Fish stories and dog tales: Police misconduct roundup

Here's a roundup of recent police accountability stories that were big enough to make it onto Grits' radar screen but haven't found their way into individual posts:

Firing too harsh for failure to report jail beating?
Three Cameron County jailers have been fired: One for beating an inmate and two for watching and failing to report. The two who covered up the incident  say firing them was too harsh. Let me know if you agree in the comments.

Sheriff convicted over fish story
Sheriff Weldon Tucker in Bandera County was convicted of a felony charge of abuse of official capacity after he was caught using the department's rescue boat to check his trot lines. The offense seems trivial except that he lied about it: "In 2009, Tucker publicly denied using the boat recreationally, or outside Bandera County. But a game warden had stopped him as he used it to retrieve trot lines at Choke Canyon after his personal boat broke down."

Dogs v. State
Under pending legislation, you could soon get life in prison if your dog attacks and kills someone under 18 or over 65, but if a cop comes on your property without a warrant and shoots your dog, they won't pay the vet bill because they're not liable for property damage. Go figure.

Not quite a 'mastermind'
Reports AP, "A former Dallas police officer convicted of aggravated robbery for masterminding a heist at a Sam's Club while working there off-duty as a security officer has been given probation." When you fail at robbing a place where you yourself are providing security, perhaps "mastermind" isn't the right word.

Shake down
Another cop, this time in Houston, arrested for allegedly shaking down drivers at traffic stops. Here's an interview with the fellow who reported the alleged extortion.

Prostitution stories
A former Houston police officer was sentenced to six years in prison for raping a prostitute, while a Harris County deputy constable was murdered after an argument over money with a pimp whose employee's services he'd just enjoyed.

Wrongful death suit over off-duty shooting
The family of a wrecking truck driver has filed a civil rights suit over his death at the hands of an off-duty Houston police officer, alleging that Officer Ryan Gardiner "shot and killed John T. Barnes under circumstances where no reasonable police officer would have done so."

Bystander shot after foot chase
A Bryan police officer chasing a man, apparently, because he ran, shot him several times at the denouement of a foot chase, also injuring a construction worker/bystander. "The shooting happened Friday morning as an officer was running after a suspicious person who may have been intoxicated, according to the Bryan Police Department." He and another officer are on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Second time's the charm
An arbitrator upheld the second firing of Austin police officer Leonardo Quintana over a domestic violence allegation after he'd been reinstated to the force after his earlier firing in the wake of shooting Nathaniel Sanders, which is the subject of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit by the family of the deceased.

Deputy allegedly picking colleauge's bones
From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "A former deputy recently fired by the Parker County Sheriff's Department surrendered to authorities Saturday after he was indicted in the theft of thousands of dollars from a memorial fund set up to benefit the widow and son of a fellow deputy." Yikes!