In wake of KHOU 11 Investigates reports, Coffee City fires police chief, deactivates police dep't.
COFFEE CITY, Texas City Council members in Coffee City unanimously voted Monday to fire Chief of Police JohnJay Portillo and to deactivate the entire department until a new chief can be hired.
A series of reports done by KHOU 11 Investigative Reporter Jeremy Rogalski led to a deeper look into the Coffee City Police Department and Portillo himself.
The City Council took less than 15 minutes to reach its decision. It means the town of 250 people that once had 50 police officers on the force now has none.
KHOU 11 Investigates discovered that in a city of almost 250 people, there were 50 police officers. That's five times the number of cops than any town its size, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records. More than half of the departments 50 officers had been suspended, demoted, terminated or dishonorably discharged from their previous law enforcement jobs, according to personnel files obtained through open records requests to other law enforcement agencies. Most of the officers were hired by Portillo.
Read more and watch related videos: https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/coffee-city-police-chief-fired-department-deactivated/285-d8951489-1dd4-4920-9c0b-ef69d842ad52
The police chief also failed to disclose an unresolved DUI charge in Florida on his job application form.