State agency confirms investigation into Round Rock ISD police leadership

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Dennis Weiner, the former police chief of the Round Rock Independent School District, confirmed Monday that the district has placed him on administrative leave through the end of his contract.

Weiner said the decision was made last week. It came months after an outside investigator concluded in a report that his former department was “toxic” and “hostile.” KXAN also obtained records showing that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigated RRISD’s police leadership in 2023 and found evidence of licensing violations.

Last week, school board trustees Mary Bone and Danielle Weston shared on Facebook a letter Weiner wrote to the superintendent on April 30. The letter alleges that some district officials failed or delayed reporting crimes to school police.

In the letter, Weiner alleged the district failed to report an April sexual assault on a school bus and said he had asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office to investigate “district leadership’s practices and actions regarding police matters.”

A district statement said the contents of Weiner’s letter “misrepresents personnel matters and an incident involving a minor.” RRISD Board President Amber Feller Landrum told KXAN Monday that Weiner’s claim that a bus driver saw the attack was false.

The district added that all incidents involving students were handled in accordance with applicable law and district policy. The attorney general has not yet responded to KXAN’s request for comment.

The department has been the subject of numerous internal and external investigations for months.

State and third party investigations

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigated Weiner and Deputy Police Chief Rose White, and the agency detailed its findings in a June 2023 investigative summary obtained by KXAN. White and Weiner came from the Palm Beach County School District Police Department before working at Round Rock ISD were hired.

According to TCOLE records, Weiner completed and passed his TCOLE license on March 21, 2023, and White did the same on April 18, 2023.

However, according to the TCOLE investigation summary, both Weiner and White “had not completed the proper BCF (background confirmation form) process” or the L1 forms required for RRISD appointment.

Weiner said he received a warning letter from TCOLE about the L1 issue, but said he followed the process the district’s Human Resources and Police Department put in place when he was hired.

“The process was immediately corrected when TCOLE informed me during the investigation that the process was not followed. I am certified in (New York), (Florida) and (Texas) and was never examined by the state licensing board until I was hired by RRISD,” Weiner said in a statement to KXAN.

TCOLE also investigated at least one stop White made in December 2022.

“Evidence shows that White actually impersonated a law enforcement officer prior to obtaining her Texas peace officer license when she conducted an investigative stop on December 12, 2022, arrested that individual, and requested CJIS information over the radio,” the investigation summary states by TCOLE.

KXAN has received an incident report for a call handled by White on December 12, 2022. The report indicates the stop at Round Rock High School occurred as a “warning” around 1:30 p.m.

TCOLE submitted White’s case to the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office, which dismissed it on October 31, 2023. TCOLE said it closed the case in January 2024.

Aside from the TCOLE investigation, district officials said Round Rock ISD paid third-party investigator Patricia Lineras $15,000 to conduct two formal investigations in October 2023. The first investigation was into a complaint filed against Weiner and another into the culture and climate of the department.

KXAN initially asked the district in October 2023 whether it was investigating its police department. The district then denied that any investigations were underway, but the investigative report obtained by KXAN through an open records request shows both were already underway.

“I am sorry that you received incorrect information regarding the internal investigation. The investigation involved human resources and was conducted by an outside investigator,” an RRISD official told KXAN in an email.

According to the report, the outside investigator interviewed 37 current police department social workers, police officers, sergeants, the deputy chief and support staff. Both investigations were completed by October 24th.

Investigators said they observed “a lack of professional communication on the part of the chief,” favoritism and a failure to comply with district regulations.

“There was a lack of professional communication from the chief (inappropriate comments to and about police officers and sergeants”), the report said.

“It was concerning that the department responsible for the security of our district deemed it chaotic and disorganized,” Landrum said. “When these concerns came to light, the administration treated them as a systemic question about how to make changes.”

The report, completed in October 2023, also raises concerns about the county’s Radio and Dispatch Department: “…There are concerns that the new dispatch system will not be able to quickly address serious safety issues.”

In response, district officials told KXAN, “The radios are a work in progress.” However, the district has not provided additional information about the nature of the problem with the dispatch and radio system or clarified whether the problem persists.