The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office has corrected a complaint email address published on its official Facebook page and removed language stating that a department form was the only way for citizens to file official complaints after concerns were raised about the agency’s complaint process.
The changes came after publisher David Flash discovered that three complaints he submitted did not reach the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division despite being sent to an email address publicly provided by the agency.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the email address originally listed in a June 10 Facebook post was associated with the agency’s social media team rather than Internal Affairs.
In the original post, the Sheriff’s Office instructed citizens to submit complaints by completing a “Quality Assurance Form” and emailing it to:
The post also stated:
“This is the only way to make an official complaint to our office.”
After the issue was brought to the agency’s attention, the Sheriff’s Office updated the post, changing the complaint email address to:
The agency also removed the statement declaring that the form was the only way to make an official complaint.
Flash said he later spoke with the lieutenant who oversees Internal Affairs. During that conversation, the Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that the originally published email address was not the Internal Affairs complaint email address.
The email correction followed concerns that complaints sent to the address published by the Sheriff’s Office may not have been routed to Internal Affairs for review.
Texas Government Code Section 614.022 requires complaints against law enforcement officers to be in writing and signed by the complainant before disciplinary action may be taken. The statute does not require citizens to use a specific agency-created form when submitting complaints.
The Sheriff’s Office Quality Assurance Form itself cites Section 614.022 and notes that complaints must be “in writing” and “signed by the person making the complaint.”
The removal of the “only way” language came after questions were raised about whether the statement accurately reflected Texas law.
While the Sheriff’s Office has corrected the email address and revised the social media post, questions remain about whether other citizens may have submitted complaints to the originally published email address and whether those complaints were successfully forwarded to Internal Affairs.
Flash said he intends to seek additional information to determine whether any complaints submitted by other members of the public may have been affected by the error.
Williamson Reporter 