Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — Dallas County commissioners voted Tuesday to ban deputies and other employees from installing emergency police equipment such as lights and sirens on their personal vehicles without the court’s permission.
The policy also requires employees to get permission from their elected official or department head before installing police equipment in personal vehicles.
The measure was needed, officials said, because some deputy constables have used their personal vehicles for law enforcement purposes while off duty, opening the county up to liability.
The policy also applies to vehicles that currently have the equipment.
Employees who request permission must explain the “public and official” purpose of the police equipment. If their request is granted, employees must get insurance for their cars so they can be used as police vehicles, and the county must be named as an insured party.
“This will help bring under control these renegades,” said County Judge Jim Foster, a regular critic of some constable practices.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who drives her own car, asked for an exception to the policy.
Commissioner John Wiley Price said he expects the court to grant it.
“I would hope so, to be reasonable,” he said. “Come on, she’s the sheriff.”
Tips curbed at 20%
Commissioners on Tuesday also voted to limit the amount of tips county employees can give for meals during business trips. Employees now cannot tip more than 20 percent.
The county auditor asked for the new policy because some employees had been giving exorbitant tips of as much as 60 percent while on county business.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners voted to hire Dallas lawyer Marc Richman to defend four of five Sheriff’s Department jail guards who are being sued over the death of an inmate in 2008.
Corey Bailey died in one of the county jails in June 2008 after an altercation with the guards.
His mother, Cathy Bailey, is suing the county and the guards in a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed last year. She alleges the guards used excessive force in the incident and failed to get her son needed medical treatment.
The district attorney’s office concluded there would be a conflict if the county defended four of the guards.
Richman will defend Julia Quiroga, Craig Elliott, Timothy Click and Daniel Moreno. Peter Harlan, a lawyer in the district attorney’s federal section, will continue to defend the county.
It’s still unclear who will represent the fifth guard involved, Quinton Lacy, who was fired for lying about his actions during the incident, Bailey’s attorney said.
Suit against guards
The Sheriff’s Department has not released its internal investigation into the death and would not say whether any of the five guards received discipline over the incident or whether they still work for the department.
Price said only that the sheriff’s internal investigation revealed that the county needed to hire outside lawyers for the guards.
Finally, commissioners sent letters to the Texas Ethics Commission and the State Bar of Texas, seeking opinions on whether District Attorney Craig Watkins has a conflict of interest in investigating constables.
Watkins’ public integrity unit is conducting a criminal investigation of constables, which has resulted in the indictment of a top lieutenant of Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes.
But Watkins’ civil division defends constables in lawsuits and other civil matters. That is a conflict of interest, say Foster and Commissioners Maurine Dickey and Kenneth Mayfield.
They want Watkins to step aside and allow an outside agency such as the Texas attorney general’s office to take over the constable investigation. The AG has twice offered to do so, but Watkins declined the assistance.
Price said he did not sign the letters.
Copyright 2010 Dallas Morning News