TX Cop Drunk Driving with Children gets taxpayer PAID Leave following arrest in Beaumont

So a cop in southeast Texas gets arrested for being wasted and driving with small children in the back seat. What is his punishment? The Beaumont Police Department gives the guy a paid leave. In other words, the drunk driving cop gets a paid vacation that taxpayers are funding. Doesn't sound like much of a punishment does it? If you are going to pay the guy at least don't completely take send him home. Take his badge and take him off the streets but make him clean toilets or something instead of him getting a paid vacation.

from the Beaumont Enterprise:

A Beaumont police officer is on paid leave after being arrested on a felony charge of driving while intoxicated.

Sgt. Chuck Havard, with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said officer Richard Rovera was stopped by a state trooper June 15 around 7 p.m. at the intersection of Jade Avenue and 60th Street. Rovera had three minors under the age of 15 with him in the vehicle.

The trooper performed a field sobriety test, and Rovera was taken into custody and booked into the Jefferson County Jail.

Havard said the Department of Public Safety was not releasing any additional information about the arrest as of Tuesday.

Beaumont Police Department spokesman Sgt.Rob Flores said his department was contacted about the arrest, and the decision was made to put Rovera on paid administrative leave.

Flores said the department is not issuing any more information about the case until a grand jury makes a determination.

According to Jefferson County Jail records, Rovera was released June 16 after posting a $10,000 bond.

Under the Texas Penal Code, driving while intoxicated with a child passenger is a state jail felony punishable by between 180 day and two years incarceration and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

TMonzingo@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/thmonzingo

From Todd Staples: Bullet Holes Don't Lie! Texas/Mexico Border Not Safe

From Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples:

Dear David,

Protecting the sovereignty of the United States of America is no laughing matter. This is why you can imagine my shock and horror as President Obama and his co-horts came to El Paso last year and mockingly proclaimed: "The border is safer than ever!"

Our own Texas Department of Public Safety has arrests, contraband, crime stats, photographs...and even body bags...proving Obama not only wrong, but dead wrong.

Sadly, the spillover of border violence, illegal drugs, human trafficking and other crimes into Texas from Mexican drug cartels is threatening all Texans and every American, not just those along the border.

If you're tired of this President's failed leadership with securing our border, I ask you to join me in the fight to demand action from an administration in denial.

As Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, I have documented the plight of our Texas farmers and ranchers along the border with a real time website www.protectyourtexasborder.com, commissioned a report "Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment - September 2011" and traveled to confront Congress with the real story about criminal activity crossing the Texas border.

Make no mistake, Article IV, Section 4 of our United States Constitution makes the duties of our federal government clear:

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and... against domestic Violence.

Texas DPS Warns Against Travel to Mexico: 120 Americans Killed in 2011 & Drug Cartel Violence Soars

From Dan Flynn District 2 State Representative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2012 Contact: David Erinakes Phone: (512) 463-0880 DPS Advises Against Spring Break Travel to Mexico The Texas Department of Public Safety is again urging Spring Breakers to avoid traveling to Mexico as a result of continued violence throughout the country. "The Mexican government has made great strides battling the cartels, and we commend their continued commitment to making Mexico a safer place to live and visit," said DPS Director Steven C. McCraw. "However, drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat, even in some resort areas." According to published information from the U.S. Department of State: * 12,903 narcotics-related homicides were reported the first nine months of 2011 alone. The number of U.S. citizens reported as murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 120 in 2011. U.S. citizens have fallen victim to transnational criminal activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery. Rape and sexual assault continue to be serious problems in resort areas. Some bars and nightclubs, especially in resort cities such as Cancun, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Tijuana can be havens for drug dealers and petty criminals. Crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country and can occur anywhere. The State Department now urges U.S. travelers to defer non-essential travel to all or parts of 14 Mexican states, four more than 2011.