Update: Police Chief Jeff Halstead said Tuesday that Maj. Paul Henderson would be demoted to captain, move to the support bureau and receive a pay cut in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of DWI.
FORT WORTH -- Police Chief Jeff Halstead's top aide will continue to draw his six-figure salary but won't perform any "duties as a peace officer" during an investigation of his DWI arrest, a police spokesman said Monday.Maj. Paul Henderson, Halstead's chief of staff, spent several hours in the Parker County Jail early Saturday after he was arrested by a Department of Public Safety trooper on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was released on $1,000 bail and has since remained at home, on detached duty status, officials said.Also Monday, the department announced that Deputy Chief Rhonda Robertson would supervise the internal investigation of Henderson, whose responsibilities included overseeing internal affairs. And Halstead has called a news conference for this afternoon to discuss planned changes in the wake of the arrest."We understand that Major Henderson held a high-ranking position within our department, and many people will be following this case closely. However, rest assured that the internal investigative process will be conducted thoroughly and without bias as in any and all internal investigations," said Sgt. Pedro Criado, a Fort Worth police spokesman.Henderson, 45, who lives in Parker County, was arrested at 1:46 a.m. Saturday near Aledo after a trooper observed him make an unsafe lane change at the Interstate 30/20 split, a DPS spokesman said."Major Henderson is on detached duty status and will remain at home and not perform any duties as a peace officer," said Criado, adding that the internal investigation could take up to 180 days.Henderson, who makes $125,736 a year, according to a public employees database complied by the Texas Tribune, will continue to be paid, Criado said.No one has been assigned to take over Henderson's chief of staff responsibilities, but Criado said, "Those decisions are being discussed as I write this e-mail."After Henderson's arrest, Halstead promised to "make immediate changes" to protect the integrity of the department. In addition to internal affairs, Henderson oversaw special investigations, program support, research, grants, public relations, data management and labor issues. He was often the face of the department, serving as media spokesman in high-profile cases or policy decisions.Robertson's responsibilities include the finance/personnel bureau.Under a department policy put in place by Halstead, officers arrested on suspicion of DWI could face anywhere from a 15-day suspension to termination. The chief, who arrived in 2008, has instituted graduated punishment depending upon the severity of the offense, saying that he does not favor automatically firing an officer for any alcohol-related offense.Halstead created an alcohol-awareness program for the department not long after an off-duty officer, Jesus Cisneros, crashed his city-owned SUV in 2009 into a car driven by a young mother, Sonia Baker. She died in the crash, and Cisneros pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and is serving a 20-year sentence.The next year, after a public intoxication arrest of an off-duty police officer, Henderson told the Star- Telegram that the alcohol-awareness training was showing positive results despite "this latest disappointing incident.""We've gone above and beyond in an attempt to educate our employees and to send the message that the residents of Fort Worth, the Police Department and specifically Chief Halstead are not going to tolerate this destructive behavior," Henderson said.Like all other officers, Henderson has completed the alcohol-awareness course, Criado said.More than a dozen Fort Worth officers have been disciplined for alcohol-related offenses since 2008, but Henderson is the highest-ranking.For example, in November 2010, an officer was placed on restricted duty after being arrested on suspicion of DWI in Colleyville. A month later, another off-duty officer was placed on restricted duty after an officer in a marked DWI unit patrol car in downtown Fort Worth reported that the off-duty officer cut him off. The final disposition of those cases was not available late Monday.Parker County Attorney John Forrest said Monday that he hadn't seen details of Henderson's arrest and didn't know whether the trooper conducted a field sobriety test or whether Henderson took a breath test or had his blood drawn.But, he said, no criminal case would be filed until lab tests are complete.Once the trooper brings the case to the county attorney, a prosecutor will be assigned to review it.Forrest said it could take four to six weeks for the lab results to be returned if blood was drawn.Trooper Lonny Haschel, DPS spokesman, declined to give specifics about Henderson's arrest in Parker County but said troopers typically present their paperwork in a "timely" manner.This article contains information from Star-Telegram archives.Bill Hanna, 817-390-7698Twitter: @fwhanna
Fort Worth police chief of staff arrested on DWI charge
High-ranking Fort Worth police official faces inquiry after DWI arrest
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