FIELD NOTES

OVER THE PAST nearly two months, I’ve filed a handful of public information requests with 31st District Attorney Franklin McDonough’s office and the Texas Rangers, attempting to determine—first, what criminal complaint had been lodged against Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis that led to his investigation by the Texas Rangers, and more recently, what the result of that investigation was, and whether or not this community’s chief law enforcement officer would now face charges related to the original complaint, or would be cleared.

Those seemed reasonable questions to ask, particularly given the public statement made by DPS Sergeant Cindy Barkley to The Record and to other area media on April 10 that the Rangers’ investigation into criminal allegations against Lewis had concluded, and that the findings had been submitted to the DA for consideration.

What followed that announcement was silence. Hemphill County residents still had no idea whether their sheriff was about to face criminal charges or to be cleared of the complaint against him.

Nine days later, on April 19, I filed two new public information requests—one with the Texas Rangers, and another with the DA—seeking a copy of the report following the conclusion of their investigation of Sheriff Lewis.

Ten days later, I received letters from both offices with the standard law enforcement response to any request for information: “The report requested is part of an ongoing criminal investigation.”

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I was not. The apparent contradiction of their own official spokesperson’s statement that the investigation had ended, did not seem to trouble either the District Attorney or the Texas Rangers.

In his letter, Mr. McDonough also informed me that, because the report contains information involving a juvenile criminal matter, its release would affect a juvenile and an innocent third party’s privacy. Believing the report was excepted from disclosure for that reason, the DA requested a review by the Attorney General’s office, and a formal ruling.

It was at that point that I sent the following letter to Mr. McDonough. I think it expresses not only my own frustration with the cloud that now hovers over the Sheriff’s Office, and over the community, in general, but what I feel is the public’s frustration, as well.

I share it here (at right), believing that we deserve some answers to the ease doubts that undermine our sense of trust and safety. I share it, too, because this community needs to know that these questions are being asked, and that they are reasonable ones.

I hope you will read it, and that you, too, will express your concern to District Attorney McDonough and your desire to have some conclusive answers to the questions that have plagued us for so long.

Mr. Franklin McDonough, 31st Judicial District PO Box 1592 Pampa, TX 79066-1592

Dear Sir,

This would all be a lot easier if you would just pick up the phone sometime and return even one of my recent calls or emails or letters to your office. It is apparent to me now that you will not.

I am aware of the nature of the complaint that was filed against Sheriff Lewis and that you turned over to the Texas Rangers. I am aware of the content of the report they submitted to your office following their investigation.

I am also aware that the investigation has concluded, unless the DPS spokesperson who issued a formal statement to this newspaper and to other area media confirming that it had, simply lied.

I assume that, because the original complaint involves a juvenile case, your office is concerned about releasing that report. I understand the need not to publicize cases involving juveniles. I’ve been in this business a long time and have never violated that basic principle of ethical and responsible journalism. I don’t intend to start now.

The problem we have, as I’ve written in my column, is that public confidence in Hemphill County law enforcement has eroded—first with the persistent, but to my knowledge unfounded, rumors of Sheriff Lewis’ involvement in Thomas Brown’s death, and more recently, with the concerns raised by both the county attorney’s office and yours about the conduct of his office.

Let me be clear: I am not questioning those letters [written by County Attorney Kyle Miller and District Attorney Franklin McDonough, reporting their concerns about the Sheriff’s Office to area attorneys], or the legitimate purposes they served.

But combined with the lack of any credible, factual information regarding the Brown investigation, and now, the dismissal of one deputy and the Rangers’ investigation of Sheriff Lewis, the confidence of this community in its law enforcement agency has been seriously undermined.

If, as I can only reasonably assume, you are protecting the secrecy of the investigative report because it involves a juvenile case, all I ask is that you answer these questions:

Are you going to pursue any charges against Sheriff Lewis? If so, please make a public statement to that effect.

Are you going to take the report’s conclusions before a grand jury and let them decide if charges are warranted? If so, please make a statement saying so.

If you have found no basis for pursuing charges against Sheriff Lewis, then, for God’s sake, make a public statement saying so, and stating your reason for reaching that conclusion.

As I have written in my column, where there exists a complete absence of information, the public will find a way to fill that vacuum with rumor, innuendo and lies.

And while I will not defend that aspect of human nature, and have and will continue to do my utmost to provide factual information that the public can rely on, this community needs—and deserves—answers.

I have made a good faith effort to discuss this with you, to no avail. I ask this of you now, having no real reason to believe I will have any success.

I can only assure you that I am a reasonable person, making a reasonable and heartfelt appeal to your office to help allay some of this community’s fears, and to provide answers to some of the questions that continue to fan those fears.

Barring that, I’ll just keep asking questions and looking for answers, because that is my responsibility to this community.