A police officer has just learned his fate after a recent decision by the Texas Supreme Court.
According to KERA news, a small Texas city in Leon County was justified in firing a police officer who crashed during a high-speed chase while a civilian was in the car.
However, just because the Supreme Court ruled that the officer could be fired, that doesn't mean this case is over. Now, the question is, did the city of Buffalo, Texas, go about the disciplinary process incorrectly?
Under the Texas Local Government Code, the Buffalo City Council has the authority to oversee the details of former police officer Gregory Moliere's employment, including the decision to fire him. Justices on Texas' Supreme Court decided that the Buffalo City Council did NOT act beyond the city's authority.
"Moliere cannot dispute that he had been subjected to discipline for conduct that could have exposed the municipality to substantial liability; he did not contest it," the court wrote. "The City Council had the authority to respond as it did."
Moliere was a police officer in Buffalo, Texas, which is an hour east of Waco, back in 2020. During that time, he engaged in a high-speed chase while a civilian was riding along with him.
Texas Supreme Court records did not indicate why a civilian was in the vehicle, but they did decide that the decision to engage in a pursuit at that time directly violated department policies.
The chase reportedly ended in a crash that damaged the police car Moliere had been driving, although neither Moliere nor the civilian were injured.
Police Chief Lloyd Lance Pavelka initially only gave Moliere a written reprimand for starting a high-speed chase over a minor infraction. Moliere acknowledged the letter and did not appeal, according to court records. Police Chief Pavelka stated in an affidavit he had no intention of firing more.
However, a few weeks later, the Buffalo City Council met, reviewed the situation, and voted to fire Moliere. Police Chief Pavelka said that the Buffalo City Council had never done that during his tenure before that day.
Moliere's case is of special interest right now because high-speed chases have been under scrutiny in Texas, especially after the deaths of two people in less than one month's span in Fort Worth last year during police chases. Cities in Texas are desperate to clean up their image after the fatalities.
Moliere felt like an example was being made out of him, so he sued the city and Mayor Jerrod Jones in 2021, arguing council members didn't have the authority to fire him. Texas' Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the firing was legal, but Moliere is now fighting on a different issue:
KERA states that "a separate claim — whether the city council violated Moliere’s due process rights by not correctly following the police department’s disciplinary procedures and the rules governing complaints against police officers under state law."
