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TCLEOSE – Texas Commission On Law Enforcement

At the end of the day, the law simply does not matter. It is all about politics. All politics is local, and politics is always driven by money. That may not be right, but that is how things work in the world you and I live in.

Who Is On First?
What you may not realize is that, when it comes to public officials, you are the most politically powerful person in the building. Your public officials are well aware of that fact and do everything they can to keep you from realizing your ability to influence local politics. More about traffic tickets in San Antonio

TCLEOSE Is On the Second

Professional conduct complaints are the police officer’s greatest professional fear. Sure, you can complain to the chief of police, the mayor, the city council, or even internal affairs, but the problem is: they all have their snouts in the same trough. The Texas Commission On Law Enforcement (TCLEOSE), now that is a whole other animal. When you file a professional conduct complaint against an officer, the Texas Commission On Law Enforcement will get that complaint and send you a letter essentially telling you that your complaint does not rise to the level of misconduct and that is a good thing.

Capitalism Works If You Know How To Work It
In the end, your real remedy will not come from the system itself, but rather, from the insurance companies. It is the nature of the insurance business that they charge as high a premium as they can get away with and then avoid paying any claims. They set bond ratings for police officers primarily by the number of TCLEOSE complaints they have. If an officer gets a TCLEOSE complaint and fails to report it, the officer is not covered if that person sues.

They Made Their Own Mess

The problem the police have is one they created for themselves. The commission will almost never discipline an officer. They will label almost any complaint you file as not rising to the level of misconduct. They protect their constituents and that is a good thing.

Risk Management

The insurance carrier knows this, so how are they to gauge their level of risk, by valid complaints? Heck, the commission labels them all as insufficient. By the numbers. Valid, invalid, they don’t care. A complaint is a reason to raise the rates, and they do so want to raise the rates.
All Are Punished. It gets worse. It is not the rate for the particular officer that gets raised, but rather, the rate for the department. If an officer gets too many professional conduct complaints, the rating for the entire department will go up. It will make the officer unemployable.

Plausible Deniability

We fully understand that the problem with traffic enforcement is not the officer who wrote the citation. Most would much rather be out chasing bad guys rather than annoying and alienating the general public they are trying to serve. They rationalize their behavior by claiming they are promoting safety, but they know full well that is not the case. It is all about an unauthorized tax exacted by the local jurisdictions so they can buy the toys the taxpayers would not grant funds for. When an officer gets a professional conduct complaint about following a flawed policy, the officer has the standing to raise an issue about the policy.

The Police Will Police Management
When a police officer’s professional credentials are threatened by a flawed policy, the officer will have the standing to challenge the policy and set things to right.