WINDCREST, Texas – Fired Windcrest Police Chief Jimmie Cole filed a lawsuit Monday accusing city councilmembers of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act when they decided to terminate his employment late last year, court records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Cole, who was terminated in mid-December, claims the city council “conducted a secret and illegal meeting to hide its scheme from the public” instead of discussing his performance in open session, according to the suit filed in state district court.
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Cole was fired on Dec. 16, 2024, following complaints from rank-and-file officers about how he managed the agency and an employee engagement survey that described the police department’s culture as “highly toxic."
Cole was also sharply criticized for his decision to file more than a dozen ethics complaints against council members and as well as residents of Windcrest.
The suit also accuses Windcrest elected officials and employees of misusing public office for personal gain and manipulating government contracts.
When Cole attempted to investigate the “public corruption crimes,” the city retaliated against him and terminated his employment, the suit states.
An attorney for the City of Windcrest told KSAT he could not comment on Tuesday since the city had yet to be served a copy of it.
Cole is seeking damages for lost, past and future wages in addition to mental anguish.
Cole stands by decision to file ethics complaints against private citizens
The complaints, many of which were heard and dismissed by the city’s ethics commission in recent months, accused some councilmembers and other Windcrest residents of unethical conduct.
The central issue: the city’s handling of stray animals.
Cole told KSAT altercations between members of TxWeAct, an area animal rescue group, and employees of the police department — as well as negative social media posts from people belonging to the group — forced him to step in and file the ethics complaints.
Cole gathered social media posts from members of the group and included them in his formal complaints.
The posts accuse city animal control, which fell under Cole’s supervision as police chief, of mistreating animals and not providing them the proper level of care.
The ethics complaints and subsequent hearings before the Windcrest Ethics Commission caused some members of the commission late last year to question whether the process was being weaponized.
Last year, Windcrest residents accused Cole of using the ethics complaint process to try and muzzle the free speech of people criticizing Cole and his now-former police department.
“I expected them to have a deterrent effect on the people that were engaging in this behavior,” Cole previously told KSAT, when asked about his complaints.
Cole said he viewed members of TxWeAct as “agents of the city,” thus making their actions bound by Windcrest’s code of ethics.
In a letter written last winter, an attorney for Windcrest attempted to provide clarity on whether members of TxWeAct are city officials.
TxWeAct was originally formed under a city resolution as the Windcrest Animal Control Task Force and was included, for a time, in city organizational charts, the letter stated.
In 2014, the task force became a nonprofit and changed its name but never formally split from the city, the February 2024 letter stated.
“The City never split ties with TxWeAct and continued to use the group as a volunteer group to aide (sic) the City. The group is listed on the City Website under ‘Civic Clubs & Organizations’, have (sic) an article in the monthly newsletter, have (sic) a fundraiser box at the city post office, and advertise as a group for the City,” the letter stated.
“The City appointed the original members, but does not control the current membership. The City has no direct oversite (sic) of the group. This can pose unknown and varying liability and exposures (sic) issues for the City. Further, there are some legal problems with creating an autonomous group which does not answer to the City,” according to the letter.
From late last February through the end of October 2024, the city spent $42,472.97 for two law firms to review complaints involving Cole, an analysis by KSAT Investigates revealed.
This total included complaints filed by Cole, in addition to at least one filed against Cole, that accused him of harassing candidates for city council outside of a city polling site.
‘The Police Department’s culture is highly toxic’
The employee engagement survey conducted last summer added further strain to Cole’s tenure.
A summary of the survey stated there was a strong dissatisfaction with compensation and employee benefits and a “strong dissatisfaction with some leaders, especially the Police Chief.”
“The Police Department’s culture is highly toxic,” page 6 of the survey results stated.
Police employees who spoke with KSAT late last year on the condition of anonymity said Cole demonstrated poor leadership.
The employees also complained of not being provided the proper equipment to do their jobs safely.
Cole, during his interview with KSAT, pushed back on the criticism, stating he had an expectation that equipment issues would be forwarded up the chain of command.
“I would have never allowed an officer to buy his own remote for a radar detector. We can replace those,” said Cole, referring to one officer’s comments to KSAT about having to buy a remote to control an in-vehicle radar gun.
Former Windcrest Police Department employees also sounded off on leadership, according to resignation letters and exit interview summaries obtained by KSAT Investigates.
A communications supervisor who resigned last fall stated that the environment is toxic and needs to change, according to records.
An officer who resigned last summer described being micromanaged by command staff.
“The morale in the department is horrible. I dread coming to work some days because of it,” the exit interview summary stated. “Better communication from command staff to patrol is needed.”
Cole told KSAT he believes criticism from his officers and Windcrest residents became intermingled.
“I don’t know if I can necessarily separate the two. I think that they’re influenced by each other,” Cole previously told KSAT.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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