Sheriffs, chiefs and TxDOT debate limits and standards for ‘construction cop’ assignments
Sheriffs and police leaders told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee that lucrative off‑duty construction traffic jobs have spawned a parallel reserve‑officer market with inconsistent markings, unclear jurisdictional authority and safety risks; TxDOT and contractors said officer presence reduces dangerous work‑zone crashes and they are working on standard vehicle/uniform specs.
The full story
The committee’s second interim charge focused on reserve peace‑officer programs and off‑duty work in construction zones. Gregory Stevens, executive director of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, told senators reserves were intended to serve their appointing community and highlighted cases where reserve officers work many counties from their commissioning agency with little local oversight. “If on the side of the vehicle or on his uniform, it said Ed Couch police department, at least they would know that,” Stevens said to illustrate confusion when vehicles lack agency identification.
Sign up to keep reading.
Your free newsletter brings you what your city council, county, and school board discussed and decided.
Keep reading for free
Create a free account to finish this story and see the video, transcript and key details.
Continue with GoogleContinue with emailAlready have an account? Log in