Another Southlake Officer on Leave

The Southlake Journal has learned that another Southlake police officer, Sgt. Jason Steele, was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 30 by the Southlake Department of Public Safety. The information came from a Southlake police source who remains unnamed for fear of retaliation.

On Oct. 5, a senior member of the Southlake police command staff, Lt. Mike Kenny, was put on administrative leave the same day he filed a hostile work environment complaint against Police Chief Wade Goolsby. Kenny was fired in January. The action against Steele, confirmed by his attorney, Terry Hickey, is pending the outcome of an internal investigation regarding allegations that Steele released confidential information.

Steele has been with the department for nine years.

Southlake spokeswoman Pilar Schank would neither confirm nor deny any action against Steele, citing the need for confidentiality in personnel matters. She did confirm that two internal investigations are open. One investigation, according to numerous police and city sources, is currently being conducted by the city of all police officers in an effort to find out who is talking to the Journal and other media.

“Right before [Southlake officials] placed him on leave,” Hickey said, “we had filed a complaint under the Whistleblowers Act. That was Jan. 29. They took Steele’s complaint and they allege that he released confidential information, but what he actually did was file a complaint with the mayor and council members,” Hickey explained.

“We knew they were coming after Jason,” she said. “Every person except one who has been called to the grand jury to testify or had gone initially to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office has been targeted for termination,” Hickey stated. She added that Steele was one of the first officers to talk to the district attorney.

Hickey said that when Kenny filed a hostile work environment complaint [on Oct. 5] against Southlake Police Chief Wade Goolsby, Steele went to Assistant City Manager and DPS Director Jim Blagg in person and gave him names and specific instances of others who had also been subjected to hostile working conditions. Hickey said that to her knowledge, no action has been taken on Steele’s original October complaint to Blagg. City spokeswoman Schank declined to comment on the matter.

Kenny, a member of the Southlake police command staff and a 10-year veteran of the force, was put on administrative leave the day he filed the complaint. He was fired on Jan. 9. Kenny has appealed the firing. Lance Wyatt, Kenny’s attorney, said the appeal hearing was set for Feb. 22 at Town Hall, but has now been delayed. It should be rescheduled soon, he said.

“We’ve requested an open hearing,” Wyatt said. “We hope people will attend.”

Police sources tell the Journal that they are concerned that DPS morale, low according to the city-based survey taken in 2007, might not recover if officials escape Tarrant County indictment.

“It may be like a bloodbath with the ruining of police careers in retaliation,” said one. Complaints from officers have focused on claims that Goolsby’s management style includes retaliatory measures against officers he perceives as “disloyal” to him.

“It takes a lot of courage to speak out because everyone knew they were risking their careers,” Hickey said. “But they felt strongly enough and compelled to speak up, even if it cost them their jobs.”

UPDATE