N. Richland Hills hearing sullies the badge

By Dave Lieber
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The sad truth in the North Richland Hills Police Department is that top police officials cannot walk into a legal hearing involving the Troy Davis case without embarrassing themselves.

It happened again Wednesday and will likely happen all the way to the end when the city eventually loses or settles a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit involving the estate of Davis over accusations of police misconduct, incompetence and cover-ups.

Davis, who was suspected of drug dealing, was shot and killed by a SWAT team member during a no-knock raid in December 1999 at the Davis home in North Richland Hills. Police officials said they had no choice but to shoot because Davis pointed a gun at them during the raid. In the house, police found a smaller amount of drugs than they expected. Davis' mother, true-crime writer Barbara Davis, has sued the city.

The latest venue for embarrassment to Tarrant County's third largest police department came during last week's eight-hour nighttime civil service hearing regarding the three-week suspension of officer Kevin Brown. Brown, once the lead detective in the Davis shooting, was bumped down to patrolman after he released a box of documents to former officers also named in the Davis lawsuit.

Brown's suspension was reduced from three weeks to one week by the North Richland Hills Civil Service Commission, an unexpected blow to the city's authority. But the Brown matter proved to be a lesser sideshow to the Police Department's greater problems.

Consider:

Subpoenas, given to two police officials ordering them to appear at the hearing, were ignored. Testimony showed that Assistant Police Chief Richard Kitchens told the two officials and other officers who did appear that nothing would happen to them if they failed to obey the subpoenas -- a claim that does not appear to be in compliance with city rules.

"I'm concerned that two people didn't show that were subpoenaed," commission Chairwoman Sally Bustamante said. "I'm real concerned about that."

Asked about the nonappearances, City Attorney George Staples told me, "That's a mystery to me."

Word of another department whistle-blower has surfaced. Sgt. Joe Walley, the patrol division and SWAT team commander and one of the two who didn't honor his subpoena, also released Davis investigation documents to former officers, former SWAT team leader Greg Crane testified. "He thought that shedding truth on the matter was the right thing to do," Crane said.

Crane testified that Walley provided him with the documents to prove that police officials were not being truthful in their depositions.

"They were either lying or their memory was failing them," Crane testified. "These documents will show that police officers were lying under oath. I think that's more important than whether we were getting the documents under improper procedures."

By my count, Walley becomes the ninth whistle-blower in the Police Department. Five are currently on the force, and four have retired. This is extraordinary when you consider the traditional police code of silence sometimes used to cover up suspected wrongdoing in some departments.

Brown's attorney, Terry Hickey, accused a department secretary of witness tampering during the civil service hearing. Acting on a tip from a former officer standing outside the hearing, Hickey called department secretary Terry Bilger, who works in the internal affairs division, to the stand. Hickey asked if it were true that Bilger had violated the commission's rule by going into the hallway and telling three department officials who were waiting to testify what questions were being asked inside the hearing. Bilger, whose official title is professional standards technician, denied that she had done that.

But a former officer then testified that he heard her doing exactly that and that he had asked her to stop.

Who was the officer who informed? None other than Allen Hill, the former SWAT team member who shot and killed Davis and subsequently left the department.

Bilger was so upset by Hill's accusation that when commission Chairwoman Bustamante called all witnesses back inside the hearing to warn them about such activities, Bilger did not reappear. An officer explained, "The paramedics are attending to her. She got emotionally upset. She's hyperventilating."

After Hickey referred to the incident as "witness tampering," Staples countered that the rule barring witnesses from the hearing was designed to prevent witnesses from hearing testimony, not to keep them from learning what questions were being asked.

Hickey derided Staples' argument as preposterous. "He is playing semantics and seeking out loopholes," she said.

Police Chief Thomas Shockley changed his testimony. At first, Shockley, who was the first witness, testified that the internal investigation into Brown was still open depending on what Brown testified to during the hearing. Shockley said Brown could face criminal charges, too.

Hearing that, Hickey complained that it was unfair to consider punishing Brown again when he had been punished with a three-week suspension without pay and a five-month paid administrative leave. During the lengthy leave, Brown was placed under house arrest during his usual working hours, according to information presented at the hearing.

After an argument between attorneys for both sides, Shockley testified that the internal investigation "is complete."

Hickey said later of the police chief, "He completely impeached himself."

Adding to the carnival atmosphere of the hearing was the appearance of one of the nine whistle-blowers, former Detective Tim Gilpin, who has resigned from the department. Gilpin, a recent law school graduate, attended the hearing as a newly hired investigator and legal assistant for Hickey. He sat at the defense table opposing his former bosses.

In the past, I have called on the leadership of North Richland Hills to cut its losses by firing Shockley and giving the troubled Police Department a fresh start.

Last week's events continue to cast a cloud over the city. They show once again, as I've written before, that Shockley's department is so actively engaged in protecting itself that one wonders how it can protect the city and its residents.

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(817) 685-3830 dlieber@star-telegram.com

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