Video taken by PINAC correspondent Phillip Turner captures Texas cops refusing to hand over a complaint form upon his request after he arrived at the Bee County Sheriff’s Office and explained he wanted to file a complaint against a deputy.
Instead, Liz, a woman working at the front desk, asked Turner to reveal the name of the deputy he intended on complaining about and insisted that in order to file a complaint, he would be required to write his name and contact information on a blank sheet of paper.
Liz became angry after Turner asked her to tone it down a notch after she began yelling through the glass “that is our policy” when Turner attempted to clarify that she needed his name instead of the name of the deputy he wished to complain about.
“Can you tone it down just a little bit?” Turner politely asks. “Because you’re yelling at me, but I’m not yelling at you.”
Liz waves her hand at Turner, walks to her chair and sits down.
“You know what?” Liz asks. “You can speak with one of the deputies now.”
“You’ve really got a nasty attitude,” Turner remarks to Liz as she dumps a soft drink down her throat.
Two deputies who had been sitting in the front office with Liz come out to greet Turner, but they weren’t much help pointing him in the right direction, especially when he informed them he wanted to complain about Liz.
The deputies also stated Turner was required to write his name, phone number and address in order to file a complaint.
“Then it’ll be transferred over to a supervisor,” one deputy explained.
“When was the incident your talking about?” a supervising deputy asks.
“It was not too long ago, like maybe a week,” Turner says. “So you guys don’t have like a form that I can fill out?”
“No,” both deputies shake their heads.
“Can I bring it in in writing, and signed?” Turner asks.
“If that’s what you want.”
“I’m just asking the steps. Like what do I need to do to file an official complaint?”
“Well, generally, a supervisors is going to talk to you. Like me,” says the supervising deputy.
“So, in order to file a complaint, you need my information first?”
“Yeah,” the supervisor snaps.
Eventually, the supervising deputy knocks on the glass, asks Liz for keys and a piece of paper and leads Turner to a nearby meeting room.
“So, what’s going on?”
“Well, first thing’s first, I’m going to go ahead and complain about that lady with that attitude. That was very uncalled for. That was very unprofessional.”
“Buddy, that’s her job,” the supervising deputy replies.
Turner said he entered the sheriff’s office to inquire about the complaint process after one of the viewers of his YouTube channel, The Battousai, said he entered to file a complaint against a deputy, only for a group of deputies to intimidate him from filing the complaint.
This is how he explained it in a Facebook message:
I get tips from subscribers who have problems making complaints against certain government agencies. After I receive word, I make a trip there and document my experience asking about the complaint process and how to file one.
But in most cases, they make the process difficult and intimidating. Some agencies don’t follow the Texas Government Code and I expose that.We had a simple incident at Windcrest, TX and they didn’t have complaint forms and wanted you to talk about it instead of writing it down. After two videos, many phone calls, and a visit with the city mayor and attorney, the complaint forms are now in the front lobby available for pick up with the correct Texas Government Code which is 614.022. The only requirements are it has to be in writing and signed for it to be accepted.
Since posting the video Saturday, his viewers have been leaving comments on the department’s Facebook page, but they have been getting deleted as Turner explains in the second video below, which is a violation of public records law.
Read about the updates and listen to commentary by Turner below.
