September-October 2013
In This Issue:
We Don’t Want You to Miss Out
Biggest Conference to Date
New to the Legislative Session
Over $5,000 Raised for PAC
Snapshot of Bills from
the 83rd Session
TMPA Charities Scholarships
Awarded
Thank You Conference Sponsors!
GOLD SPONSORS
Greg Cagle
Cagle & McCumber
League City, Texas
LYON, GORSKY, HARING,
GILBERT & LIVINGSTON, L.L.P.
Dallas, Texas
SILVER SPONSORS
Law Office of Paul G. Aman
Law Office of Lance F. Wyatt, PLLC
Houston, Texas
Southlake, Texas
BRONZE SPONSORS
Andy Stinson, Tyler, Texas
Glen M. Baker, SFU
Dallas, Texas
Joe C. Tooley Attorneys and Counselors
Law Office of Brett S. Charles, PLLC
Rockwall, Texas
Bryan & Houston, Texas
Line of Duty Accident Coverage
for all TMPA Members
LOCAL ASSOCIATION SPONSORS
Arlington MPA
Brownwood MPA
Carrollton POA
Frisco POA
Grand Prairie PA
Irving PA
McKinney POA
Pasadena ISD POA
Round Rock POA
San Angelo POA
Without the support of our sponsors, the TMPA Annual Conference
would not be possible. Thank you all for your generosity.
We Don’t Want You to Miss Out
Help Us Update Your Information
Kevin F. Lawrence, Executive Director
[email protected]
TMPA In-Service is at a
crossroads. We hold
deeply to the concept
that you – the members – are in fact the owners of
this organization. You have a right to as much
information as possible about your organization. If
you want to take the time, you certainly should be
able to find the answers to all of your who, where,
why, when and how questions about TMPA.
2
We must recognize however that any information
included in this newsletter, no matter how accurate
it was at the time it was written, may in fact be out
of date even in the few weeks it takes to get to your
mailbox. We live in the age of instant
communications. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, texting,
Linked-In, iPhones, androids and heaven knows
what other technologies that have been developed
in the last 20 minutes have made print media pretty
much a thing of the past, at least with regard to
current events. Anything you read in TMPA InService is probably six to eight weeks old. This is a
time when you can swallow a computer chip the
size of a grain of sand which can then send your
vital medical information to your smartphone so
that you can forward it to your doctor on another
continent – all in a matter of seconds.
We’ve been working diligently over the last two
or three years to upgrade our communications
skills to keep up with the times. (Not me of
course. I can’t get on the communications
superhighway for fear of being run over by a fleet
of uniform resource locators.) We have personnel
!
…update your personal
information by visiting
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tmpa
dedicated to uploading information as often is
appropriate to our Facebook page and Twitter
and all the other online sites we have. We also are
sending out an email newsletter every Friday and
additional e-blasts when necessary. We do all this
to keep you informed.
To be successful in these efforts, we need your
help. We do not have current e-mail addresses for
about half of our current members (that is
something like 10,000 people). We are also
missing current home addresses, phone numbers
and even agencies for a lot of you. We want to
serve you better and provide you with timely
information, but we can’t do that unless we can
contact you.
Please take the time to quickly update your
personal information by visiting
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tmpa. Like us
on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with
us on Linked-In, watch our YouTube videos. We
don’t want you to miss out on anything.
Biggest Conference to Date
Thank You for Making the Conference
What it Is
Josh Thurlkill, President [email protected]
These are exciting times for TMPA with a lot of
great things coming on the horizon. As you can see,
we introduced the new Memorial Truck
and Emergency Response Team trailer at the
conference. I don’t think there was a single attendee
that wasn’t awe struck or had shed a tear when
they first saw the truck and trailer parked in front
of the hotel. Past President David Russell spent
If there is anything that you or your local
association may need, please do not hesitate to call
the TMPA offices or send your Regional Director an
email. The TMPA website has a regional map to help
you determine which Director is in your area and
there is a Board of
Directors page with all of
our pictures and email
addresses. Your newest
board member is Tom
Macri in Region One. Tom
is from McKinney PD and
took the Region One
position from James Babb
who moved up to the 4th
Vice President position. I
know I speak for these
Tom Macri, Region One Director
[email protected]
I also want to thank all of the delegates in
attendance that voted for me as your new
President. As I said at the conference, I am
humbled that you have put your faith in me and
have allowed me to serve as your President. I do
not take lightly the enormous responsibility that
you have entrusted to me and I stand ready to
lead our association in the coming year.
hours with Richard and Aaron from Gas Monkey
Garage and Tommy with 360 Wraps to design and
complete the truck before conference. The truck
and trailer turned out amazing and I appreciate
David for all his hard work in getting it done.
?
We have just finished up the 64th Annual TMPA
Conference in Austin, and I am proud to say that
this was the biggest conference to date! I know you
have heard that said before over the past several
years, but the truth is, we have been growing so
much as an organization that our conference is
having trouble keeping up, which is a good problem
to have. We don’t have the final numbers yet, but I
am willing to bet that we had more first time
attendees this year than we ever have. To each one
of you that attended, thank you for making the
conference what it is. The Board of Directors and
Staff were happy to see you again and I hope that
you had as much fun as we did.
two guys and the rest of the board and staff when I
say you can contact us any time. Our primary focus
is you, the members of this great association.
Without your membership, we could not be “The
Voice of Texas Law Enforcement.”
Thank you for what you do every day for the State
of Texas. God bless and stay safe!
3
New to the Legislative Session
Law Enforcement Coalition
Representing 30,000
Mitch Slaymaker, 1st Vice President [email protected]
I know that you are aware that the 83rd Legislative
session has just come to an end, including the three
special sessions called by the Governor. First off I
would like to give a large thank you to our legislative
team this year. That team’s core consisted of
Legislative Director Lon Craft, our now Past
President David Russell, President Josh Thurlkill, and
our lobbyists Keith Oakley and Randall Kuykendall.
Also included in this effort were numerous officers
from all over the state that we called on to testify for
or against innumerable bills. These guys worked
I know that there are many of our members that do
not know what all is involved with legislative
session but I can tell you that it is intense, long,
arduous, frustrating, and heartbreaking. There is
very little reward for a ton of work. Included in this
effort are the Representatives in the House and
Senate who share our collective beliefs. I know that
this session saw them testifying on bills as late as
0130 in the morning. That’s a long time in a suit and
tie on those marble floors, but we do it at your
direction and with your best interests in mind.
This session saw something new that I would like to
mention. We became a founding member of the law
enforcement coalition during session and played a
role in fostering this relationship. This is huge. The
coalition incorporates TMPA, HPOU, DPSOA, DPA
and APA. That is not all inclusive and I apologize if I
have left out any organizations that were a part of
this historic effort. The amazing thing is that all of
us worked together towards the common goal of
what is best for law enforcement and came forward
with a single message representing approximately
30, 000 officers. This is a first and is in stark
contrast to the individual efforts of past sessions.
We hope to continue these relations and move
forward with them during future sessions.
their collective tails off representing that which is
important to law enforcement. I swell with pride
knowing that I am allowed the honor of representing
these guys who come with passion to testify on what
they KNOW is right for law enforcement and the
public we serve. Some of the issues this session
included ISD Officer’s authority, being able to remain
in the courtroom with the prosecutor and making
sure any money raised in the name of fallen Officers
goes to where it is supposed to. Our legislative
agenda is usually much larger than any other
organization but we tackle it anyways because it is
what you, the members, tell us is important. This list
is far from all inclusive and does not mention the
countless bills that we fought that would have
diminished your ability to do your job. As we all
know, it is the decisions made during these sessions
that can have a huge and diverse impact on how we
do our job on the street.
If you’ve followed any of my contributions to the In
Service magazine over the years then you may have
heard me speak occasionally of the PAC, well maybe
once or twice. Here I am again. First I’d like to
throw kudos out to the firefighters and their ability
to fund a PAC. Wow! Let me put it into perspective;
they have approximately 13,000 members and are
collecting approximately $18,000 a month for their
PAC fund. We have over 19,000 members and are
bringing in approximately $2,000 a month for PAC,
half of which is coming from staff and board
members. The firefighters understand the
importance and power of having a strong PAC! Let
each of us first challenge ourselves to sign up for
the PAC and then challenge our coworkers to do the
same. While you are doing that, remember to
always watch your six and know that when you
need it most we are there for you.
Over $5,000 Raised for PAC
Scholarships Awarded by TMPA Charities
Heath Wester, 2nd Vice President [email protected]
I’d like to thank the
entire TMPA staff for a job well done on yet another
successful conference and year. Each year we get
larger in attendance and we thank you, the members
for that. I mentioned throughout the conference that
our last night would be exciting and urged each of you
to contribute to the PAC; we raised a little over
$5,000, thanks to all of you that gave it was exciting to
be a part of that.
Speaking of the PAC, over this next year the board and
staff will be hitting the locals talking about how
important our PAC is. Our pensions are at the front of
the firing lines not only here in Texas, but across the
nation. Those PAC funds will help the legislative team
battle that, and many other issues that will have a
direct impact on our jobs and livelihood. You can give
to the PAC directly by going to the web site.
Our Charity had a great night at the Conference as
well. We hope everyone had a great time and we’re
looking forward to next year. One of the benefits
TMPA Charities provides members is the ability for
their children to apply for scholarships. I had the
privilege in sitting on our scholarship committee at
conference. We had over 90 applications submitted
with 73 reviewed by the committee. My thanks to the
committee members who volunteered their time to
review these applicants. It was amazing to read those
applications, and I can tell you the decisions were
tough. We wished we could have given scholarships to
each one of them, my congratulations to each
recipient and to their families.
For those of you that don’t know about our
scholarships I’d like to expand on it. TMPA each year
gives out eleven 1,500, one 3,000, and one 5,000
scholarship at our yearly conference. If you are a
TMPA member your kids are eligible to apply.
Applications are accepted from January to June then
reviewed and brought to the conference. Joyce
Rickard has been the heart of this program since the
early 90’s. Joyce, thank you so much for all you do. I
encourage each of you that have kids going into
college or in college to apply. You can find the link on
our web site.
The trainings provided at our Conference this year
were excellent as well. I want to thank College Station
PD for presenting their shooting incident to the
members and thank them for the bravery all of those
officers displayed through that ordeal, our thoughts
and prayers to each and every one of you. May all of
you all be safe out there in your daily duties.
Another thing we as officers seldom think of is an
accidental policy for ourselves and families. I can tell
you from just going through an off duty injury, the
accidental policy does help. It has allowed assistance
in paying for those medical expenses, so I encourage
you to consider it. Most agencies like Grand Prairie
offer a supplemental accidental policy or you can
check the TMPA web site under benefits to see what is
offered to you as members as a discounts from
carriers.
I’m humbled and again honored to be a part of your
organization. I can assure you we will continue our
great service to you the member and our
communities. We were very excited to unveil the new
TMPA truck to you at conference; it’s definitely gotten
a lot of attention. We hope to get it to as many
agencies as possible very soon.
I look forward to another successful year for TMPA as
our growth will only continue to grow while our
dedication to you will remain strong and sound.
Thank You, God Bless.
5
Let Us Never Forget Those Heroes
Thank You for Your Dedicated Service
Eddie Chavarria, Region 5 Director [email protected]
The 2013 TMPA
Conference was, in my
opinion, a great success. I
would like to thank the
TMPA Executive Board,
TMPA Staff and the TMPA Board Members who took part
in putting this Conference together. The events and
training that were put on this year were outstanding. I
was told that this was the highest attendance for the
Conference thus far and I hope to surpass those numbers
next year. This years’ Conference theme was Remember
the Fallen. Let us never forget those heroes who made
the ultimate sacrifice. Let us keep the families that were
left behind in our thoughts and prayers always because
they too sacrificed their loved ones for this State. I would
like to thank all of you who serve the people of this State
and may God and his angels be a shield of protection
over you as you serve your communities and counties.
6
I am proud to announce that our numbers within the
State are growing and it is all due in part to our
commitment to service. I would like to thank the TMPA
Executive Board, TMPA Staff, TMPA Field Reps and the
TMPA Board Members who are out there on the front
lines serving the members of this great State of Texas.
TMPA’s dedication to service is the reason why we as an
association are approaching the 20,000 member mark.
I would like to thank the members from Region 5 who
were in attendance. I hope to increase our Region 5
numbers next year. I would also like to thank my local
membership and the members in Region 5 for allowing
me to serve another term as the Regional Director. If
there is anything I can ever do to better serve you, the
members of Region 5, just let me know. Thank you for
your dedicated service for “Those who make peace sow
the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.” James 3:18
Membership Growth
in Dallas County
Focus Remains on Customer Service
Jeff Heinemeyer, Region 7B Director [email protected]
We just wrapped up another annual conference and once
again it was well attended. It was nice to see so many of
the “regulars” as well as numerous new folks. Part of
what makes our association the best in the nation is the
amount of involvement from our membership. Another
key component to our success is our amazing staff. Our
staff works extremely hard on a daily basis and truly
believes in the mission of our association. I want to
thank all of our staff for their hard work and dedication
to our association and our members. I would also like to
thank everyone who was able to attend the conference
and for those who were not able to attend, I look
forward to meeting you at our conference next year.
Travis Hammond and myself were re-elected as Regional
Directors for Region 7, Dallas County. Our membership
continues to grow statewide and Dallas County is no
exception. While looking at our continued growth, your
Board of Directors recently decided that satellite field
reps would be in the best interest of our membership.
Our executive staff is in the process of implementing this,
with the first satellite field rep being in the Dallas/Ft.
Worth area.
As exciting as it is that we are approaching twenty
thousand members, our focus continues to be providing
our membership the best customer service possible.
Travis and I will have quarterly meetings with our
members in Region 7, Dallas County. We will have
quarterly meetings that coincide with the quarterly
TMPA Board of Directors meetings. We are asking the
President or a point of contact from every agency or
local association within Dallas County to contact one of
us, with your contact information. Should you have any
questions or need one of us to attend a local event, feel
free to call or email. Thank you for the opportunity to
serve you for another year.
Thank You Region 7 Members
It Has Been a Very Busy Past Few Months
Travis Hammond, Region 7A Director [email protected]
I want to thank all Region
7 members who again supported me this year at the
annual TMPA Conference, and for the support of those
members who could not attend. With your support, I
was elected for a second term, as one of two Region 7
Directors. I would also like to thank all of the staff
from TMPA for all of their hard work on making the
conference a success. This conference would not have
occurred without the help and dedication of each and
every one of you. Also, thank you to the board
members who gave of their time for the conference.
During the conference I was able to meet with
delegates from Region 7, to include Garland, two
organizations from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office,
with new recruits. We also met with Region 10
Director, Chris Ceballos, and the Arlington Municipal
Patrolman’s Association in reference to their meet and
confer.
Field rep Dick Brock, now 4th VP James Babb and I
have met a couple times with the Dallas County
Sheriff’s Coalition, which includes 5 different
organizations, about their pay and benefits.
Irving held an Officer Rights (critical incident) class
that included attorneys from the Lyon, Gorsky, Haring,
Gilbert & Livingston Law firm, along with Field Reps
Clint McNear and Dick Brock. Myself, along with more
than 40 officers from the DFW area, were in
attendance. This training was held for all peace
officers, members and non-members.
The Irving Detention Officers, along with the Irving PA,
hosted a benefit for a detention officer who had been
out sick with a life threatening illness. Field Reps Noel
Johnson, Clint McNear and myself, were in attendance.
Now President Josh Thrukill, past President David
Russell, field rep Dick Brock and I, were able to attend
an event for Attorney General , Greg Abbott. If you
have an event that you would like any of us to attend,
Carrollton, DART, Dallas County DA’s Office,
Irving, and the Dallas County Constable’s
Office. I also met and spoke with the
President of the State FOP Lodge.
Region 7 has been very busy over the past
few months. Field Rep Clint McNear and I
met with Garland POA’s new board members
to introduce ourselves and welcome them.
We also met with Irving’s PA for a membership drive
with new recruits as well. In addition, Field Reps Dick
Brock, Clint McNear and I met with Dallas County DA’s
office to speak with them about the benefits of TMPA
membership. Field Rep Dick Brock and I met with
Grand Prairie’s Police Association and the Dallas
County Sheriff’s Association for membership drives
please let myself, Jeff or the field reps know so we can
make arrangements to attend.
One last thing, please remember we need PAC
contributions so that we can continue the fight on the
hill for what matters to police officers. Even a couple
dollars a month will go a long way towards the cause.
7
64 Annual
th
Conference
Sunday, July 28th
Delegation voted for board positions and
attended trainings. Attorney General Greg Abbott
addressed the delegation and swore in our Board
of Directors at lunch after TMPA endorsed his
campaign for Governor. The Sunday evening banquet honored
fallen Texas officers with an Honor Guard and bagpipes before
scholarships were awarded. Senator Glenn Hegar was our
keynote speaker and TMPA endorsed his run for Comptroller.
Following the banquet, everyone socialized in the hospitality
room for a fundraiser and karaoke.
Thank You Attendees!
Thank you to everyone who donated, over $8,900 was
raised for TMPA Charities and $10,000 will be donated to
the Texas Peace Officers Memorial.
Friday, July 26th
Opening ceremony followed by dinner,
drinks, live music and dancing at Stage on
6th in downtown Austin.
TMPA Unveiled Our New
Memorial Truck
The memorial truck will travel to many events throughout
the state to remind everyone of those fallen officers who
made the ultimate sacrifice. The truck will also travel
annually to Washington D.C. for Police Week. A special thank
you to Gas Monkey Garage and 360 Wraps for their help
creating this moving memorial.
Saturday,
July 27th
Membership
presentations,
trainings and nominations
accepted for board of
director positions.
Snapshot of Bills from the 83rd Session
Thank You Legislators Who Visited the Conference
Lon Craft, Director of Legislative Affairs [email protected]
TMPA Bills and
Supported Bills
HB 124 by Rep. Anderson,
TMPA Supported, Effective
September 1, 2013
Relates to the addition of Salvia
divinorum and its derivatives and
extracts to Penalty Group 3 of the Texas
Controlled Substance Act.
10
The 83rd regular session is complete and all the special
sessions are done and in the books. The TMPA 64th
annual conference has come and gone and I want to
thank our special guests who stopped by and met
with the delegates. Attorney General Greg Abbott
stopped by and we were honored that he swore in the
new board of directors. It was also an honor to give
him the TMPA endorsement on his campaign for
Governor. Senator Hegar was the keynote speaker
Sunday evening and TMPA proudly endorsed him in
the Comptroller race.
For those who are asking yourselves why we care
about the Comptroller race, let me give you an
example. The Comptroller is the office that certifies
the budget. This means that the loose funds and the
auto theft task force funds that we rely on for training
and funding are in play. TMPA wants a true friend to
law enforcement to hold that office so they can help
preserve the money that is set aside for law
enforcement training and funding, someone like
Senator Glenn Hegar.
I want to thank Representative Jason Villalba for
stopping by and saying hello to delegation as well.
The list of bills is by no way complete but just a
snapshot of some of the issues that we dealt with
during the regular session. I hope you find it helpful,
please contact me with any questions. And remember
that our legislative efforts would not be possible
without your donations to the PAC. Please consider
setting up monthly contributions to help us continue
to protect your interests, as little as $1 a month goes a
long way.
HB 434 by Rep. Riddle, TMPA Supported, Effective
September 1, 2013
Relates to the persons authorized to take a blood
specimen from a vehicle operator to test for alcohol
concentration or other intoxicating substances. This
bill adds Paramedics to the list of those who can draw
blood provided it is in the medical protocol for that
EMS group.
HB 555 by Rep. Caligari, TMPA Supported, Effective
September 1, 2013
Relates to certain criminal offenses for violations of
the law regulating metal recycling entities. This bill
creates a General Criminal penalty of a Class M-C.
SB 686 by Rep.
Huffman, TMPA
Supported, Effective
January 1, 2014
Changes the name of
the Texas
Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer
Standards and
Education to the
Texas Commission
on Law
Enforcement.
Criminal Justice or a prosecutor’s office, or judges and
their spouses. This bill increases the safety of officers
and their families.
SB 965 by Sen. Williams, TMPA Supported, Effective
September 1, 2013
Relates to the correction of employment termination
reports for law enforcement officers. This bill allows
the F-5 to be signed by the Director of TCOLE
(formerly TCLOSE) when ordered changed by the
admin judge in a SOSA hearing and orders the new F5 to be put into the personnel file at the former
agency.
HB 8 by Rep. Thompson, TMPA Supported, Effective
September 1, 2013
HB 625 by Rep. Harper-Brown, TMPA Supported
September 1, 2013
Relates to the prosecution and punishment of
offenses related to trafficking of persons and to
certain protections for victims of trafficking of
persons. This bill enhances protective orders for
those victims of trafficking.
Relates to the penalty for the operation of a vehicle
without a license plate. This bill put back the penalty
for not having a front license plate as many of you
have been made painfully aware by municipal court
prosecutors who did not want to read all of the traffic
code.
HB 1009 by Rep. Villalba, TMPA Bill, Effective
Immediately
This bill became a TMPA bill after discussions with
Rep. Villalba to make the bill stronger and safer. It
relates to the creation of a new category of law
enforcement officer who shall be designated a school
marshal, the training and appointment of certain
employees as school marshals, the authorizing, rights,
restrictions, limitations and responsibilities of school
marshals. This program will emphasize strategies for
preventing school shootings and for securing the
safety of potential victims to help make schools safer.
HB 1016 by Rep. Davis, TMPA Bill, Effective
Immediately
This bill states that a municipality or a school district
or other special purpose district shall provide a
municipal or district employee who is a peace officer,
fire fighter or emergency medical services employee
with legal counsel without cost to the employee to
defend the employee against a suite for damages by a
party other than a government entity.
HB 1632 by Rep. Fletcher, TMPA Bill, Effective
Immediately
Relates to the confidentiality of certain identifying
information of peace officers, county jailers, security
officers, employees of the Texas Department of
SB 1114 by Sen. Whitmire, TMPA Supported,
Effective September 1, 2013
TMPA supported this bill after being allowed to
change the language. It relates to the prosecution of
certain misdemeanor offenses committed by children
and to school district law enforcement. This bill states
that a law enforcement officer may not issue a
citation or file a complaint in the manner provided by
Article 45.018 for conduct by a child younger than 12
years of age that is alleged to have occurred on school
property. The bill changed the language from 6th
grade to 12 years of age, made reporting changes for
ISD officers and included many other positive
changes.
11
83rd Legislative Session Report
New Crime
SB 743 by Sen. Nelson, Effective date: 9/1/13
Relating to the penalties prescribed for repeated
violations of certain court orders or conditions of
bond in a family violence case.
PC Sec. 25.07: violation of certain court orders or
conditions of bond in a family violence case
PC Sec. 25.072: repeated violation of certain court
orders or conditions of bond in family violence
cases
CCP Art.5.07: venue for protective order
12
SB 743 amends the Penal Code to create the third
degree felony offense of repeated violation of certain
court orders or bond conditions in a family violence
case for a person who, during a period that is 12
months or less in duration, two or more times
engages in conduct that constitutes such a violation.
The bill requires a jury to agree unanimously that the
defendant engaged in that conduct during that period
and sets out the circumstances under which a
defendant may be convicted in the same criminal
action of another related offense and under which a
defendant may not be charged with more than one
count of the repeated violation offense. The bill
establishes penalty enhancements for the offense of
violating a court order or bond condition in a family
violence case for a defendant who has previously
been convicted two or more times of the repeated
violation offense or one time of each of those offenses.
New Punishment Enhancements
Tampering with a Witness, SB 1360 by Sen.
Rodriguez, Effective 9/1/13
Relating to the punishment for the offense of
tampering with a witness and the evidence that may
be offered to show that offense.
PC Sec. 36.05: tampering with witness
CCP Art.38.48: evidence in prosecution for
tampering with witness or prospective witness
involving family violence
SB 1360 amends the Penal Code as it relates to the
punishment of tampering with a witness and the
evidence that may be offered to show that offense.
Under the provisions of the bill, the punishment for
tampering will be enhanced to a second-degree
felony from a third-degree felony or the most
serious offense charged in the criminal case if the
proceeding involves family violence or the
defendant has previously been convicted of an
offense involving family violence.
Reporting Child Abuse, HB 1205 by Rep. Parker,
Effective 9/1/13
Relating to the offense of failure to report abuse or
neglect of a child.
Family Code Sec. 261.109: failure to report;
penalty
HB1205 amends the Family Code to clarify the
conduct that constitutes an offense relating to
failure of a person to report abuse or neglect of a
child. The bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor
offense for certain specified professionals to
knowingly fail to make such a report and enhances
the penalty for such an offense to a state jail felony
if it is shown on trial of the offense that the actor
intended to conceal the abuse or neglect.
“Justin’s Law”, HB 1302 by Rep. Clardy,
Effective 9/1/13
Relating to the imposition of a sentence of life
without parole on certain repeat sex offenders and
to certain restrictions on employment for certain
sex offenders.
CCP Art.42.015: finding of age of victim.
CCP Art.42.12: community supervision.
CCP Art.62.053: prerelease notification.
CCP Art.62.063: prohibited employment
PC 12.42 penalties for repeat and habitual felony
offenders on trial for first, second, or third degree
felony.
The bill, dubbed “Justin’s Law,” was prompted by
the 2010 death of 12-year-old Justin Bloxom who
was kidnapped and killed in Louisiana by a twiceconvicted sex offender who drove a cab and used
text messages to lure the boy into his taxi.
Life without parole: HB1302 would institute life
without parole for convictions for a sexually violent
offense, as defined by the bill, if the offender had a
previous conviction for a sexually violent offense.
Sexually violent offense would be defined as
continuous sexual abuse of a young child or
aggravated sexual assault or any of the following
offenses committed by a person at least 17 years
old against a child younger than 13 years old:
• human trafficking of children involving certain
sex offenses;
• indecency with a child involving sexual contact,
sexual performance by a child;
HB 2637 addresses the use of identity theft by sex
offenders trying to avoid the oversight of the sex
offender registry. The bill increases the
punishments for failing to comply with the state’s
sex offender registry requirements and for attempts
to commit this offense if done with the fraudulent
use of identifying information in violation of the
Penal Code, sec. 32.51 provisions on identity theft.
The punishments would be increased to the next
highest felony.
The bill also would increase the punishments for
the offense of fraudulently using or possessing the
identifying information of another if the identifying
information were used with the intent to facilitate a
violation of the sex offender registry requirements.
Current state jail, third-degree, and second-degree
felony punishments would be increased to the next
highest category.
• aggravated kidnapping with sexual intent; and
• burglary of a habitation with intent to commit
third-degree felony indecency with a child,
prohibited sexual conduct, or certain other
felony sex crimes.
Prohibited employment for certain sex offenders:
Prohibit persons subject to the state’s sex offender
registry for convictions of sexually violent offenses,
as defined in Code of Criminal Procedure,
Art.62.001(6), with victims younger than 13 years
old from working for compensation in certain jobs.
Registrants would be prohibited from:
• driving or offering to drive a bus
• driving or offering to drive a taxicab or
limousine
• providing or offering to provide any type of
service in another’s home
Stacked Sentences
HB 220 by Rep. Price, Effective 9/1/13
Relating to consecutive sentences for certain
offenses involving injury to a child, an elderly
individual, or a disabled individual and arising out
of the same criminal episode.
PC Sec. 3.03: sentences for offenses arising out of
same criminal episode
HB 220 would amend Penal Code, sec. 3.03 to allow
concurrent or consecutive “stacked” sentences for
convictions or plea agreements for the offense of
causing serious bodily injury or serious mental
deficiency, impairment, or injury to a child, elderly
person, or disabled person that was punishable as a
first-degree felony (life in prison or a sentence of
five to 99 years and an optional fine of up to
$10,000).
• operating or offering to operate an amusement
ride.
Identity Theft by Sex Offenders, HB 2637 by Rep.
Frullo, Effective 9/1/13
Relating to the fraudulent use of identifying
information by certain sex offenders; providing
criminal penalties.
CCP Article 62.102: failure to comply with
registration requirement
PC Section 32.51: fraudulent use or possession of
identifying information
This article is a shortened version, to read the
full legislature statute update please visit the
news page of www.tmpa.org.
Information provided by: Texas Legislative Online
(bill analysis), TCDAA 2013-2015 Legislative
Update by Shannon Edmunds, Legislative Update
Reports and Presentations by: Texas Municipal
Police Association, Texas Association Against Sexual
Assault, Texas Council on Family Violence, Children at
Risk, Tex Protects.
13
LEADRS Supports Faces of Drunk
Driving Campaign
Continues to Expand and Improve System
Kearstyn Takemoto, Program Assistant [email protected]
LEADRS Highlights
to improve successful prosecution rates in their
district.
LEADRS Program Manager, Bryan Bell, and LEADRS
Instructors, Shawn Newsom and Caleb Williams,
were excited to attend the Sheriffs’ Association of
Texas’s 135th Annual Training Conference and Expo.
This conference took place in Corpus Christi from
July 20th through the 23rd. LEADRS staff joined a
record number of vendors exhibiting at this year’s
conference. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the
Sheriffs’ Conference or stop by the LEADRS booth,
make sure to visit our booth and say hello at the
upcoming TCOLE 2013 Training Coordinator’s
Conference this October!
What is LEADRS?
14
LEADRS is proud to support the Texas Department
of Transportation’s 2013 Faces of Drunk Driving
campaign. This campaign is focused around the
Fourth of July holiday and includes TV, theater,
radio and online PSAs in English and Spanish which
feature the pictures and stories of the victims of
drunk driving. Staff attended the June 26th launch of
this campaign and will continue to support the
efforts of TxDOT to reduce impaired driving
throughout the year. More information can be found
on the campaign’s website at
FacesofDrunkDriving.com.
On July 16th the LEADRS program implemented new
updates to its online system to further improve DWI
processing from the initial stop all the way through
the process of prosecution. Prosecutors across the
state can use the LEADRS system to view DWI and
BWI reports, write supplements, and track the
status of a case from the arrest all the way to the
final verdict and sentencing. Prosecutors also have
access to a series of reports that allows them to
analyze defendant demographics, the ratio of
misdemeanors to felonies, prosecution results, and
other statistical information that will enable them
The Law Enforcement Advanced DUI/DWI
Reporting System (LEADRS) is a free web-based
reporting system developed in 2004 by the Texas
Municipal Police Association (TMPA) in conjunction
with the Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT). LEADRS allows peace officers to enter
arrest information online and print out case reports
and District Attorney-approved pre-filled forms
associated with DUI/DWI cases. Initially LEADRS
aimed to reduce DUI/DWI arrest reporting time by
30% but has since been found to reduce reporting
time by up to 50%.
Interested in Bringing LEADRS to
Your Agency?
Instructors are available to travel for free to any
agency in Texas for training. Officers who attend a
free LEADRS training will receive four hours of
TCLEOSE credit as well as a free LEADRS account.
Individual accounts may also be set up by
contacting our state office. For more information
about bringing LEADRS to your agency, please
contact the program via phone at 1-800-848-2088
or by e-mail at [email protected].
Distracted Driving Course Updated
Available Soon as a 4 Hour Course
Garry Parker and Lynda Walker, Law Enforcement Liaisons
TMPA is proud to announce the release of a newly
updated course, Distracted Driving for Law
Enforcement. After this course, Law Enforcement
Officers will realize the effect distracted driving can
have while operating emergency vehicles. The
potentially tragic consequences of distracted driving
should heighten their awareness so they can reshape
their attitudes/beliefs to adapt a self-disciplined
standard of focused attention to safe driving—as well as
influencing their peers, friends and families. Participants
will receive four hours of continuing education credit
through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
(TCOLE).
Over the last three years instructors working on the
Police Traffic Services grant have presented a two hour
version of this course across the state. Officers who have
attended this course said, “Material was excellent. This
is a difficult topic to listen to, and very difficult to
present. This needs to happen more often - annually.
You are doing a very valuable service, and as a
!
This class was a real eye opener.
Everyone needs to take this class
and watch these videos.
supervisor, I have been reminded of a very important
aspect of my job.”
One of the most frequent comments from attendees was
to extend the training to at least four hours. The Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) approved this
change and beginning October 1st 2013 the class will be
available to all Texas Law Enforcement Officers. This
course is completely grant funded so agencies can take
advantage of this training at no cost. If your agency is
committed to officer safety this course is a must. Please
join TxDOT and TMPA as we diligently spread this life
saving message.
Please contact Karisa Miller at [email protected]
or 512-279-7163 for more information on this course.
15
Help Us Serve You
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tmpa
Update your personal
information quickly by
visiting the website above
and be entered to win 1 of 3
$300 VISA Gift Cards!
16
TARLETON
STATE UNIVERSITY
Member of The Texas A&M University System
A Texas public university recognizing Law Enforcement Service
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Criminal Justice Administration
• 33 credits (no cost) for TCLEOSE, Military, Federal training
• NOT a degree in Liberal Studies, but a transcript/diploma degree in Criminal Justice
• A degree from a Texas public university NOT a “for profit private on-line school”
• Criminal Justice practitioners serve as Board of Directors to the degree
• The degree can be completed online, face-to-face, or a blend
Master of Criminal Justice
• Professional track 30 credit degree/10 classes
• No GRE required for criminal justice personnel
• Non-theses track
• Up to 12 credits can transfer from FBI-SPI-LEMIT
• The degree can be completed online, face-to-face, or a blend
To speak to a Department Specialist about your education 254-968-9024, we have also created a
Law Enforcement Only Phone Number at 254-968-9106, or you can email us at [email protected].
TMPA Charities Scholarships Awarded
Congratulations to Deserving Awardees
TMPA Charities awarded 13 college scholarships to
children or dependents of TMPA members for the
2013 – 2014 academic year on Sunday evening during
the Annual Conference.
Jaceb Fedro Scholarship
Taylor Newton,
daughter of Gary and Kim Newton, Grand Prairie PD
Jessica Lee, daughter of Larry Lee, Bellaire PD
$5,000 in memory of Jaceb Fedro who is an
Honorary Past President of TMPA. We met Jaceb
through the Make a Wish Foundation as he was
fighting a courageous battle with cancer. We were
grateful that Jaceb’s family attended our Conference
this year to help us award the $5,000 scholarship to
Katherine Richardson, daughter of Mark and Carol
Richardson, Pflugerville PD.
McLane Advisors Scholarship
$3,000 to Christopher Dlouhy,
son of Felix Dlouhy, Harris County SO.
$1,500 Scholarships
Nathan Dalmolin,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Bell, City of Manvel
About TMPA
TMPA is the voice of Texas law
enforcement. TMPA was founded
in 1950 and has protected the
interests of law enforcement
officers ever since. As the largest
law enforcement association in
Texas, TMPA is proud to
represent more than 19,000
local, county and state law
enforcement officers across
Texas. Focused on protecting
those who serve, TMPA is
committed to providing Texas
law enforcement officers with
unmatched legal protection,
reliable member support,
powerful political lobbying,
affordable training, effective
contract bargaining and a wide
variety of additional benefits.
Contact TMPA
TMPA State Office
6200 La Calma Dr., Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78752
Phone: (800) 848-2088
Fax: (866) 210-6173
[email protected]
Zachary Jacobs,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Jacobs, Brenham PD
Jenna Jacobs,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Jacobs, Brenham PD
Joshua Stewart,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Todd Stewart, Plano PD
Troy Grantham,
son of Bruce Grantham, Fort Worth PD
Amanda Denton,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Denton, Baytown PD
Madison Lee,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee, Humble PD
Stephen Johnson,
son of Kenneth Johnson, Irving PD
Paige Wallace,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steven Gilcrease,
Nacogdoches PD
Please contact us at any time; we
welcome the opportunity to visit
with you about our organization
and the benefits of joining TMPA.
TMPA.COPS
@TMPALegislative
TMPAsince1950
In Service Editor
Teresa Wasko
Please email
[email protected] for
subscription and advertising
information or to write an
editorial for In Service.
Texas Municipal Police
Association
www.tmpa.org
©2013 TMPA In Service
All rights reserved.
17
P.O. Box 2294
Austin, Texas 78768
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
PERMIT NO. 1131
AUSTIN, TX
LYON, GORSKY, HARING,
GILBERT & LIVINGSTON, L.L.P.
A Partnership Including a Professional Corporation
Bob Gorsky has been representing law enforcement officers for over 31
years and has been representing TMPA members for nearly 19 years. Firm
attorneys have over 90 years of collective experience representing law
enforcement officers and their families.
In addition to our representation of law enforcement officers in all types of
employment cases, we also represent law enforcement officers and their
families in the following legal matters:
• criminal defense
• automobile accidents
• wrongful death
• wills
• trucking accidents
• defective products
Contact: Bob Gorsky
(214) 965-0090 | Toll free (888) 711-2583 | Emergency pager (214) 786-4852
www.lyongorsky.com / www.lyongorskywills.com
3131 McKinney Avenue, Suite 100, Dallas, Texas 75204
Bob Gorsky, Mark Gilbert and John Haring
have again been named as Texas Super Lawyers and
Christopher Livingston has again been named as a Texas Super Lawyer
Rising Star by Law & Politics magazine!!
NO consultation fee for TMPA members and their families.
Robert C. Lyon is a member of Robert Lyon & Associates, P.C. and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and
John Haring is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
All other lawyers in the firm are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.