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Arcola police chief disputes social-media claims, details probe of former officer's off-duty work
Summary
Police Chief Carl Bryant told the City Council the department is responding to misinformation and outlined a separate investigation that found a terminated officer worked off-duty assignments while no longer employed; Bryant also said evidence from a 2023 shooting was submitted to the forensic lab in October 2023.
Police Chief Carl Bryant told the Arcola City Council on Aug. 12 that his department is correcting ‘‘untruths' circulating about officers and their work and that investigations and evidence handling followed required procedures.
"As you can see from our 6 month of activity, we have had over 12,976 a total of 12,976 calls," Bryant said, summarizing department workload and adding the department had 1,320 citations, 802 warnings, 167 accident investigations and 19 arrests in the period described. He said those numbers show officers are answering increased calls as the city grows.
Bryant addressed a specific allegation that evidence from a July 23, 2023 shooting had not been submitted to the county lab. He said the department submitted material to the forensic lab on Oct. 11 and the lab stamp shows it was received Oct. 27, 2023. "The allegation of me not submitting information to the VA is incorrect," he said.
Separately, Bryant described an internal investigation into an officer who had been terminated in December 2024 but — according to the chief's account — continued to work off-duty for an external company and appeared in what the chief identified as an Arcola police uniform. Bryant said the officer later returned a uniform shirt and that the department viewed the conduct as potentially criminal under Texas Penal Code 37.11 (impersonating a public servant). "When a peace officer is terminated from their agency, their license is automatically deactivated," Bryant said, and he explained that unauthorized acts while deactivated can be prosecuted.
The chief framed the update as both a public-safety briefing and a rebuttal to social-media posts that he said had endangered officers and spread falsehoods. Council members asked questions about the personnel and evidence timelines; Bryant said the department would continue outreach and community events including National Night Out and school presentations.
No new formal disciplinary action was recorded on the meeting record beyond the chief's description of the investigation.
