3 BAILIFFS THWARTED ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED LAS VEGAS JUNKET: NO COURTROOM SECURITY CREDIT ON THEIR RECORD

By Juan Montoya

Last October, three Cameron County courtroom bailiffs pressed the commissioners court to approve their request to attend "legislatively mandated" active-shooter court security courses in Las Vegas, Nev. claiming there was nowhere else to get them.

A reluctant commissioners court grudgingly approved their travel and transportation on the condition that the courses were approved by the Texas Commission On Law Enforcement (TCOLE).

The bailiffs then produced a vaguely-worded acknowledgement by Legal Liability and Risk Management Institute (LLRMI) – the instruction vendor – that their courses were routinely approved by TCOLE.

The seminar lasted three days - from October 21 to October 24 - and the county paid for the training costs ($525 a shot), their flights ($59 each on Allegiant Airlines) and hotel costs ($50 per night). That's right, the gamblers' special.

But the bailiff's effort to get the taxpayers to fund the junket were thwarted when a Asst. D.A. was assigned to look into the accreditation matter and was of the opinion that the courses offered during that time did not merit TCOLE accreditation. When that opinion was received, Garza grudgingly withdrew his request and cancelled the trip.

And guess what? As of today, almost four months later after they tried to take their taxpayer-funded junket, there is no record of them receiving any credit for the "training" they said they would receive in Lost Wages.

Neither bailiffs Leofredo Pena, Joe C. Garza nor Joel Garcia's training records show any credits for what was supposed to be courtroom security.

The tree said that although Pct. 2 Constable Abel Gomez sponsored accredited mandatory Courtroom Security training at Texas Southmost College at $30 per courthouse bailiff who participated, they were not invited, an assertion that Gomez denied at the time.

Garza said the three were were treated as "the red-headed stepchild" by the constable.

When Cameron County Asst. District Attorney Rene Garza presented it to the commission, he cloaked it under the guide of "active shooter" training, only to be contradicted by J.C. Garza who told commissioners it was actually courtroom security.

Well, guess what? It was neither. The courses that LLRMI offered in Las Vegas during that time dealt with homicide investigations, supervision, internal affairs and administration, and risk management.

There was not one word about courtroom security.

Just one week before the three bailiffs made the request for travel and lodging to Las Vegas, the training for Courtroom Security was offered in San Antonio and several bailiffs attended. And the Brownsville Police Department regularly holds courtroom "active-shooter" training seminars locally.

The idea that county employees would choose to attend training classes in Las Vegas when it is offered locally did not sit well with County Judge Eddie Trevino who told bailiff Garza he did not want to set a precedent and did not want to "send the wrong message" to county taxpayers by sending them for training in Las Vegas.

"I have been told that this training is offered locally and in the state and that (Pct. 2) Constable (Abel) Gomez has offered it twice. Were you not invited?"

Garza replied that the bailiffs not under Gomez were treated as "the red-headed stepchild" by the constable and said that the Vegas flight and hotel rooms were actually lower than if he had sent them to training in Austin or San Antonio.

Pct. 3 commissioner David Garza said that in looking through the backup documentation handed in for the travel request there was no mention of TCOLE accreditation for the training and said he would make the motion to approve the travel contingent upon proof that it was.

Pct. 2 commissioner Joey Lopez seconded the motion based upon documentation of the training credits by TCOLE.

At the time There were also some raised eyebrows because County Court-At-Law #3 Leofredo Pena is a candidate for Pct. 5 Constable and the trip gave an appearance that he was chosen to go to Las Vegas as part of his election campaign. Joel Garcia, of the 138th, may not be the courtroom bailiff after his boss Judge Arturo Nelson retires. And J.C. Garza is a bit old to be taking that kind of training now.

According to the TCOLE website there are two 24-month periods in the current training cycle which ends on August 31, 2021.

The first 24-month period, or unit, began on September 1, 2017 and ended on August 31, 2019. The second 24-month period, or unit, began on September 1, 2019 and ends on August 31, 2021, which is also the conclusion date of the 48-month training cycle.

TCOLE also warns participants that an individual not appointed with an agency will have to receive training from an academy or contract training provider.

They also advice participants that training completed outside of those resources will not be able to be reported for credit to the individual’s record and to check with the training facility prior to completing the course to ensure proper credit can and will be obtained.

As a result, neither training supervisor Pct. 2 Constable Abel Gomez or the training officer with the Cameron County Sheriff's Dept. cannot submit them for accreditation for training credit with the TCOLE.

"Those courses are not mandatory," Gomez said. "I couldn't submit them for training credit for them because they won't get it."

So if there were no court security courses during that time, and the courses that were being offered were not "legislatively mandated" and cannot be used as training credits for court bailiffs, why would they expect county taxpayers to foot the bill to give these three employees a nice vacation at their expense after having had their property taxes raised by the county?

Curses, said the three, foiled again!