Friday, July 22, 2011

Jasper TX City Council Hires Black Police Chief based on Race, not Qualifications - White Officers Get Demoted - new Chief has Criminal Record - Several Lawsuits Filed


UPDATE 9/14/11: since this article there have been many new events. more discrimination lawsuits have been filed against the city. The recall petition was successful. The council chose to illegally not put the petition on the ballot. A court ordered them to put it on the ballot. Pearson has fired one of the white officers who went was also in the running for police chief. The council even just voted to give Pearson a $5000 raise even though the city does not allow anyone to get a raise until after they have been there for a year. Pearson has been there 6 months....




Racial, Renegade, Out of Control City Council and Police Chief in Jasper, TX


Much like the out of control City Council that Alex Jones reported about in Quartzsite, Arizona, the City of Jasper, TX is also under siege by its renegade and out of control City Council and Police Chief.

In April 2011, The Jasper, TX City Council hired a new Police Chief. Rodney Pearson, who was most recently working in the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department, is the new Police Chief even though he has a criminal record and no qualifications and his former boss says he should not be put into leadership. This new police chief even ranked at the very bottom of the city council’s own candidate rankings of the over a dozen candidates for the position. The City Council did not even allow any discussion about why they chose Pearson after a local Reverend stood up at the City Council meeting and told them not to discuss it. Four of the five City Council members are black.  The top candidates passed up for the job are white. Since the hiring earlier this year there have already been 5 lawsuits filed against the City Council for racial discrimination in hiring the new Police Chief based on the color of his skin and not the council’s own candidate selection process.

Now the Mayor of Jasper, TX says that this new Police Chief is retaliating against the white candidates who applied for the police chief position and had higher rankings than him. The three Jasper Police Officers who applied to be Police Chief have been demoted without cause and against the proper rules and procedures that have to be followed in order to demote anyone in the Jasper Police Chief. Not to mention this new Police Chief has filled these officer’s old positions without consent of the City Council even though there is a strict hiring freeze in place.

There are now petitions circulating to recall this renegade city council but the City Council is trying to make their changes permanent. This city council is trying to place the new police chief on a contract. The Jasper Police Chief has never been under a contract and has always been an at will employee. A contract would mean that a future City Council will not be able to fire this new Police Chief without having to make a large payout.

It is not certain how this all will end or how much the taxpayers of Jasper will have to spend as a result of the racial discrimination lawsuits. One thing is certain though, the Jasper City Council and Police Chief are out of control and they deserve to be recalled and new council members elected to serve the city.

Renegade public officials are not uncommon here in East Texas. Earlier this year I wrote an article about three Upshur County elected officials being charged with official oppression for kicking a man out of the meeting because he wore tape over his mouth, and here in Hardin County we have a Justice of the Peace, Butch Cummings, who rigged his election by forcing his opponent to drop out of the race.

I don’t like discrimination against any race. I wish there really was a time, like Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of, where people are judged by the context of their character and not the color of their skin. Unfortunately, racism still exists and it is happening against all races, including racism against white citizens.

3 comments:

  1. What are the details of stealing gas? When, where, was it a misdemeanor?

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  2. To be fair, according to a council member, I spoke with today says, that the only qualifications for a Police Chief are: Age requirements, High School Diploma, and Law Enforcement Experience. The Council Member, who voted for this individual, says he met those three requirements, including 17 years as a Texas State Trooper. According, to the City of Jasper Charter and ordinances the City Council has the sole responsibility for hiring and firing the Police Chief. Where is the racism proof?

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  3. It's the same way as the Last President was elected. They wanted a man of color and not qualifications. McCain was a War Hero and POW. He was tortured by the Enemy and when he was given a chance to be set free, he refused and stayed with the rest of the POW's. That's courage and leadership. Obama was never in the Military. He can talk the talk, but he can't walk the wall. Now America is worse Off now than it's ever been.

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