Controversial former police chief takes another job - UPI Archives

Excerpt

The new police chief of the embattled McAllen Police Department is no stranger to controversy....

McALLEN, Texas -- The new police chief of the embattled McAllen Police Department is no stranger to controversy.

Former Amarillo Police Chief Lee Spradlin was named Thursday to become the McAllen department's fourth chief in as many years.

The department has been the target of several investigations of police brutality charges.

Spradlin, a 27-year law enforcement veteran who earned the Medal of Valor while a Dallas policeman, was mired in controversy before his resignation from the Amarillo Department he had headed for six years.

He said crooked politicians and the local newspaper had forced him to resign amid charges his officers bungled major homicide investigations.

McAllen City Manager Don Sisson said Thursday city commissioners had agreed to hire Spradlin as replacement for former police chief Roy Eckhardt, who resigned two months ago after watching his department dismantled under a federal court order stemming from citizen complaints of brutality.

More than $400,000 has been awarded to citizens who complained about police brutality in McAllen and a federal grand jury Thursday resumed its investigation into several alleged brutality incidents. No indictments have been returned so far.

Although Spradlin refused a request by an Amarillo black group to establish a citizen review board for claims against officers, he will have to work with a federally mandated five-member panel to review McAllen police brutality claims.