‘KGNS On Your Side’ obtains Laredo Police Department investigation report

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - In February, prior to the appointment of Steven Landin as Acting Police Chief, the Laredo City Council asked that an investigation be performed into the Laredo Police Department, amid a series of events including allegations of 4 police officers’ illegally voting in the 2022 election.

All eyes were on Monday night’s City Council meeting because council members were set to hear a presentation from Chief Landin on the findings of said investigation.

The council did not get to the topic Monday night, so the ‘KGNS On Your Side’ submitted an open records request for the report.

In the eight-page document, Chief Landin covers several key points including: whether the department’s own policies and procedures are being followed and what happens when policies aren’t followed; whether certain personnel are promoted in spite of their failure to follow policies and procedures; the millions of dollars invested into the Tyler system and Real Time Crime Center, and whether they are deployed at full use for the safety of all citizens; allegations of illegal voting of members of the police department; allegations of inappropriate relationships within the police department; and the hiring of civilian personnel as political favors and/or positioning persons within the organization in position of desire.

When it comes to policies being followed, Landin said his assessment showed that LPD overall does not have a systemic problem of not following its own policies and procedures.

In the instance of personnel being promoted despite not following the rules, Landin said he’s witnessed and became aware of instances of officers who are related or friends with elected officials who have been promoted even though positions aren’t available for their promotion. He said this practice had a negative impact on morale within the department and has shown favoritism to connected individuals.

In the matter of inappropriate relationships and the hiring of people as political favors, Landin stated that proving the allegations is difficult. However, the appearance of inappropriateness is of concern.

As it pertains to the RTCC, the chief said it’s an important law enforcement tool that needs more funding.

Landin did address concerns about the Tyler Public Safety Software.

In the report, he stated that 300 officers had given him a petition about their displeasure with the system and had requested that the department revert back to the old system.

The chief said the new platform was implemented poorly, the system was activated incomplete, and training was limited.

He stated in mid-June, Tyler is scheduled to have a huge update that could fix the issues.

If that fails – Landin recommended an alternative platform.

He mentioned that he’s looked into the cost of abandoning and implementing a new platform, and that the price would be roughly $1.2M.

It’s likely that the city council will take up this police department investigation at their next meeting.

Below is the full eight-page report on the investigation into the Laredo Police Department:

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