TAFT, Texas — The city of Taft is officially without a police chief.
After four consecutive attempts, Taft city officials have fired Taft Police Chief John Landreth during a special city council meeting on Friday, April 11.
A previous attempt to terminate Landreth's employment failed last month, with council members Keeney and Molina voting to fire him, while Garza and Castillo voted against the motion. It was the third attempt to fire the city's police chief in less than a year.
As KRIS 6 News previously reported, Taft City Council initiated an investigation into Landreth following an executive session on March 18, where city officials claimed they felt threatened by a statement Landreth made.
During public comment, neighbors came out in support of the Chief. Lauren McGee drove from Austin to be speak on the Chief's behalf, "There are a lot of people here that want to see the Chief stay here." McGee adding, “I really don’t want to be here on a Friday night for this.”
Margaret Harris has been a resident of Taft since 1980. “This is the first time I felt safe with the police department.”
Another resident adding, “When you look yourself in the mirrors tonight, ask yourselves, 'What are your legacies as councilmen? What did you do to make our lives better?'”
In documents obtained by 6 Investigates, Landreth allegedly made a threat to city employees he had filed a grievance with, which included city manager Ryan Smith, city secretary Jessica Gonzales and city attorney Thomas Gwodsz.
Five sworn affidavits from city officials all contained nearly identical descriptions of Landreth's alleged statement: "I'll resolve this right now, I've got a rope in my truck, let's find a tree."
Gwodsz conducted the investigation and provided witness statements from council members with each providing statements with identical word-for-word accounts of the alleged incident.
Following public comment, Gwodsz went through each affidavit and explained,
"It is my recommendation that the city take remedial action if they determine that there is misconduct."
Mayor Pro-Tem Elida Castillo said that what occurred behind closed doors was not the case.
Castillo wrote in her official statement, "The chief was discussing how this was the third time his job was in jeopardy, yet we didn't have documentation or evidence that he wasn't doing his job. It was during this time that he mentioned how tired he was and if the city wanted to bring back corporal punishment, there was a tree outside and he had a rope in his truck," Castaillo said in a statement obtained by KRIS 6 News. "I took it as the Chief was referring to himself. His job had just been on the line and he felt like he was constantly being attacked."
"Was the Chief's comment inappropriate? yes. Would I have said this? Probably not. Did I feel how frustrated and tired he was? Absolutely. I don't want to disregard or lessen the ways others were feeling, but I did not take the comment in the way they did," Castillo stated.
However, Gwosdz revealed during the meeting that Castillo's statement was not under oath as she did not raise her right hand prior to giving her sworn statement. Neighbors in attendance quickly raised concerns over an inaccurate date listed on all the sworn testimonies of the other city employees, to which Gwosdz said it was a "typo".
With no council members raising any additional questions, Chris Keeney made the motion to terminate Landreth effective immediately. Despite neighbors and Castillo voicing opposition, Keeney, Alonzo Molina and Isiah Garza voted in favor of termination. Mayor Leonard Vasquez abstained from voting given he was not present for the meeting in question.
No word has been made by the city regarding Landreth's replacement or how his termination will affect the police department moving forward.
