The State of Texas: September 25, 2015

Daily Roundup

Black (Foot)balled — A day after he handed in his resignation, Mack Breed, the John Jay High School assistant football coach who admitted to provoking two players to act against a ref during a game earlier this month, found out that he “will not be allowed to coach at a University Interscholastic League school until he meets with the State Executive Committee,” the San Antonio Express-News reports. “Breed’s attorney, James Reeves, told the committee Breed made ‘regrettable comments’ but did not want [the referee] attacked. Northside ISD officials testified to the committee they believe Breed issued the order to attack.” Another detail that’s still contested is whether the referee, Robert Watts, directed racial slurs at the players, which Watts has denied from the beginning. “Northside ISD officials and [assistant coach Gary] Gutierrez maintained those claims, while a contracted investigator for the Texas Association of Sports Officials reported no racist statements were made.” Watts’ lawyer, meanwhile, basically argued that Watts has tons of black friends. He “presented personal photos from Watts’ wedding, which included three African-Americans. He also noted Watts’ grandmother is Hispanic.” For now, the UIL will have to hold tight as other investigations continue.

Smoke Clearing — The Associated Press dug into available evidence and found that police bullets did indeed hit bikers at the Waco Twin Peaks shooting. Within the nearly 8,800 pages of evidence, one officer wrote that “(An officer) informed me they were engaged by gunfire as they exited their marked police unit. (The officer) said they both returned fire and struck multiple suspects with their patrol rifles.” The AP’s story is by far the most detailed of any since the shootout, which actually isn’t saying much. “No one has been indicted, and it remains unclear whose bullets struck the dead and wounded. It’s also unclear when cases will be presented to a grand jury.” Pretty much everyone is unhappy with the way things have been handled. In fact, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association has filed a complaint against the Justice of the Peace who originally handled out bonds for the 177 bikers. “In a complaint to the Texas Judicial Conduct Commission, Sam Bassett, president of the TCDLA, alleges [W.H. “Pete”] Peterson violated the law, the Texas Constitution and Texas judicial canons by ‘illegally setting $1 million bonds (for the bikers) without considering any of the factors he was required to consider in setting bonds,'” according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. “Bassett acknowledges in the TCDLA complaint that the Twin Peaks incident was ‘unprecedented’ in its scope … Still, the complaint contends, the unique nature of a case has no bearing on a judge’s duty to follow the law and judicial canons.” As the story notes, this is the second complaint filed against Peterson, the first coming from the lawyer who’s been leading the charge against the official response, Clint Broden. “The commission has taken no action on Broden’s complaint.”

Defensive Driving — The man who allegedly killed four people and injured more than 20 at 2014’s South By Southwest has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and four counts of murder, according to the Austin American-Statesman. “Jury selection has been scheduled for Oct. 26, and testimony is expected to begin Nov. 2. Rashad Owens has been incarcerated at the Travis County Jail, with bail set at $5.5 million, since the deadly crash.” He’s also been charged with “24 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” the weapon, of course, being the car that plowed into a crowd while an allegedly drunk Owens allegedly tried to escape police. “Prosecutors have said they won’t seek the death penalty, but the capital murder charge is a rare, if not unprecedented, response to a suspect accused of hitting and killing others while driving intoxicated,” according to the story. Owen’s attorney “said there was nothing in his client’s criminal record that could have suggested he would one day end up in this position. He called the wreck a tragic incident that no one could have predicted. ‘This is the kind of thing that could have happened to a lot of people,’ he said.”

Bad Cop — San Antonio has had a rough time of it lately. In the latest example of its citizens making poor judgments: “Three San Antonio Police Department officers were arrested Thursday on charges including aggravated sexual assault, compelling prostitution and official oppression,” after a “months-long investigation into complaints filed by four women who said they were duped into having sex with the officers.” The unidentified victims have some pretty awful details about the abuse of power and position that took place. They “said they were approached by the officers, some at an area bar and some at a coffee shop. The men asked the women to participate in a supposed ‘investigation’ they were conducting … As part of that investigation, the women allege the cops had them sign a contract agreeing to do anything necessary for the investigation, even if it meant having sex with them, officials said.” Two of the officers face second degree felonies, while another faces a Class A misdemeanor. Chief Anthony Trevino wanted to make it clear to press that three bad apples out of more than 2,000 does not accurately reflect the SAPD. Officials also distanced themselves from the alleged sexual assault perpetrators by saying the men hadn’t been on the job that long. “SAPD could seek unpaid suspension — essentially termination — against all three officers,” writes KSAT12.