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Feb 27, 2008 9:17 pm US/Central
No Criminal Indictments For Southlake PD Officials
Southlake Vows Review Of Police Services, Policies, Procedures
SOUTHLAKE (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office has released its findings into the grand jury investigation of the Southlake Police Department.
Investigators found no criminal wrong doing by the department's upper management.
The grand jury report states that a "sizeable" number of officers in the department have serious concerns about the department's leadership.
Officers had previously complained about upper management giving preferential treatment to people of influence.
Some claimed officers tampered with evidence in the death of a man involved in a local wife-swapping ring.
Another allegation claimed upper management kept quiet about a video recorder found in a girl's locker room at Southlake-Carroll High School. A complaining witness alleges the chief was more interested in keeping the incident quiet rather than finding the culprit.
According to the Tarrant County District Attorney Kurt Stallings, the report "completely exonerates them from any criminal misbehavior. It suggests that there might be ethical or wrong doing or policy misbehavior by some individuals in the department. I understand that's what they're going to look into."
CBS 11 has also learned that the City of Southlake is now looking into hiring an outside firm to look into those concerns.
A statement from the city manager's office states, "The city is in negotiations with two highly qualified law enforcement professionals to help review police services, policies and procedures."
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