
investigation into this issue and there was a summary sent to Sheriff Chody. I asked if I could have a
copy of this summary and he later emailed it to me.
In Chief Ryle’s audit dated 5/18/20, of course 3702-Field Training Officer taught by Deputy Jason
Johnston, Ryle stated he interviewed Lt. Luera, Sgt. Alafa, Dep. Jason Johnston, Dep. T. Johnson,
and Dep. J. Johnson. Ryle did not list that he spoke to Wenzel and Wenzel claimed there was a
“2-hour” interview with Ryle on this same day that Ryle wrote the summary of his audit. Ryle did
not state why he conducted the investigation. Presumably, he conducted the investigation
because of Wenzel’s complaint. Ryle’s summary stated the deputies were given a deadline and
because of the adjusted work schedules and COVID-19 protocols the deputies developed a plan
to work portions of the course remotely.
Chief Ryle listed areas of improvement and noted that deputies needed to be more
comprehensive in reporting their work/training hours because they tended to UNDER-REPORT
their hours and their dedication should be lauded but could be problematic for work rules and
wages. The other issues dealt with their testing software Class Marker and the issuance of a
certificate prior to completing the test.
Ryle’s summary conflicted with Wenzel’s complaint. Wenzel complained that the class did not exist
while Ryle stated the Deputies tended to under-report their hours. Due to the subject of his “audit,” this
statement by Ryle suggested they completed more than 40 hours of training.
On 5/28/20, Sgt. Lyon and I met with Deputy Trevone Johnson (Student) at the Williamson County
Training Academy. The following is a summary of his sworn statement:
Johnson said he is an instructor at the DAWG and an auxiliary SWAT team member. In mid-April
Commander Bomer had a meeting and told the training staff they would be going back to patrol
to act as FTO’s and that everyone needed to be certified FTOs. He (Trevone) was the only one
that wasn’t certified, and he asked Deputy Jason “Ginger” Johnston to be in that class.
Suddenly, on April 23rd, 2020, they were told by Bomer, Luera, and Alafa that he (Trevone)
needed to have the training and certification by the following Wednesday April 29th, 2020.
Bomer told them they could complete the training in their cubicles. Trevone and Johnston tried
to figure out a way to complete the training over a weekend and their work at home COVID
protocols. They decided that Deputy James Johnson would assist Johnston and they would
provide Trevone Johnston a copy of the power point and he would go through each
section/module each day and they would speak on the phone after to discuss the lesson.
Page 4 of 11
Trevone explained what he did each day and could recall from memory the learning objectives
from each day (reciting learning objectives in order). Trevone said Day 2 (Saturday) was also a
full 8-hour day and there were between 5-6 phone calls to discuss the training. The calls were
made from his personal cell phone and Jason Johnston’s personal cell phone. Day 3 (Sunday)
was much the same as the other days and a full 8 hours. On Monday, Day 4 (4/27/20), they were
both in the office together and they discussed the previous days training and reviewed Superian,
their documentation software. Deputy James Johnson and Sgt. Alafa witnessed them moving
back and forth between their two cubicles. They trained from 8:30am to 5:00pm. On Tuesday
(final day), Deputy James Johnson assisted Trevone Johnson by discussing scenarios. At the end
of the day he attempted to log on to WCSO testing software and could not for some technical
reasons. Deputy Johnston and James Johnson also attempted to log on but couldn’t.
On either Monday 4/27/20 or Wednesday 4/29/20 they completed a class roster and he filled in
his name and initialed next to each day for morning and afternoon attendance. The roster was
blank when he received and filled it out. There were no signatures at the bottom of the roster.
On 5/11/20, Trevone Johnson logged into WCSO testing software and completed the final exam
for the 40-hour FTO course.
On Friday, 5/15/20, Chief Ryle and Chief Fikac interviewed him in reference to this class because
there was a complaint that they “pencil-whipped” the training. They asked similar questions to
what we (TCOLE) were asking now.
Johnston stated at the end of the interview because of COVID restrictions and the deadline to
complete this course being accelerated, they would have taught this class in a classroom and
this wouldn’t even be an issue.
On 5/28/20, Sgt. Lyon and I met with Deputy Jason Johnston (Instructor) at the Williamson County
Training Academy. The following is a summary of his sworn statement:
Jason “Ginger” Johnston is an instructor at the Williamson County Training Academy (DAWG).
He is a TCOLE certified instructor and an auxiliary member of the SWAT team. He is also in
charge of the continuing education component of the academy and the FTO program and has
been designated as the “FTO training coordinator.” He has taught two FTO courses, one being a
refresher course for incumbent FTO’s and the course in question today, the week-long course
with Trevone Johnson.
He recalled the end of March when his commander (Bomer) told the training cadre they would
be going back to patrol to FTO new hires. Deputy Trevone Johnson was not certified and needed
to be. On Thursday 4/23/20, they were told by Bomer to get Trevone certified as an FTO by
Wednesday of next week (4/29/20). He stated they informed the chain of command that there
was a weekend in between and that the one student class would be difficult to accomplish
however the order stood. He said he and Deputy James Johnson came up with a plan to teach
Trevone Johnston the course with the COVID protocols in place. They decided to complete one
module per day.
Page 5 of 11
On day 1, Tuesday 4/24/20 they spoke 5-7 times through phone calls and texts and completed 8
hours of training. On Saturday 4/25/20, Johnston had Trevone call him after each of the videos
he watched to discuss the material. Sunday continued the same way. On Monday, they
(Johnston and Johnson) were in the office together and they reviewed videos, the previous days,
and the reporting software and they worked a full 8 hours. On Tuesday, Deputy James Johnson
and Trevone worked through scenarios. Trevone attempted to login into their testing software
and was unable to log in. On May 11, 2020 he logged in and took the test and passed.
Jason Johnston said he filled out a class roster for this course on 4/29/20 but dated it on the last
day of the course. Johnston said he assumed Trevone had completed the test and looked
through ClassMarker (testing software) on 5/11/20 and realized that Trevone had not
completed the course. He said he asked Trevone to take the test that day and both knew they
had made a mistake.
On 5/11 or 5/12/20, the sheriff and Chief Deputy came out to the academy and asked them
about this course. On 5/15/20, they met with Chief Ryle again and discussed this one-person
course. He assumed there was a complaint but didn’t know where it came from or why it was a
big deal.
He also stated the only reason we completed this course in this way was because of the tight
time frame and our work schedules having to work from home due to Covid.
At the end of his interview, I asked Johnston what was the emergency that caused this course to be
taught in this way. He said he didn’t know and that this decision was above his rank. He also said he
went to Sgt. Alafa and Lt. Luera with his concerns about training one student in this manner and that a
one-person class was not optimal for this very reason and that he didn’t like having to do this training.
Johnston said he would never do it again in the future. I asked why he wasn’t on patrol currently acting
as an FTO with the emergency of getting Trevone trained and certified. He said he could not answer that
either and was visibly frustrated as if he wanted to know the answer to that question as well. Despite his
objections as the FTO Coordinator and then having to be questioned and then ultimately not going to
patrol as an FTO when that was the reason given to him for the rush training.
On 6/3/20 at approximately 8:20am, I called Lt. Luera and asked him for the numbers of Commander
Bomer, Chief Fikac, and to ask Deputies Jason Johnston and Trevone Johnson if they would provide their
cell phone call logs for the month of April in order to coo berate their statements of their time training
remotely. He said he would email me the contact information and ask the Deputies if they would
provide their phone logs. Later this same day, Luera called back and said he spoke to Deputies Johnston
and Johnson and they agreed they would provide the call logs for the month of April 2020 however, they
used their personal phones for the conversations and wanted to redact any personal numbers. I agreed
this would be acceptable and that I merely wanted to corroborate their sworn statements that they
made calls to each other and discussed the training.
Page 6 of 11
On 6/4/20, I received a telephone call from Captain Skolaut stating the two deputies had hired an
attorney and that she (Nadia Stewart) called TCOLE HQ wanting to speak to me reference this
investigation.
On 6/10/20, I spoke to Jason Johnston and Trevone Johnson’s attorney, Nadia Stewart. We discussed
the reason for my asking for the phone logs and she said she would speak to her clients and provide the
redacted logs to corroborate the training in question.
On 6/11/20, Sgt. Lyon and I interviewed Commander Kelli Bomer. She is the commander over training
and was assigned to that position in September of 2019:
Bomer stated a cadet class at the academy started in March of 2020. She said several cadets had
a fever and the decision to suspend the cadet class was made by the Sheriff due to concerns
over the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a meeting with executive staff about the issue on
March 18, 2020.
On April 6, 2020, her direct supervisor Chief Fikac asked her about the instructors at the
academy and wanted to know if they were certified Field Training Officers (FTO’s). The thinking
was that if they weren’t teaching because the academy was shut down that they could act as
FTO’s on patrol for new hires. Apparently, patrol had been complaining they were short FTO’s
and needed help. She was tasked to ensure the training academy instructors were certified as
FTO’s to assist.
Bomer claimed she contacted Lt. Luera in early April and told him of the plan to send the
instructors back to patrol and act as FTO’s however, all had to be certified first and that whoever
needed the certification needed to complete that course in order to be ready for the Chief’s
order to send the instructors back. She said she followed up with Luera a “couple of weeks
later” and he notified her that all are certified but Trevone Johnson. She claims she told him to
get it done. Luera agreed but was also out sick with some medical issues off and on for a month.
She said she didn’t think Luera didn’t relay the information to the guys because she was out at
the academy some time after and brought up the FTO certification course. She told the guys
that it needed to get done because it was still going to happen. She said the next week she
checked with Luera again because he was back at work and asked if it was done. Luera said it
hasn’t been done yet. She was frustrated because she asked him several times. She went back
to the academy a few days later with a list of tasks for them to complete and this FTO
certification was one of them. She told Luera and Sgt. Alafa the Chief was asking why this hasn’t
been done. Alafa explained to her it had been completed and Luera didn’t know that they had
completed the class. Presumably because Luera was off for extended periods of time due to the
medical issues.
Bomer said she didn’t even think about how the class was completed because it was a
Wednesday and just figured they would complete the class during the weekdays. She knew that
TCOLE only required 24 hours and not 40 hours and her intention was for them to get certified
and just complete the task. She knew that Tre Johnson was the only one who needed the
certification and they could hold the class in their cubicles because it was just the two of them.
Page 7 of 11
We asked her what the emergency was to complete the class so quickly and she said she started
telling Luera a month before to get this done and that the emergency was not on her end, that it
was on Luera’s end. Meaning that she thought Luera had not done what she asked, and she
asked him to get it done three different times. When the Chief asked her about the status one
final time, she was frustrated and wanted it done. Then she gave them a deadline of a week to
do a 24-hour course.
Commander Bomer said this was a miscommunication and they probably thought it was an
emergency. She also said that she did not hear about Jason Johnston’s concern of teaching a
one-person course.
At the end of the interview and after the recording was stopped, she said she did not know that
the class was done remotely until afterwards when she heard there was a complaint.
On 6/11/20 at 10:30am, Sgt. Lyon and I interviewed Chief Roy Fikac. Fikac is the Chief over training:
We explained the complaint and Bomer’s recollection of events. He explained the number of
FTO’s he was allotted and the influx of new hires. He ordered Bomer to have all the instructors
certified as FTO’s to go back to patrol and assist because of the staffing shortage and that they
weren’t training at the academy because of the COVID-19 concerns. He said he wasn’t sure who
all needed the certification just that he wanted this done to utilize the resource to assist patrol.
He said he followed up with Bomer several times about this and learned they had not completed
the task. He felt that Bomer did not vocalize the importance of the order. In other words, this
was more important and urgent to him than it was to her. He said he did not know if seven
people needed this certification and from his perspective it needed to get done. He thought that
Bomer was being subversive and wondered why it wasn’t being completed. In turn, Bomer
applied pressure to the training staff. There was no deadline given but this discussion and order
had been going on for 6 weeks.
Fikac felt that the reason this was an emergency was because they were in “trouble” with
Bomer and the reason it wasn’t done when asked the first time was because only one person
needed the certification course. He said he believed that the training happened and questioned
if they got permission to complete the course outside of the classroom. Their reply was that
Commander Bomer told them she didn’t care how it got done, just to get it done.
He said after their (Chief Ryle and Chief Fikac) investigation into this course, he wrote a memo
referencing areas of improvement. He did not know that the training was completed remotely.
On 6/11/20 at 1:00pm, Sgt. Lyon and I met Lt. Mark Luera at the Williamson County Training Academy
(DAWG):
Luera is the TCOLE Training Coordinator for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. We showed
Luera a calendar and he told us he was off most of April with medical issues. The first he heard
about having to put on the FTO class and get his instructors certified was on April 15, 2020. He
heard from Commander Bomer they (instructors) would be going to patrol to be FTO’s. He
Page 8 of 11
clarified that he received an email from Sgt. Alafa per Commander Bomer. He spoke to Bomer
and told her that the only person who hadn’t been certified as an FTO is Trevone Johnson. He
told her that they couldn’t get to it right away because they had something going on but that
they would do it the next week. At some point between this time (4/15) and the (4/24) class,
Sgt. Alafa said that the course wasn’t needed and that they would be on “stand-by.” Luera said
he understood that Commander Bomer relayed this to Alafa. Trevone Johnson told Luera that
Bomer told him he wouldn’t have to do the FTO certification after all. They didn’t worry about it
because everyone else was already certified. On 4/22, Sgt. Alafa told Luera the class was back on
and they had to get it done by the middle of the next week. Luera remembered asking Alafa
what did Bomer suggest about the weekend and she said just get it done and it doesn’t matter
how you get it done.
According to Luera, they thought it was on, off and then suddenly back on again. Luera didn’t
know the course was done remotely until he got back into the office. He said in retrospect this
was not a concern and that his only concern was that Bomer wanted them to do a 24-hour class
for Trevone and that Jason Johnston wanted to do a full 40-hour class per policy. He recalled
recommending to Bomer that Trevone stay back because he was not a certified FTO and they
did not have enough time to complete the course as they wanted. Bomer said she wanted
everyone certified. He also remembered Jason Johnston coming to him saying he was
uncomfortable with teaching a one-person class and that he told Bomer about this concern.
Luera said he told Johnston to complete the full 40-hour class based upon his recommendation.
He first learned of the complaint shortly after the course was completed and he was still off sick.
Chief Ryle completed an investigation of this specific course and he later read Ryle’s summary.
He did not know Fikac wrote a summary as well.
He remembered when he got back Bomer asked him if the class had been done and he said he
didn’t believe it had. Alafa corrected him and said that the class had indeed been completed and
they started the class the next day after she said it had to be done (4/22) by the following
Wednesday (4/29).
Prior to all of this, the academy staff was already working on an FTO class with Commander Nick
Wright. Wright also works for Fikac. The reason it wasn’t completed then was because of lack of
interest and qualification. Bomer wanted the academy staff to be FTO’s while at the same time,
they were trying to get a class together for the certification of FTO’s with the patrol commander.
Luera said there was a lack of communication between the executive staff and the instructors.
He cited the indoctrination (“INDOC”) class for new hires. He explained that they needed to put
an Indoc course on for the new hires and the decision was made to forego that training, put
them on the streets, and then they could come back for the Indoc training at a later date. He
was asked later why someone hadn’t been taser certified and he had to tell them that they
rushed people through, and the new hires didn’t have to train. He was frustrated at the “rush”
mentality. Training hours are cut or just outright skipped.
Luera could not understand the rush to get Trevone certified as an FTO. He said he contacted a
patrol Sergeant and they spoke about FTOs. The patrol Sergeant said he didn’t understand
Page 9 of 11
either because they had enough FTO’s on the street. He said currently the only one of his staff
that is on patrol acting as an FTO is Deputy James Johnson and the only reason he is out there is
because they wanted someone out there because of this complaint.
In March, after the academy was suspended Luera called TCOLE ACE Malcolm Jackson and asked
how they could continue the academy virtually. He spoke to Jackson on March 16, 2020. Jackson
told him how they could accomplish this task by use of Microsoft TEAMS. I asked why his
instructors didn’t use TEAMS to complete the FTO training and he said he believed they didn’t
even think about it at the time.
Luera thought their biggest issue was that they did not have a member of executive staff (I.e.
Commander) imbedded with them at the academy to explain the needs of executive staff and
the capabilities of the academy.
On 6/11/20 at approximately 2:00pm, Sgt. Lyon and I interviewed Sgt. Roel Alafa:
Alafa became Sergeant of the training academy in January 2020. We explained the reason for
our interview. We asked if he remembered the first mention of the instructors at the academy
becoming FTO’s and not having an FTO class for patrol officers. He said he first heard about this
sometime in March from Commander Bomer in a meeting at the DAWG. He thought it was
around the time of the cadet class that began on March 16, 2020. In April, she asked again about
the class. He remembered telling her about their schedule and she said that she wanted it done
by the next week because they were supposed to go out to patrol. He said he called Luera and
told him of the urgent training. Luera said he didn’t know what he was talking about. Alafa
remembered Bomer saying that he would be Sergeant to his guys on patrol and they would
report to him and not the patrol sergeant. He also recalled her saying that they had to get the
training done by the next week because they were all going to patrol on Wednesday (4/29).
Alafa did explain to Bomer that this course would only be one person, Tre Johnson. Bomer
replied, I don’t care if you guys sit there and do it right there in the cubicle, just get it done.
Alafa remembered seeing them in the cubicle working on this course on Monday (4/27).
Alafa said the reason for the rush was because Bomer said they were short FTO’s on patrol. He
said they suggested having an “INDOC” class at the academy thus freeing up some FTO’s. He did
not elaborate on her response.
We discussed why they didn’t do the training in March when she first brought it up in the
meeting at the DAWG. He said Bomer wasn’t very clear in March, but she was very clear in April.
On 6/11/20, I was able to review Jason Johnston’s cell phone records. He said the majority of their
communications for this course was done by the use of 3-way calling and that Deputy James Johnson
initiated these calls. On 6/17/20, I met with Trevone Johnson and reviewed his cell phone records.
Page 10 of 11
There were 12 phone calls made from James Johnson to Jason Johnston during these days with no
communication on Sunday 4/26/20 and Tuesday 4/29. There were 13 phone calls made to and from
Trevone Johnson to James Johnson during the dates of Thursday 4/23, Saturday 4/25, Sunday 4/26, and
Monday 4/27.
CONCLUSION:
The Field Training Officer certification course on 4/24 - 4/28/20, roster # 10995438 was taken by Deputy
Trevone Johnson and Deputy Jason Johnston assisted in the administration of the course. Trevone
Johnson was able to recite the learning objectives and his cell phone records, combined with Jason
Johnston’s cell phone records support their sworn statements given on 5/28/20. Jason Johnston is a
TCOLE certified instructor and is allowed, by rule, to earn credit for courses taught once per training
unit.
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of this complaint and an internal investigation
was completed by Chief Ryle and Chief Fikac. Both noted there were areas the training academy staff
could improve on however, neither mentioned the unconventional method of instruction. Commander
Bomer’s order to complete the course in the short time frame stood despite Deputy Jason Johnston’s
stated concern that this was not the optimal way in which he would normally administer/teach the
course.
Albeit, the TCOLE requirements for course instruction were completed in a non-traditional manner,
Deputy T. Johnson completed the FTO Certification course. The executive staff of the Williamson County
Sheriff’s Office ambiguous orders contributed to this course being taken in an atypical fashion.
Investigation Completed/ UNFOUNDED…DBN
Page 11 of 11
TEXAS COMMISSION ON
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Kim Vickers
E,cecullve Director
October 17, 2019 Via : Hand Delivery
Williamson County Sheriffs Law Enforcement Academy (710001)
Re: Academy Warning Letter No. 20-09-0030
Dear Lt Mark Luera,
This letter serves as notice of reprimand to the Williamson County Sheriffs Academy as a result of
TCOLE case number 20-09-0030. Violations resulting in this reprimand include unprofessional
conduct by instructors, racial and derogatory language used to address cadets, failure to use
Advisory Board approved policies, changing policies during the academy, and failure to meet l.e sson
plan objectives. This reprimand will b e entered into the academy's TCOLE record.
TCOLE supports the decision by the Williamson County Sheriff's Academy to voluntarily suspend
basic licensing courses during the pendency of this investigation, and we look forward to reviewing
the policies and procedures that will ensure that the infractions identified in the investigation will
not occur in future licensing courses.
Thank you for your attention to t his matter. We look forward to continuing to work with you.
Sincerely,
Deputy Chief Michael Antu

Director, Enforcement and Specia l Services
Pho11c: (512) 936-7700 Fa,c: (512) 936-7714 6330 E Highway 290 STE 200 Au stin TX 78723-1035
CASE INFORMATION
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.
Page 1 of 4
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.
Page 2 of 4
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).
Page 3 of 4
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.
Page 4 of 4

Tcole Investigation Findings at Williamson County Training Center (Dawg)

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Tcole Investigation Findings at Williamson County Training Center (Dawg)

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TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT

Case Number: 20-09-0030

Investigator: Sgt. Dave New

Supplement Report: Sgt. Hillary Lyon

Academy: Williamson County Academy

Williamson County Training Center (DAWG)

Maddera = 98.11 Brummel = 94.71

Case Number: 20-09-0030

Investigator: Sgt. Dave New

Supplement Report: Sgt. Hillary Lyon

Academy: Williamson County Academy

Williamson County Training Center (DAWG)

Maddera = 98.11 Brummel= 94.71

Investigator: Sgt. David New

Complaint: Multiple Deficiencies at WCSO Training Center

Licensee: Robert J. Chody, Sheriff Williamson County Sheriff’s Office

• Deputy Nickel (Academy Instructor) degraded cadets and agencies.

Estrada characterized the treatment of Gordon and Brummel as “Bullying.” The

On 9/4/19 at approximately 11:45am, Sgt. Norie and I interviewed Pflugerville PD Training

Emergency Communications was taught by someone from Pflugerville in a 4-8 block. He

I asked Stewart if he ever heard of Nickel calling Gripentrog a “pussy” or if he called

The following is a summary of Lt. Craig Gripentrog’s recorded interview:

Gripentrog did make an announcement to BPOC #2 changing the policy on 3 test

Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC), Emergency Communications Course, and

Carter never received any complaints in reference to inappropriate language by Nickel.

1/18/2018 – 10-member Training Advisory Board (TAB) approves Cadet Manual.

10/23/2018 – Patterson approves the BPOC manual revisions.

10/24/2018 – Halverson approves

Cadet Bryan Estrada (Manor PD) –

Estrada characterized the treatment of Gordon and Brummel as “Bullying.” The

Cadet Amanda Maddera (Pflugerville PD)-

Cadet Jerome Gordon (Pflugerville PD) –

When Gordon switched departments from Taylor to Pflugerville, Taylor PD went

Counts advised he never had an opportunity to hear or know about Deputy

Cadet George Krompart (WCSO) –

Krompart remembered the HazMat course. He said it was interesting because

Cadet Alexander Lundry (WCSO) –

Emergency Communications was taught by someone from Pflugerville in a 4-8

Cadet Miguel Wolfe (WCSO) –

Cadet Robert Linn (Jarrell PD) –

Cadet Doan Cesar (WCSO) –

Cadet Carl Smith (WCSO) –

Cadet Alexandra Pereira (WCSO) –

Jailer Jenna Geyman (WCSO) –

Sgt. Leonard Stewart (WCSO) –

Lt. Craig Gripentrog (WCSO) –

Case Number: 20-09-0030

Investigator: Sgt. David New

Offense: Deficiencies at Williamson County Training Center

Investigator: Sergeant Shane Norie

Involved Agency: Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Training Academy

The interview was then ended.

I conducted a secondary interview with Deputy Miguel Wolfe, PID

Rovelli said Wolfe was talked to harsher than Gordon.

The interview was concluded.

From: Michael Antu

Deputy Chief Michael Antu,

Begin forwarded message:

From: Kim Vickers <Kim.Vickers@tcole.texas.gov>

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Michelle Litz

Dear Chief Vickers,