McLennan Sheriff allows another key Captain to resign
Waco – A certain pattern emerges in the administration of Sheriff Parnell McNamara. When an officer fails to satisfy, or is caught doing something objectionable – sometimes plainly felonious – they are “allowed to resign.”
Until last Friday, Patrol Captain Steve Smith had an employment history that reportedly included occasional breaks in service of as long as a couple of weeks – time taken off to untangle the mind and adjust his feelings toward his employment.
When the axe fell, it was because Sheriff Parnell McNamara allegedly heard he had bad-mouthed the Chief Deputy who replaced retired Texas Ranger Matt Cawthon after being allowed to resign in October, 2014. McNamara allowed Cawthon to resign following a heated dispute over the disposition of a criminal investigation involving allegations of tampering with disciplinary records by former and present Lieutenant Chris Eubank.
McNamara and Smith talked the situation over, and McNamara allowed him to resign last Friday. He replaced him with District Attorney’s Investigator Steve January as of the first of this week.
Word around the campfire is that January will take Criminal Investigation Division Captain Bubba Colyer’s place when he retires and recently promoted Patrol Division Lieutenant Chris Eubank will when be promoted to Patrol Captain.
“Eubank no longer has anyone in his way,” said a knowledgeable observer from the law enforcement community who said he does not wish to be identified.
Lawmen who have been closely monitoring the situation recall that Eubank left previous employment as the Lieutenant in charge of training and qualifications at the Sheriff’s Department when he admitted to Cawthon that he had in fact shredded a document that recounted for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) that a former patrol mate from the Gatesville Police Department, Spencer Rowell.
Former Jail Captain John Kollnek dismissed Rowell for misconduct at an off duty beer and reefer party that got out of control at a Waco apartment complex near Baylor University, where he and other Corrections officers lived. When Waco Police arrived, they called brass from the Sheriff’s Office who flocked to the scene to take action.
Eubank later furnished a notarized statement admitting he had destroyed the documentation of Kollinek’s firing his associate, Rowell. A woman who worked for him gave investigators a statement recalling how he threatened her to destroy the document for him. When she demurred, he did the job himself.
Eubank and Rowell were later sued in federal court for using excessive force against a couple they beat and TASERed for getting loud prior to their taking jobs at the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office. Attorneys for the City of Gatesville negotiated a settlement without admitting any wrongdoing on the part of the City.
Still other lawmen recall that Eubank ran afoul of the Chief of the Hewitt Police Department after he had been nailed for destroying a record of an infraction of conduct rules and a subsequent reprimand.
Faced with the threat of dismissal under off color circumstances, he reminded the Chief he had audio tapes of him using racial epithets toward a certain individual.
It worked. He was allowed to resign, whereupon he sought employment with the Gatesville police force.
And then there was the saga of the K9 Officer named Ace, a Belgian Shepherd the certifying training breeder and vendor alleged was abused by his handler Joseph Ballew and his supervisor, then Lt. Chris Eubank. The dog later attacked a child of his new handler after the two were moved into the Patrol Division when he left him alone with a child of a former marriage who came to visit while he was away from his home.
One may read of that development by clicking here: