Courts may need to determine the fate of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Peace Officer License A day-long mediation session between Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement regarding the fate of the sheriff’s peace officer license ended in a stalemate on Friday (5/30/2025), representatives from both sides confirmed. TCOLE, the state agency responsible for oversight of peace officer licenses, is seeking to suspend Fullen’s law enforcement license after initially issuing an order to revoke it. With the mediation not resulting in an agreement, both an administrative hearing and a hearing in Galveston County’s 122nd District Court, presided over by Judge Jeth Jones, are likely to be scheduled. Tony Buzbee, Fullen’s attorney, said while the mediation is over, “the process is ongoing.” Buzbee stated that the two sides will continue to communicate. If that goes nowhere, he mentioned he expects the lawsuit to appear on the district court docket sometime in July. According to the mediation report from the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the case will also be referred back to the Administrative Law Judge who was slated to hear Fullen’s appeal regarding the revocation and subsequent change to suspension. TCOLE’s Director of Government and External Relations, Gretchen Grigsby, did not have information on when the administrative law judge may take up the case, nor did she confirm if talks between the two sides will continue due to any upcoming court hearings. A review of the administrative judge’s docket filings did not reveal if any hearing is scheduled. In Texas, a sheriff is mandated to hold an active license to serve in office. The saga that has been ongoing for nearly two years originates from complaints that Fullen omitted past run-ins with the law and a lawsuit from his personal history report. Retired Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kenneth Williams, who opposed Fullen’s candidacy in both the primary and general elections, is the individual who brought the allegations to TCOLE. Fullen has maintained that any omissions were oversights and not an intent to deceive anyone. He also asserts that some of the claims against him are false or lack full context and didn’t require disclosure. All licensed law enforcement officers in Texas are required to complete a history report indicating whether they have ever been disciplined, fired, arrested, or convicted of a crime in their past. They must also note if they were involved in a lawsuit concerning the agency where they served as an officer. Fullen, a law enforcement officer since 1987, did not disclose that he was arrested three times in the 1980s, including once over accusations that he assaulted someone with a baseball bat, according to a commission finding. Fullen also failed to disclose that he was the subject of a disciplinary complaint while serving as an officer at the Electra Police Department in 1989 or that he was placed on administrative leave by the Galveston Independent School District in 2004 due to allegations of racial discrimination, retaliation, and document tampering. The commission found that Fullen swore he had no criminal or disciplinary records when he applied for a new law enforcement license in 2023. Fullen applied after resigning as county constable to run for sheriff so he could work as a deputy constable and a reserve for the Texas City Police Department. Last summer, TCOLE’s Commissioner Gregory Stevens recommended the revocation of Fullen’s peace officer license. Fullen appealed, and an administrative hearing on the matter was scheduled. Meanwhile, after winning the election and being sworn into office, state law prohibits the revocation of the license unless the elected official broke the law while in office for which they were elected. But in January, the commissioner revised the revocation recommendation, changing it to a 10-year suspension. That prompted a lawsuit from Fullen with claims that Stevens overstepped his constitutional authority. In March, a hearing on the lawsuit in Judge Jeth Jones’ 122nd District Court in Galveston County was delayed because Fullen and TCOLE agreed to mediation. A scheduled administrative hearing was also postponed due to the mediation.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2025-06-02 20:29:32 UTC