Thank you. This was my question as well. Maybe the money they were bringing in harassing the citizens outweighed the need to investigate. The mayor & council needs to be investigated as well.
How could Mayor Blackstone act like he's not aware of the numerous police cars and officers in his town? The people who live there certainly were aware. I believe that the mayor and others were in on this money-making traffic ticket racket. My parents lived in a small town of 2,500. They have two police officers. For over 50 years, just two officers were needed. I agree with the commenters here about that this is what journalism should be.
What really needs to happen is AMERICA needs a National Registry for Bad Officers fired for dishonourable service. So they can never apply at another Agency to continue their abuse. Time to hold these thugs with badges ACCOUNTABLE.
I agree 100%. Law enforcement is one of the three top careers that domestic abusers go into. That means there are too many who are there for the power of it. We need to have a registry to keep track of them all.
I mean, that sounds fe'd up but until they are arrested themselves they still have to do their job right? So like if they have an Active warrant are they not suppose to chase down the guy that just robbed you if you ask them for assistance and it happens to be a a-hole cop? Many bad cops actually do parts of their job, they're just bad and we don't know until they're exposed, then there are a-hole cops whom are just all around bad and don't do their job at all. Your parents or guardians were hypocrites at times raising you, did you say "uh uh guys, you guys lied before, no punishment for me alright, better luck next incident".
It doesn't take much. The cops are a criminal gang that use the same tricks everywhere. If you can think more than 1 to 2 steps ahead, and you have the truth, you can easily expose them as the sadistic thugs they are.
@@davidadausuel4537It gets way worse, they need to investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!! investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!!
What needs investigating is why a village of 250 people NEEDS a mayor or a city (???) council. How can the village afford to pay for all that hot air ?. I can envisage a time in the future when the village has become a ghost town, yet still has a mayor, and a swarm of law upholders chasing non corporial residents for traffic violations.
No investigation necessary. Mayors & city council members are elected. Residents who don’t like the way their town is run can simply elect the next non-incumbent in every one of these positions. Get the right people in there, run it your way, then blame yourself if it fails to improve. Problem solved without an investigation.
Over a million dollars in traffic fines in one year, in a town that small. Yeah, they knew something was going on. Right now, they are trying to cover their own butts. I agree, remove them to.
Money printer goes Brrrrrr. A million dollars a year. It was a "printing press" PD. The town absolutely knew it was happening. The money made questions stop. It's frightening to think what could've happened. They could've literally taken that entire town hostage if they felt the need. khou just saved 250 people in all likelihood.
Don’t stop with the police chief. The Mayor and city council members knew what was going on and should be investigated for where all that money was going.
There are so many of these corrupt PDs in this country. It's a well-known fact that cops get fired and just go to another county or state and get rehired. Good ol' boys network.
Exactly. The killing of American journalism of the mid 2000s and on has had far reaching impacts and one of them is accountability of public officials. The killing of American journalism was a watershed moment in history. It arose from corporations buying newspapers, news stations, and such. They targeted and dismantled investigative journalism and any other apparatus that was holding them accountable.
@@pamsing3012Someone slipped up? Like the Mayor of Coffee City who hired this guy & defended him for years? $1 million in city tax revenues is enough to look the other way!
Is no one going to talk about the elephant in the room? This whole setup was to make a ton of money for the city and the mayor is neck deep in it. They were racking in over a million $$$ in traffic fines to mostly out of town people passing through, by issuing speed trap tickets and then hounding them for payment like lone sharks. This whole city needs to be investigated.
I figured traffic fines were the cash cow that motivated this arrangement. Probably most of the town's budget came from that source so like you say how could the mayor be unaware. Amazing it didn't occur to this reporter to question how this small town could afford to pay so many cops.
Over 1million however since coffee city is a transit through place alot are from out of town or even state. Which is why most of the 50 cops are"performance driven" that don't live in that city and work remotely a few days a week part-time and are paid for each one they close out and collect on. Pretty shitty and completely corrupt. I don't think the city is bringing in that full amount but you would be pretty hands off to not notice what's happening from a books/budget perspective.
I remember going through the process of becoming a police officer for LAPD. I was in the final stages of making it to the academy. All I needed to complete was a psychological evaluation. To my surprise, I failed. Interestingly, the detective who was assigned to do my background investigation as a candidate, once said to me: "You look like someone I would feel confident and safe partnering with today. Unfortunately, there are candidates that I wouldn't say the same for, but they will make it through somehow. A lot of the candidates that I believe have good potential to be great officers will not get the opportunity to." I suspect, one of the issues in the police hiring process is the psychological evaluation. Videos like these, support my suspicions.
Jeremy Rogalski is one of the best interigator/interviewers I've ever seen. He never batted an eyelid interviewing that cop. And it is obvious by the wash-up, of this sordid business, that he is an indefatigable worker. Well done, JR!
True, but the problem is local news (television, radio, and newspapers) are underfunded or owned by political leaning entities. Sinclair Broadcasting is a right wing company that owns probably the most. They broadcast shows by Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others. We saw the numbers of bad officers from January 6 and hear bad stories all of the time. Their union needs to go as well as qualified immunity. That's what allows bad cops to relocate and continue bad behavior. Thank God for RIng cameras and cell phones, but we've all seen crimes by cops and politicians still go unpunished. Bad cops must be locked up and banned period!
Local tend to be less bias and foolish than National or main stream big ones because they aren't elitist-like reporters or more directly in contact with the top of the news folk whom have narratives. Local news sometimes go rouge too lol we have the stories of news reporters revealing stuff locally on the day they quit and air it. If we're being honest, RUclipsrs are filling the gap of what Journalist use to be to society. Not random RUclipsrs, but dedicated ones that research and tell us the news unfiltered regardless of politics.
@@drjonesey5Not true. Local media is biased and easily influenced by their need to do their jobs, so they throw softball questions during interviews. An example is sports journalism. Local reporters won't ask tough questions to athletes and coaches because they know if the coach becomes annoyed, they won't grant an interview in the future. The reporter won't have a job anymore. OTOH, national reporters aren't influenced by this.
Mayor ought to resign too. Willful ignorance or complete incompetence ...which one is it? As the Mayor you ought to know what is going on with your own PD. I suspect that the Mayor (and city council) did know and let this go because of how lucrative the department was for their city budget.
Were all the traffic violations fabricated? If they were all valid, then it looks like good ol' Texans ain't so big on law and order. (We already know they're not)
I feel the mayor knows a lot more than he is leading to believe. He felt the heat and is now of the offense to not get tangled in the evil web!! But coffee county is alone. Many police dept behave this same way. They are the largest gang in the country.
Iy is not easy to get into the blue gang. But once you are in , you are guaranteed a job for life! Unless you refuse to get vaccinated for Covid; that is.
Local journalism isn’t a huge money maker but it deserves to be propped up when you get results like these. We can never let it die. Great investigation.
Great video, I am sure this is happening in many other places. 20 years as a police office, and I am saddened that someone could do this to a career I cherish. Very sad.
How cute that you want to insist politics aren’t a factor when the city council used the cops to extort their electorate. Sure bud. Nothing political about that.
This reporter should be nominated for a journalism award. Actual journalism that resulted in actual civic change?? That is unheard of these days. Bravo!!
Amazing Job! God bless all the hard work you do for our country. When everyone is scared of Law Enforcement, you stood up and practice justice against those that suppress us. God Bless your organization.
All police are just state-sanctioned gangs. Most of them are corrupt, and the same thing that happened here needs to happen all over this country. Abolition Reform is required. Disband them and then recreate a new law enforcement from scratch. The Germans didn’t reform the Gestapo after WWII, they abolished and replaced it.
They should investigate Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. Oh wait. A free press is certainly not free, it is own by oligarchs. A truly free press would be a mix that includes a REAL public press accountable to voting citizens directly, and any private press a rich person wants to buy for parasitism off of consumer-types.
Federal law should mandate that any cop who has criminal charges pending their certification is suspended. Found guilty their certification is the first to go.
The mayor and city council need to be investigated, as well. And a police department investigating itself - even with a new police chief - is just asking for more corruption. The county rep, Lance Gooden, is suspect, as well.
@@paalexsamaklyne1040you said god.. Lol. Santa Claus is great too then!? Smh... How can an adult be so dumb to believe in something sooo impossible n makes zero sense!? Victims...
Brilliant reporting with excellent results, congratulations from Australia. 👏👏👏👏👏 Glad the council took the right steps, but it seems rude the mayor wouldn't give the people who did all the work an interview when this problem was in place before he became mayor.
@@BxCortez2050the million dollars in ticket spread between the 50 cops is only 20k per. There salary has to be way more than that. So it has to be a loss.
-----They were loving all that sweet ticket money. Now investigate the court that enforced the tickets and the city council (past and present) that created this mess in the first place.
I’m not saying it’s not true, but most other police departments aren’t fully staffed and haven’t been for a long time. This is gross. This is wrong. Thanks for covering it.
Qualified immunity only works if the officers did not violate policy or clearly established law. If he/ she is outside that then there’s no qualified immunity. Qualified immunity exists to protect the people doing the right thing from frivolous action. It does not protect people doing the wrong thing. And a judge has to exam the case to determine if it applies or not.
I'm looking forward to a part 2 of this! Great work! I'm interested in hearing about charges for this ex-PC!!! No way he can do this and not have some charges! Great work, Jeremy!!! 👏🏻⚖️👏🏻
Imagine being the Mayor of a town with 50 police officers and not "fully understanding" where all the money you were paying them was going.... the mayor needs to go along with that whole council
The "mayor" of 250 people. LOL. He is probably getting a cut of the traffic tickets for his pay. People in charge of HOAs have more responsibility and more people to answer to. 250 people don't have the tax base to support 50 cops and a mayor and a city council. Their money is made by traffic violations. And half of the "cops" don't get paid at all. Paid from collecting outstanding tickets with a commision and moonlighting as security. This chief will make a good mob member. He would be considered a good "earner" with this ingenious racket. Amazing what you can do if you just get a few people together and incorporate yourself as a "town" in America. Legalize extortion under the guise of "policing". I wonder why the mob haven't thought of this.
The guy seemed to have innovative ways of making money for the town. They might have even been good, considering the investigative reporting didn't seem to find cases of actual misconduct by the Coffee City police . . . yet.
Yup I've seen it myself. A town cop got kicked off the force because of his terrible behaviour and within days he was hired by the county police department...
They hired a Florida fugitive. What ever happened to background checks? We civilians undergo them regularly before a hire. Excellent journalism KHOU! The residents of Coffee City can live a little easier now.
Still the fact he was arrested in FL should still show up when they do a background check. It sound like someone really dropped the ball and half their brains, because that arrest still should have showed up. He probably talked himself out it with his everyone deserve a second chance bs as his patrol officer arrested people because they cannot passed that road side sobriety test. What cops do not tell you the longer they have you do that eye thing, you eye tire and then start to spasm and twitch, which means you now failed. Have a weak leg that shake, you fail. You have knee surgery, have poor balance you fail. Basically 70% of sober people cannot pass the test, which is hugely subjective. You have blood shot eyes mean you must of used pot. In a state that pot is illegal and you used 7 days ago and a trace shows up you go to jail even though it maybe legal where you took week before. However the ability to effect your driving has long passed.. Pot stays in the fats cell for a real long time and take much longer to clear for a urine test then a blood test. Basically it take nothing for a cop to arrested you for a DUI. I saw one man who blew 0.0 and did a lot better then I ever would on a roadside test and the cop arrested him anyway. Meanwhile if you are asked to do one road side sobriety test have every medical problem like had concussion, hip surgery, knee issue, balance problem, tell them every problem you ever had. Also them because of ortho and other medical problem have, you want a test for someone who is disabled. This is a much easier test because it is more of counting backwards and touching your thumb with you finger thing. Also if they do that eye test for 30 second say out loud while you cops does this " you know when the eyes tire by being in this stress position like this test does it actually cause spasm movement in the eyes" . Now you just put tons of doubt in the whole process.
Thank you to the one who gave the tip and to the investigator!!!!!! I guess citizens suffered for years with all those criminals wearing those uniforms!!!!!!!
The mayor and city council needs to be investigated too. The PD was bringing in $1M+ in ticket revenue. There’s no way the mayor and counsel didn’t know what was going on. And now that the PD was shut down, the mayor is claiming there’s no need to investigate further.
I agree with you. Especially when someone in the force filed a complaint with the council about him and they told them to shut up pretty much. They all need to be stood down since they were profiting from that.
the "chief" doesn't have an original thought in his head. What needs to be investigated is who hired him. It took a news station to perform a background check on a criminal police chief that's had a warrant for almost a decade. When I applied for a nursing license as a student I was required to have an FBI background check before a license was ever issued to me, but this man in charge of public trust doesn't even get the minimum background check.
We need national standards. The feds can't order it because of states' rights but they can definitely use leverage. Most police departments receive federal grant money and free military equipment. The feds can say comply with national standards or the federal gifts go bye bye. No more tanks. No more military gear. No more grants. Nothing. Too bad our politicians don't care. Otherwise we'd have some kind of national police oversight & accountability. Instead they reward bad cops with our tax dollars.
I find it hard to believe the mayor and city counsel had no idea they had a 50 person police force and what was going on in the department. It's a real small town, in a small town EVERYONE knows everything going on. I have lived in tiny towns my entire life and it's always the case.
I wonder if the Mayor is former Law enforcement Officer with a "disabled" L.E.O. retirement paycheck & collecting Social security disability benefits also....
@@shawnr771It's pretty funny that you think the city council wasn't getting a cut. They chose the police chief and were aware of all of his hirings, as well as their activity. This was a top-down case of corruption. The mayor and the city council are letting the chief take the fall, hoping that nobody uncovers their part in all of this.
It did seem a bit hypocritical that he hired people to grab and/or fine people for FTAs, yet he was one. "Welcome to Florida! Come on vacation. Leave on probation!"
who knows it could be something inherited from the small group of anglo (and anglo indentured servants) petty criminals, carpet baggers, gamblers, and hustlers that infiltrated the land (when still legally owned by Mexico, earlier by Spain for 20 generations) and that through back stabbing, infiltrating, troublemaking behind the border lines, stealing corrientes, trespassing and squatting, etc achieved the goal of separating Tejas from its rightful owners (those that civilized, populated, fought and opened the land to Christianity and western civilization while mixing with its natives).
@benedictcumberbatch4275 do you think this doesn't happen everywhere? Because it's a problem in every state, with every police department. They don't police their own anywhere.
I’ve lived in Tyler for 24 years and I grew up in Houston. I couldn’t be more proud of my hometown tv investigators for bringing this to light. Thank you.
@@johnjames4567 Thank you. I am a retired print journalist (originally from Houston). As I watched this fine piece of enterprise journalism, I wondered who really did the legwork, the real reporting. TV stations don't normally have the staff, the skills or the inclination to do this.
True, this is how you get fabricated stories, crime scene tampering, drugs planted on suspects etc. with an end result of wrongful conviction and the person spending over 20yrs. in prison. Many cases need to be looked at with fresh eyes. Why should an innocent person languish in jail b/c of corrupt cops? I sure wouldn't want to. Plus it sounds like the u were handing out tickets and fines like tickets tacs😆
I think they're more dangerous. They can operate 'under color of authority', at least bad guys are aware of being busted by the cops. Who are cops afraid of?
@@loridean177It gets way worse, they need to investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!! investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!!
This investigation deserves an award, to go viral and should be the absolute standard in journalism. Bravo for serving the people of America, small towns to big towns. This police chief and mayor should be charged and be in jail if not prison.
He didn't. They made a million dollars in traffic tickets and had 50 cops in a town of 250. The mayor and the city council knew what was going on. They might not have set it up, but they benefitted from it and kept their mouths closed when it seemed fishy.
Not happening where I live 8 County cops, 9 state patrol, my town which is 3 small towns in a boxed valley has 5 cops . And it's the largest county in the state. They got alot of ground to cover, I hardly ever see them .
I'm glad their doing something now,also investigate all surrounding small towns ,all offices not just police dept. and check security companies too, especially the ones owned by people out of the state or country
Did you miss the part where they were writing over a million dollars in tickets in just one year? That's not even including tax money and other streams of revenue that they undoubtedly have. Hell, if the city is already this corrupt, the odds that they have unethical and even illegal streams of revenue coming in are pretty high. It's disturbing and despicable, to say the least! Not to mention, it's also one of the reasons many of those officers were moonlighting by doing other odd jobs outside of their main law enforcement duties. They weren't all full-time law enforcement officers. Welcome to the U.S.A., though, right? 🇺🇲
@@gNOme_5; The thing with the tickets is what I like to call a self-perpetuating money-making scheme. You see that a lot with toll roads and border crossings. They keep taking money, but they never maintain the infrastructure.
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This garbage police officer was hired with an active warrant! Absolutely insane!
He was given a firearm too with an active warrant. Which I believe is illegal.
But I guess no one is going to get in trouble for that.
He said it was disposed off..But immediately after the interview, retained a lawyer to fight the ticket
🐖
@@AlbertoGonzalez..amen brother
Wow. You can make this up. I keep telling people, the real crooks are in blue! They are sworn crooks.
How does a mayor and city council not question why it takes 50 officers to police a village of 250 folks. Patently absurd. Ludicrous.
Maybe we will find out if some of the aggressive officers spill the beans, unless they are paid off
Thank you. This was my question as well. Maybe the money they were bringing in harassing the citizens outweighed the need to investigate. The mayor & council needs to be investigated as well.
The Mayor and city council officials should be investigated...Why didn't he know of what was going on in his town?!..🤦🏾
How could Mayor Blackstone act like he's not aware of the numerous police cars and officers in his town? The people who live there certainly were aware. I believe that the mayor and others were in on this money-making traffic ticket racket. My parents lived in a small town of 2,500. They have two police officers. For over 50 years, just two officers were needed. I agree with the commenters here about that this is what journalism should be.
the rot runs deep
There is no way the mayor and council were not aware of what is going on in such a small town!
They were in on it. One of the many bs speed trap bs towns that give Tix to people who don't even live there, just passing thru
Money
Good ole boys. Band of brothers. Yeah. I could go on.
We The People are sick and tired of Tyrants!
Calm down, Wolfie
Prove it!
@@monkeytennis8861go lick boots
@@monkeytennis8861 🐺
What really needs to happen is AMERICA needs a National Registry for Bad Officers fired for dishonourable service. So they can never apply at another Agency to continue their abuse. Time to hold these thugs with badges ACCOUNTABLE.
Yea those bad eggs somehow tend to fall back into the container don't they ...
End Immunity at all levels of government and One Set of Law for All.
Definitely. It’s just too much common sense though.
They tried to establish a database like the one you're talking about. It got buried in the House, or the senate.
I agree 100%. Law enforcement is one of the three top careers that domestic abusers go into. That means there are too many who are there for the power of it. We need to have a registry to keep track of them all.
Imagine being arrested by a police officer, who themselves has an active warrant.
That’s scary , you are so CORRECT ‼️
That's fkd up. I once had a landlord who was on crack. That was one of the most bizarre two years of my life.
@@user-qm2li8zx2d. Big difference between a landlord and a police officer. 😂 You’d fit right in over at the Coffee City police station! 😅
@@stephaniemanchester-chermo3840they’re both not real jobs
I mean, that sounds fe'd up but until they are arrested themselves they still have to do their job right? So like if they have an Active warrant are they not suppose to chase down the guy that just robbed you if you ask them for assistance and it happens to be a a-hole cop? Many bad cops actually do parts of their job, they're just bad and we don't know until they're exposed, then there are a-hole cops whom are just all around bad and don't do their job at all. Your parents or guardians were hypocrites at times raising you, did you say "uh uh guys, you guys lied before, no punishment for me alright, better luck next incident".
This is some quality journalism! Thank you for releasing this all at once. It's wonderful to see progress in this way.
An excellent investigation by local journalists. More people should see this.
This man singlehandedly destroyed a whole corrupt police department in a calm demeanor with pure facts
It doesn't take much. The cops are a criminal gang that use the same tricks everywhere. If you can think more than 1 to 2 steps ahead, and you have the truth, you can easily expose them as the sadistic thugs they are.
You took the words right out of my mouth. It only took (one ) person to do the right thing for their small town, kudos to that person, kudos indeed.
Portillo a huge liar as well as a bad cop. Good journalism so the people of Texas could see him lie and spin.
@@davidadausuel4537It gets way worse, they need to investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!! investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!!
This guys a legend
We want the mayor and city council investigated!
What needs investigating is why a village of 250 people NEEDS a mayor or a city (???) council. How can the village afford to pay for all that hot air ?. I can envisage a time in the future when the village has become a ghost town, yet still has a mayor, and a swarm of law upholders chasing non corporial residents for traffic violations.
They were elected after the chief was hired.
@@shookfngThey should have known then.
No investigation necessary. Mayors & city council members are elected. Residents who don’t like the way their town is run can simply elect the next non-incumbent in every one of these positions. Get the right people in there, run it your way, then blame yourself if it fails to improve. Problem solved without an investigation.
@@user-wf4hy4ub7p 🤣
Wow! An actual REAL not FAKE news chanell with REAL investigatory journalist.
Incredible
Now this is real groundbreaking journalism 👏
It's interesting how "ignorance of the law is no excuse" except if you're a police officer
Or a Supreme Court judge.
It’s not even ignorance but deliberate hiring to consolidate his own power!
Excellent. Now investigate the Mayor for approving 50 cops salaries and 50 cops worth of equipment, firearms, ammo, apparel, and vehicles.
Remember- some lived in Houston and never set foot in the town.
Yet he had no idea. His financial records need checked
I love investigative journalism. Thank you!!!
Everyone in America needs to see this video!
No way the city council and the mayor did not know that this was going on. They should all be removed as well.
The officers in that department didn't fund themselves. follow the money.
I'm from the area Tyler I didn't even know they had a town hall I thought it was a community
Over a million dollars in traffic fines in one year, in a town that small. Yeah, they knew something was going on. Right now, they are trying to cover their own butts. I agree, remove them to.
Money printer goes Brrrrrr. A million dollars a year. It was a "printing press" PD. The town absolutely knew it was happening.
The money made questions stop.
It's frightening to think what could've happened. They could've literally taken that entire town hostage if they felt the need.
khou just saved 250 people in all likelihood.
Wow
Don’t stop with the police chief.
The Mayor and city council members knew what was going on and should be investigated for where all that money was going.
Yup
Indeed. There is no way they didn’t know. No way.
There are so many of these corrupt PDs in this country. It's a well-known fact that cops get fired and just go to another county or state and get rehired. Good ol' boys network.
The Top Cop in the state is corrupt AF too, so, yeah, it doesn’t stop with the local police chief. In fact, it doesn’t stop at all.
Right...
Following the money always exposes the truth.
The mayor's toupee was too tight. Great job, we need more journalists like you on the job.
That mayor is shady AF!
This is why investigative journalism is so critically important.
That's the reason George Santa got elected.
Exactly. The killing of American journalism of the mid 2000s and on has had far reaching impacts and one of them is accountability of public officials.
The killing of American journalism was a watershed moment in history. It arose from corporations buying newspapers, news stations, and such. They targeted and dismantled investigative journalism and any other apparatus that was holding them accountable.
That why that was stopped a long time ago. Money talks and reporters listen or loose jobs. Can't imagine how this happened. Somebody slipped
@@pamsing3012Someone slipped up? Like the Mayor of Coffee City who hired this guy & defended him for years? $1 million in city tax revenues is enough to look the other way!
Imagine if the police chief an mayor refused to answer questions and call them fake news.
Is no one going to talk about the elephant in the room? This whole setup was to make a ton of money for the city and the mayor is neck deep in it. They were racking in over a million $$$ in traffic fines to mostly out of town people passing through, by issuing speed trap tickets and then hounding them for payment like lone sharks. This whole city needs to be investigated.
💯 !!!!
This is what I’ve been saying- sounds like the who city government is culpable. Follow the money.
Not counting all the money being made working private “police”
$$$$
You know some cash was sent back up to the “bosses”
I figured traffic fines were the cash cow that motivated this arrangement. Probably most of the town's budget came from that source so like you say how could the mayor be unaware. Amazing it didn't occur to this reporter to question how this small town could afford to pay so many cops.
Over 1million however since coffee city is a transit through place alot are from out of town or even state. Which is why most of the 50 cops are"performance driven" that don't live in that city and work remotely a few days a week part-time and are paid for each one they close out and collect on. Pretty shitty and completely corrupt. I don't think the city is bringing in that full amount but you would be pretty hands off to not notice what's happening from a books/budget perspective.
I remember going through the process of becoming a police officer for LAPD. I was in the final stages of making it to the academy. All I needed to complete was a psychological evaluation. To my surprise, I failed. Interestingly, the detective who was assigned to do my background investigation as a candidate, once said to me: "You look like someone I would feel confident and safe partnering with today. Unfortunately, there are candidates that I wouldn't say the same for, but they will make it through somehow. A lot of the candidates that I believe have good potential to be great officers will not get the opportunity to." I suspect, one of the issues in the police hiring process is the psychological evaluation. Videos like these, support my suspicions.
You must be a narcissist to be a cop.
Jeremy Rogalski is one of the best interigator/interviewers I've ever seen. He never batted an eyelid interviewing that cop. And it is obvious by the wash-up, of this sordid business, that he is an indefatigable worker.
Well done, JR!
This is why local news needs more support. Local news is vital to the communities they serve.
True, but the problem is local news (television, radio, and newspapers) are underfunded or owned by political leaning entities. Sinclair Broadcasting is a right wing company that owns probably the most. They broadcast shows by Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others. We saw the numbers of bad officers from January 6 and hear bad stories all of the time. Their union needs to go as well as qualified immunity. That's what allows bad cops to relocate and continue bad behavior. Thank God for RIng cameras and cell phones, but we've all seen crimes by cops and politicians still go unpunished. Bad cops must be locked up and banned period!
Not in South Carolina,dirty cops and judges, prosecutors,we are at the mercy of these POS.
Local tend to be less bias and foolish than National or main stream big ones because they aren't elitist-like reporters or more directly in contact with the top of the news folk whom have narratives. Local news sometimes go rouge too lol we have the stories of news reporters revealing stuff locally on the day they quit and air it. If we're being honest, RUclipsrs are filling the gap of what Journalist use to be to society. Not random RUclipsrs, but dedicated ones that research and tell us the news unfiltered regardless of politics.
@@drjonesey5Not true. Local media is biased and easily influenced by their need to do their jobs, so they throw softball questions during interviews. An example is sports journalism. Local reporters won't ask tough questions to athletes and coaches because they know if the coach becomes annoyed, they won't grant an interview in the future. The reporter won't have a job anymore. OTOH, national reporters aren't influenced by this.
ONLY WHEN THEY SPEW THE TRUTH.
Mayor ought to resign too. Willful ignorance or complete incompetence ...which one is it? As the Mayor you ought to know what is going on with your own PD. I suspect that the Mayor (and city council) did know and let this go because of how lucrative the department was for their city budget.
Nooo sir.. Mayor met the chief there. Yes, he should have done more
Were all the traffic violations fabricated? If they were all valid, then it looks like good ol' Texans ain't so big on law and order. (We already know they're not)
The Mayor and City Council seems to think you can NEVER have too many COPS or Loot they dump into the city coffers..
I feel the mayor knows a lot more than he is leading to believe.
He felt the heat and is now of the offense to not get tangled in the evil web!!
But coffee county is alone. Many police dept behave this same way.
They are the largest gang in the country.
Iy is not easy to get into the blue gang. But once you are in , you are guaranteed a job for life! Unless you refuse to get vaccinated for Covid; that is.
Local journalism isn’t a huge money maker but it deserves to be propped up when you get results like these. We can never let it die. Great investigation.
Great video, I am sure this is happening in many other places. 20 years as a police office, and I am saddened that someone could do this to a career I cherish. Very sad.
LOL. Right. You're just another cog in the wheel of corruption that's plaguing this nation.
@gronertson2008 I definitely agree with you. How the mayor & council person didn’t know what was going on in their city. A Shame!
This is what journalism should be, not political beliefs or right vs left.
This was somebody with a lot of money who they pissed off big time!!! Wish the media could be this honest all the time!!!
While this is good journalism, they have left a lot of people of the hook.
They were quick to disband the department to stop the bleeding
How cute that you want to insist politics aren’t a factor when the city council used the cops to extort their electorate. Sure bud. Nothing political about that.
most journalism is. the reality is people don't like it when it goes against political/dogmatic narratives (on both left and right).
I cant agree more!
Never thought I’d see the day an entire department was dismantled due to alleged corruption. Sets a great and new precedent. Great job.
this was not a police department ,this was a hide out for criminal with long rap sheets, bobbing the tac payer
Theatrics
The days of the "good ol boys" network are coming to an end.
@@jimmiehouse7736that’s what a police department is
Same thing should have happened with Uvalde
It’s so nice to see journalism return to our country. Thank you.
Thank you for real journalism!
This reporter should be nominated for a journalism award. Actual journalism that resulted in actual civic change?? That is unheard of these days. Bravo!!
Just like OMGs James O'Keefe!😊
In what way is this not a gang.. they’re going around shaking down people for money and paying themselves enormous salaries.. how is this not a gang
@@willreasoner4472who said it wasn’t what are you talking about who are you even talking to weirdo
@@willreasoner4472the cop needs to get cheese jammed through his nostrils
100%!
The DOJ should investigate because this is racketeering. Texas has let this go on for years. The entire city council should go to jail
The Department of Injustice is too busy making up indictments for the top presidential candidate in the nearest election.
The DOJ, FBI, ATF, DHS, etc. all support this type of law enforcement.
@@RevToxWhat indictments would those be?
@@RevToxKeep sipping on that treasonous copium.
This is true journalism. You guys are amazing
Amazing Job! God bless all the hard work you do for our country. When everyone is scared of Law Enforcement, you stood up and practice justice against those that suppress us. God Bless your organization.
That's not a police department; it's organized crime. Those citizens have every right to do something about it.
Most of those citizens (The white ones) in Texas? Oh they def support this
All police are just state-sanctioned gangs. Most of them are corrupt, and the same thing that happened here needs to happen all over this country. Abolition Reform is required. Disband them and then recreate a new law enforcement from scratch. The Germans didn’t reform the Gestapo after WWII, they abolished and replaced it.
Lol Police Departments are Organized crime organizations.
And then you realize that EVERY police department is organized crime..
Yes, it an organized crime syndicate. It’s despicable and criminal.
This is an example of great journalism. Thank you for exposing these dirty, corrupt cops.
ACAB
He stole his story from other channels. Ive seen videos of this for about a week now
don't think so. look back at all the footage it belongs to khou11@@walkingdeadman4208
👍👍👍👍
@@FreedomStrike76 and you're being taught that and you constantly give yourself confirmation bias
This takes defund the police to a whole new level.
A town of less than 300 people doesn’t need a police department. The Sheriff’s Department should be able to handle everything going down there.
This is EXACTLY why a free press is so important: it holds those in power accountable to the public.
They should investigate our government .
They should investigate Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. Oh wait. A free press is certainly not free, it is own by oligarchs. A truly free press would be a mix that includes a REAL public press accountable to voting citizens directly, and any private press a rich person wants to buy for parasitism off of consumer-types.
And why certain people are constantly telling you not to believe anything the media says.
@@thetruthisoutthere8598 They just did. Are you watching this video? That's what this is.
@@Ojja78 sorry, I was meaning federal but didn't put that in there
Police officers don't become psychopaths, psychopaths become police officers!
You are correct.
Federal law should mandate that any cop who has criminal charges pending their certification is suspended. Found guilty their certification is the first to go.
Great investigative journalism!
The mayor and city council need to be investigated, as well. And a police department investigating itself - even with a new police chief - is just asking for more corruption. The county rep, Lance Gooden, is suspect, as well.
They don't need a police department. and they certianly don't need 24/7 coverage
Houston should cover that area. This is insane
Yeah I can't hardly see how an active warrant gets past a background check 😂😂😂
@@jmfia2391What should Houston do exactly? I am really intrigued.
@@jmfia2391 They have disbanded the Police Department. And live seems to be going on fine in that city of 249 people
This is a perfect example of why good journalists are so important. Excellent job.
Best comment yet!
They police the police
I sent this to The RCMP in 🇨🇦
Journalists too take bribes. The power of money from the devil's that very few people can resist. Puji Tuhan! Praise God 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
@@paalexsamaklyne1040you said god.. Lol. Santa Claus is great too then!? Smh... How can an adult be so dumb to believe in something sooo impossible n makes zero sense!? Victims...
I grew up in a small town of about 500, and we had 1 full time and 1 part-time cop. This place had 50 plus corrupt cops. Smh, good journalism at work
Brilliant reporting with excellent results, congratulations from Australia. 👏👏👏👏👏 Glad the council took the right steps, but it seems rude the mayor wouldn't give the people who did all the work an interview when this problem was in place before he became mayor.
This reporting should be winning an Edward R. Murrow award. It is an example of real, unbiased journalism that makes a difference.
100%
I agree ☝🏼
National Holiday,,,the MSM did something Good and Didnt Lie,,,,,,,First time since 1871
Word
Typical Texas town where the citizen's are held hostage.
It’s impossible that the city council was unaware of this. They’re taking swift action to cover their own asses.
they definitely benefitted from all the revenue that was generated by overpolicing the town.
Money wad comming in from all them tickets
@@BxCortez2050the million dollars in ticket spread between the 50 cops is only 20k per. There salary has to be way more than that. So it has to be a loss.
They were scamming funds from the gov't and funneled it into their bank accounts. Cops were getting paid $50-$100 K per year. It's a/k/a kleptocracy.
-----They were loving all that sweet ticket money. Now investigate the court that enforced the tickets and the city council (past and present) that created this mess in the first place.
249 people 50 cops and it needed an informer to highlight this .
Absolute and disgrace to the justice system .
Why are we so delusional to think this isn't happening in every town, city ,parish, county all over this country.
It does all over the the country
That's why we need more real journalists and citizens with cameras
I’m not saying it’s not true, but most other police departments aren’t fully staffed and haven’t been for a long time. This is gross. This is wrong. Thanks for covering it.
Same reason people liked to pretend tht America has no racism. It forces peopel to ponder uncomfortable truths.
They were scamming funds from the gov't and funneled it into their bank accounts. Cops were getting paid $50-$100 K per year. It's a/k/a kleptocracy.
Anyone who’s got a ticket from that force should form a class action lawsuit against them!
Absolutely
Yep
it would be them paying themselves...
@hermeticascetic
the stretch of road that the cops ticketed were people traveling through. The majority of the tickets went to out of towners
Yes, and get their million dollars back!
Ive watched hundreds of your videos. This was the best one yet. That Karen of a Sargent was of the chain
So happy there are still real reporters that get results.
imagine this guy is more credible in the eyes of the court than your honorable citizen.
But, of course! And it’s not organized crime! Thank goodness! Lol.
Im not sure how anyone can believe a cop without great evidence. Too many cops on videos lying. Cops are the biggest liars on earth.
Nice ❤
That's an EXTREMELY scary thought.
Disgusting isn't it
END QUALIFIED IMMUNITY. HOLD THEM ALL ACCOUNTABLE. The fact that this is even able to happen is sickening.
No doubt
Agreed. And bad behavior works on many ways
No wonder the cartels are taking over Texas. Look at the “police officers”
@@fishy2939 ??? You're the one commenting here too my guy
Qualified immunity only works if the officers did not violate policy or clearly established law. If he/ she is outside that then there’s no qualified immunity. Qualified immunity exists to protect the people doing the right thing from frivolous action. It does not protect people doing the wrong thing. And a judge has to exam the case to determine if it applies or not.
I'm looking forward to a part 2 of this! Great work! I'm interested in hearing about charges for this ex-PC!!! No way he can do this and not have some charges!
Great work, Jeremy!!! 👏🏻⚖️👏🏻
He is the MAYOR, HOW CAN HE NOT KNOW THIS!!!??? Why would the mayor say a new chief will decide if he wants to rehire anyone??? Noooo!!!
The mayor is in on it. You can't be that inept and not notice that.
Imagine being the Mayor of a town with 50 police officers and not "fully understanding" where all the money you were paying them was going.... the mayor needs to go along with that whole council
Plenty of towns have 50 officers. It’s that a town with only 250 residents has 50 officers…
The "mayor" of 250 people. LOL. He is probably getting a cut of the traffic tickets for his pay. People in charge of HOAs have more responsibility and more people to answer to.
250 people don't have the tax base to support 50 cops and a mayor and a city council. Their money is made by traffic violations. And half of the "cops" don't get paid at all. Paid from collecting outstanding tickets with a commision and moonlighting as security. This chief will make a good mob member. He would be considered a good "earner" with this ingenious racket.
Amazing what you can do if you just get a few people together and incorporate yourself as a "town" in America. Legalize extortion under the guise of "policing". I wonder why the mob haven't thought of this.
There's a lot more dirt to dig up. The reporter should keep digging.
The guy seemed to have innovative ways of making money for the town. They might have even been good, considering the investigative reporting didn't seem to find cases of actual misconduct by the Coffee City police . . . yet.
@@RevToxbootlicker spotted
When a man is digging his own grave, don't fight him for the shovel.
This happens all over the US. They just shuffle the bad cops around to different precincts after they mess up in one place.
Yup I've seen it myself. A town cop got kicked off the force because of his terrible behaviour and within days he was hired by the county police department...
You're Absolutely Correct 👍
Wow ‼️
Bad priests, pastors, youth councilors, teachers, youth case workers,etc. That’s how the Vegas cop got hired in Maui.
Yep,just like they do pedophile priests, just ship them to another Parrish or precient.disgusting.all.
They hired a Florida fugitive. What ever happened to background checks? We civilians undergo them regularly before a hire. Excellent journalism KHOU! The residents of Coffee City can live a little easier now.
Not for Cops though, they are part of the machine that keeps you enslaved to the matrix.
It’s Texas
Still the fact he was arrested in FL should still show up when they do a background check. It sound like someone really dropped the ball and half their brains, because that arrest still should have showed up. He probably talked himself out it with his everyone deserve a second chance bs as his patrol officer arrested people because they cannot passed that road side sobriety test. What cops do not tell you the longer they have you do that eye thing, you eye tire and then start to spasm and twitch, which means you now failed. Have a weak leg that shake, you fail. You have knee surgery, have poor balance you fail. Basically 70% of sober people cannot pass the test, which is hugely subjective. You have blood shot eyes mean you must of used pot. In a state that pot is illegal and you used 7 days ago and a trace shows up you go to jail even though it maybe legal where you took week before. However the ability to effect your driving has long passed.. Pot stays in the fats cell for a real long time and take much longer to clear for a urine test then a blood test. Basically it take nothing for a cop to arrested you for a DUI. I saw one man who blew 0.0 and did a lot better then I ever would on a roadside test and the cop arrested him anyway. Meanwhile if you are asked to do one road side sobriety test have every medical problem like had concussion, hip surgery, knee issue, balance problem, tell them every problem you ever had. Also them because of ortho and other medical problem have, you want a test for someone who is disabled. This is a much easier test because it is more of counting backwards and touching your thumb with you finger thing. Also if they do that eye test for 30 second say out loud while you cops does this " you know when the eyes tire by being in this stress position like this test does it actually cause spasm movement in the eyes" . Now you just put tons of doubt in the whole process.
Cops are civilians
Thank you to the one who gave the tip and to the investigator!!!!!!
I guess citizens suffered for years with all those criminals wearing those uniforms!!!!!!!
Thankyou for exposing it!!
The mayor and city council needs to be investigated too. The PD was bringing in $1M+ in ticket revenue. There’s no way the mayor and counsel didn’t know what was going on. And now that the PD was shut down, the mayor is claiming there’s no need to investigate further.
That's what i said as i was watching this. He knew they all knew.
That's at least 4,000 usd a year per person in fines. How is that affordable? Or is that from other towns/jobs?
They definitely need to investigate further.
I agree with you. Especially when someone in the force filed a complaint with the council about him and they told them to shut up pretty much. They all need to be stood down since they were profiting from that.
@@burakoshimazakidefinitely people just passing through. 5 miles over the speed limit? Fine
How can the Mayor and his office not know what was going on?! I'm calling BS!
couldnt have happened without higher ups in state police
Damn I'm so invested in this. Great reporting
They should do this to every police department!
the "chief" doesn't have an original thought in his head. What needs to be investigated is who hired him. It took a news station to perform a background check on a criminal police chief that's had a warrant for almost a decade. When I applied for a nursing license as a student I was required to have an FBI background check before a license was ever issued to me, but this man in charge of public trust doesn't even get the minimum background check.
Some say you can't out the mouse to guard the cheese
We need national standards. The feds can't order it because of states' rights but they can definitely use leverage. Most police departments receive federal grant money and free military equipment.
The feds can say comply with national standards or the federal gifts go bye bye. No more tanks. No more military gear. No more grants. Nothing.
Too bad our politicians don't care. Otherwise we'd have some kind of national police oversight & accountability. Instead they reward bad cops with our tax dollars.
Great point!!
As far as who hired him, it was whomever the mayor was back in 2021. That means if it's not the current one, then it was his predecessor
Some good old boy networking going on here.
I find it hard to believe the mayor and city counsel had no idea they had a 50 person police force and what was going on in the department. It's a real small town, in a small town EVERYONE knows everything going on. I have lived in tiny towns my entire life and it's always the case.
Yep, mayor and city council are in on it. Probably embezzling money from it too. Time to clean house
The city council is probably mad they were not getting a cut of the money.
I wonder if the Mayor is former Law enforcement Officer with a "disabled" L.E.O. retirement paycheck & collecting Social security disability benefits also....
@@shawnr771It's pretty funny that you think the city council wasn't getting a cut. They chose the police chief and were aware of all of his hirings, as well as their activity. This was a top-down case of corruption. The mayor and the city council are letting the chief take the fall, hoping that nobody uncovers their part in all of this.
I was having the same thoughts.
Excellent work 🫶👏👏👏 KHOU !! Do more agencies and bring accountability
Great job guys! I'm very proud of your journalism investigations!
Nobody believes the Mayor was truly unaware. You can't hide the payroll for christ sakes 😂
This police force really need a RICO served on it!
Mayor should be investigated
Great Journalism and even better this is on RUclips , I don’t even reside in the US and I get to see this
The chief should be fired for not reporting the DWI and also for not showing up for court. He’s obviously lying about why he didn’t report it.
It did seem a bit hypocritical that he hired people to grab and/or fine people for FTAs, yet he was one. "Welcome to Florida! Come on vacation. Leave on probation!"
Agreed. Total liar, along with the chain up!!!
As a seventh generation Texan, it is disgusting the level of good old boy corruption that thrives in the current mileau.
who knows it could be something inherited from the small group of anglo (and anglo indentured servants) petty criminals, carpet baggers, gamblers, and hustlers that infiltrated the land (when still legally owned by Mexico, earlier by Spain for 20 generations) and that through back stabbing, infiltrating, troublemaking behind the border lines, stealing corrientes, trespassing and squatting, etc achieved the goal of separating Tejas from its rightful owners (those that civilized, populated, fought and opened the land to Christianity and western civilization while mixing with its natives).
My family had been human for many generations and we don’t like corruption either.
Must be the deep southern culture still embedded in your area.
@@benedictcumberbatch4275 What is the reason your own culture is twisted?
@benedictcumberbatch4275 do you think this doesn't happen everywhere? Because it's a problem in every state, with every police department. They don't police their own anywhere.
Too bad we don't see real journalism like this more often from MSM.
Some quality investigation journalism right there. The mayor is suspicious as heck. Someone need to look into him too.
It's actually really interesting when journalists do their job properly.
Yeah, we could use A LOT more of that in this country. Especially with politicians.
I’ve lived in Tyler for 24 years and I grew up in Houston. I couldn’t be more proud of my hometown tv investigators for bringing this to light. Thank you.
they didn't bring this story ....a citizen journalist did....
@@johnjames4567who was it???
@johnjames4567 that's exactly what I said. Lying cops lying politicians we can deal with,but lying news agencies can bing down the country .
@@johnjames4567 Thank you. I am a retired print journalist (originally from Houston). As I watched this fine piece of enterprise journalism, I wondered who really did the legwork, the real reporting. TV stations don't normally have the staff, the skills or the inclination to do this.
Shoutout to The Toadies!
That mayor in the flip flops knew exactly what was happening
Great job Jeremy!!
This needs to happen all over the country. Local cops are the most corrupt institutions in the world.
...and actual real journalism, not just access media!
@@VirakotxaI agree. This journalism is the best and a dime a dozen at its best!
Incompetent & unprofessional law enforcement are as much a danger to the community as any common felonious thug!
True, this is how you get fabricated stories, crime scene tampering, drugs planted on suspects etc. with an end result of wrongful conviction and the person spending over 20yrs. in prison. Many cases need to be looked at with fresh eyes. Why should an innocent person languish in jail b/c of corrupt cops? I sure wouldn't want to. Plus it sounds like the u were handing out tickets and fines like tickets tacs😆
Thesewere not just u professional, they were a legalized maffia
I think they're more dangerous. They can operate 'under color of authority', at least bad guys are aware of being busted by the cops. Who are cops afraid of?
@@loridean177It gets way worse, they need to investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!! investigate the Maui Police Chief and his officers who blocked people trying to flee the Lahaina fire!!
More so. They have immunity.
Yes Amen God is getting them🎉🎉🎉
Praise God. . Only God knows what has really been happening to communities😢😢😢 i stand totally sickened
Now this is journalism. Well done!
How can the taxes paid by 250 residents pay the salaries of 50 cops?
We can afford anything ask Ukraine 😂
Traffic tickets from people passing through the highway
Apparently, they were siphoning off the fines from those 5000 tickets. Yeah, isn't that creepy.
I’m one of the tickets myself 😂 definitely entrapment
@dr.thriller246 wow so you're from coffee city? So see pigs every half mile? 😂
This investigation deserves an award, to go viral and should be the absolute standard in journalism. Bravo for serving the people of America, small towns to big towns.
This police chief and mayor should be charged and be in jail if not prison.
Hope that so called police chief gets some prison time.
They need to do this kind of investigation of police departments across all states. Those thin blue lines are dirty.
It is so scary that he was able to put that all in place without anyone questioning him
😮
its texas, the majority of the town will fellate the officers if asked.
He didn't. They made a million dollars in traffic tickets and had 50 cops in a town of 250. The mayor and the city council knew what was going on. They might not have set it up, but they benefitted from it and kept their mouths closed when it seemed fishy.
Sounds like centerville ga They have more cops than stop signs..ugh
I'd be looking into the Mayor
Love how shocked everyone seems to see the level of corruption on display when it exists in every state in the nation
Idk most cities are smarter about how they control their gangs I mean cops
Not this bad
Not happening where I live
8 County cops, 9 state patrol, my town which is 3 small towns in a boxed valley has 5 cops . And it's the largest county in the state. They got alot of ground to cover, I hardly ever see them .
@@Recon6deltathe same thing happened in Brookside Alabama. Look them up and they were just as corrupt
Not shocked at all just glad they are being called out for it
All of these cities & towns need to clean house. So do federal & state admins. Great question asked, "Who is policing the police?"
I'm glad their doing something now,also investigate all surrounding small towns ,all offices not just police dept. and check security companies too, especially the ones owned by people out of the state or country
How on earth would they pay 50 officers from the taxes of 250 people. This is the kind of investigative reporting we all need. Congrats KHOU 11.
Did you miss the part where they were writing over a million dollars in tickets in just one year? That's not even including tax money and other streams of revenue that they undoubtedly have. Hell, if the city is already this corrupt, the odds that they have unethical and even illegal streams of revenue coming in are pretty high. It's disturbing and despicable, to say the least!
Not to mention, it's also one of the reasons many of those officers were moonlighting by doing other odd jobs outside of their main law enforcement duties. They weren't all full-time law enforcement officers.
Welcome to the U.S.A., though, right? 🇺🇲
@@gNOme_5they probably had huge swat team toys to cruise around in too.
@@napoleonbonerfart278
No doubt! 🙄
@@gNOme_5; The thing with the tickets is what I like to call a self-perpetuating money-making scheme. You see that a lot with toll roads and border crossings. They keep taking money, but they never maintain the infrastructure.
Most weren’t paid by the city. This was a front for security in Houston. I’m sure the Chief was paid to make sure there was security there.
Straight extortion and corruption. Put them all in prison