Posted 12:08 am Thursday, February 09, 2012
Special Prosecutor To Head Up Henderson County Investigation
By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer
ATHENS — A special prosecutor is expected to be appointed soon to help Texas Rangers in an investigation into a verbal altercation between a Henderson County commissioner and a county employee.
County Attorney Clint Davis and District Attorney Scott McKee are asking one of the district court judges to make the appointment.
“We are in the process of having the courts appoint a special prosecutor pro tem … we would hope that gets done sometime next week,” Davis said. Neither the county attorney nor the district attorney’s office would handle prosecution of the case.
Texas Rangers are waiting until a special prosecutor is appointed to proceed with investigation of the case, Davis said.
Staff Writer
ATHENS — A special prosecutor is expected to be appointed soon to help Texas Rangers in an investigation into a verbal altercation between a Henderson County commissioner and a county employee.
County Attorney Clint Davis and District Attorney Scott McKee are asking one of the district court judges to make the appointment.
“We are in the process of having the courts appoint a special prosecutor pro tem … we would hope that gets done sometime next week,” Davis said. Neither the county attorney nor the district attorney’s office would handle prosecution of the case.
Texas Rangers are waiting until a special prosecutor is appointed to proceed with investigation of the case, Davis said.
County officials recently turned the case over to the Texas Rangers after Brad Skiles, a heavy equipment operator for the county, filed a complaint against Precinct 4 Commissioner Kenneth C. “Ken” Geeslin in the county’s human resources office.
The county attorney’s office did investigate the complaint first from a human resources standpoint internally within the county.
There were all sorts of allegations made by the employee, Davis said.
“It started out with a comment that was made by the employee to the commissioner which the commissioner took as offensive. The commissioner essentially lost his temper and ended up getting into an escalated verbal confrontation with the employee,” Davis added.
The county attorney’s office sent the case to the Texas Rangers to have them take a look at it to determine whether or not Geeslin’s alleged conduct was on the level of being criminal, Davis said.
The question at issue is whether the verbal altercation arose to the level of mistreatment, Davis said.
The official oppression statute of the Texas penal code states that a person could be guilty of official oppression if he subjects another person under the color of his office to mistreatment.
Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Appointment of a special prosecutor will give the rangers a prosecutor to engage in communication and dialogue directly about the case without involvement of the county attorney or the district attorney’s office, Davis said.
Neither Skiles nor Geeslin could be reached for comment. Skiles reportedly filed the complaint on Jan. 13 following the incident on Jan. 11 during a meeting of county employees.
The county attorney’s office did investigate the complaint first from a human resources standpoint internally within the county.
There were all sorts of allegations made by the employee, Davis said.
“It started out with a comment that was made by the employee to the commissioner which the commissioner took as offensive. The commissioner essentially lost his temper and ended up getting into an escalated verbal confrontation with the employee,” Davis added.
The county attorney’s office sent the case to the Texas Rangers to have them take a look at it to determine whether or not Geeslin’s alleged conduct was on the level of being criminal, Davis said.
The question at issue is whether the verbal altercation arose to the level of mistreatment, Davis said.
The official oppression statute of the Texas penal code states that a person could be guilty of official oppression if he subjects another person under the color of his office to mistreatment.
Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Appointment of a special prosecutor will give the rangers a prosecutor to engage in communication and dialogue directly about the case without involvement of the county attorney or the district attorney’s office, Davis said.
Neither Skiles nor Geeslin could be reached for comment. Skiles reportedly filed the complaint on Jan. 13 following the incident on Jan. 11 during a meeting of county employees.
