Laredo city council still has questions about police department’s recent conduct

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - It’s now been over a month since Laredo’s city council decided to move forward to investigating certain practices at the Laredo Police Department.

Council was set to meet this week to start this discussion, but the public will have to wait longer to hear what’s next. It’s a serious conversation that has been on hold for weeks. It’s because of Spring Break that council has decided to continue this discussion for next week. Although no date has been given, council members say it is an urgent matter.

The investigation comes after some police officers were named as illegal voters by Judge Susan Reed. Laredo city council started the conversation into investigating the police department. First proposed by council member for District 8 Alyssa Cigarroa on February 21.

That same day, after almost 6 years, Police Chief Claudio Trevino announced he was retiring on April 29. However, he will be on administrative leave until then.

Council said that going forward with the investigation is still a priority. Melissa Cigarroa, council member for District 3, said, “we want to look at policies, look at hiring practices, just to make sure the department runs well.” Section 2.06 of the city charter gives council the power to inquire into the official conduct of any department.

Laredo City Manager Joseph Neeb explained how the next steps are looking for the investigation. “What we are doing next week at the city council meeting is we’re meeting with the city council to discuss how to walk through the investigation. Our city attorneys and our legal team will be meeting with them to walk through the process of how to walk through an investigation of this nature,” said Neeb.

Council member Melissa Cigarroa said she hopes this investigation results in creating a foundation for the police department. “We understand now that the chief has retired that some new people will be coming through. We just want to make sure that there’s consistency in how the department is run,” said Cigarroa. She added that council fully trusts Assistant City Manager Steve Landin to lead the department as Acting Chief of Police.

Council members have said they have also been reached out to by police officers regarding concerns happening within the police department.

Below is the original story:

It’s been over a month since Laredo city council decided to move forward with discussing how to investigate the conduct of certain practices at the police department.

While council was supposed to meet this week to talk about it, that meeting has been pushed back. The reason behind it is because of Spring Break. Council will host the forum next week. No word yet on the exact date.

The investigation was first brought after council members told KGNS they were reached out by police officers on concerns they had about the department, including the four officers a judge deemed allegedly cast illegal votes during the recent elections.

District 3 council member Melissa Cigarroa says they still have unanswered questions and part of this investigation is making sure the department has a solid foundation for the future new chief to take on. “We want to look at policies, look at hiring practices just to make sure that the department runs well. It’s overset on the part of council. It’s our role as council members and it is an information-gathering investigation,” said Cigarroa. She went on to say council has a lot of confidence in Assistant City Manager Steve Landin leading the department for now.

According to section 2.06 of the city charter, council has the power to inquire into any department or employee of the office.

Laredo City Manager Joseph Neeb explained how the next steps are looking for the investigation, “What we are doing next week at the City Council meeting is we’re meeting with the City Council to discuss how to walk through the investigation... Our City Attorneys, our legal team will be meeting with them to walk through the process of how to walk through an investigation of this nature”, he said.

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