The Windcrest Ethics Commission took public testimony Dec. 6 on a sworn ethics complaint filed by Police Chief Jimmy Cole against private citizen Beverly Cunningham, and a commissioner moved to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.

Several residents and volunteers told the commission the complaint should not have proceeded. Belle McFaul, who identified herself as a Windcrest resident, said she was “appalled by the one-sided and biased conduct of this commission” and urged commissioners to be "fair and impartial." Pamela Dodson, who said she represents Texas ReACT, an animal-welfare nonprofit, told the panel the city had no evidence that Beverly Cunningham was ever a city official and asked the commission to dismiss the complaint as outside its authority.

Corey Jones, owner of Texas K9 Boarding and Pet Services, used public comment to rebut online statements alleged to have described unsanitary conditions at his facility: “These statements … are false and slanderous,” he told the commission and invited anyone with concerns to visit the facility.

An attendee who referenced a Nov. 18, 2024 letter from City Attorney Ryan Henry summarized the attorney’s view as saying the ethics ordinance is not enforceable against private citizens and that Texas WE ACT is a volunteer nonprofit rather than a city board. That speaker also criticized the timing of the complaint, saying records and incident reports contained inconsistent timelines and arguing the filing did not meet the commission’s deadlines.

Council member Susie Hamlin, speaking as a resident, said she was at a city holiday market on the night of the alleged incident and cited time-stamped purchases and photos to question the timeline in the incident report. Other speakers called the complaint retaliatory and urged the commission to consider whether the ethics process was being used improperly.

After the commission briefly met in executive session, an unnamed commission member moved to dismiss the complaint, saying the Ethics Commission lacked jurisdiction because the respondent is not a city official; another member seconded the motion. The chair called for those in favor to raise their hands. The transcript records that a vote was called but does not include a tally or an explicit roll-call result in the public record.

Chair remarks after the vote emphasized the commission’s role as an inquisitorial body that questions witnesses and evaluates credibility. The chair also acknowledged ambiguity in some ethics-code procedures and said the commission plans to review and tighten language in its rules. The chair closed the hearing and reminded listeners that one commission seat remains vacant.

The hearing record in the transcript includes multiple public comments asserting that Beverly Cunningham is a private volunteer (Texas WE ACT) and pointing to a City Attorney letter and personnel-charter language as the basis for that claim. The transcript also records attendees raising concerns about delayed filing and possible retaliation; the complaint’s formal allegation date appears in the meeting as Dec. 16, 2023 (as announced by the chair), while at least one question in the hearing referred to Dec. 17, 2023, creating a discrepancy in the transcript.