LEAGUE CITY, Texas
A city's police chief has been accused of threatening to punish officers if they do not write a certain amount of tickets.
The allegation from one of Chief Michael Jez's officers is that officers were required to write at least two tickets per day or face disciplinary action.
Ticket quotas are illegal and violate the Texas Transportation Code.
Officer Sean Arena sent his complaint to all of the city's leaders, including the mayor, and to the district attorney and attorney general on Oct. 19.
Arena claimed that he was pressured by the chief and one of his captains to write more tickets.
"Over the period of the past 18 months, there has been a clear push by League City Police administration to ensure League City patrol officers conduct a 'certain amount' of traffic stops each workday," Arena wrote.
When asked for comment, Jez referred all questions to City Attorney Arnold Polanco. Polanco declined to answer questions from KPRC Local 2, citing that city policy prevents him from discussing any case that is under investigation.
Arena is the president of the local police union, but he stressed that he was speaking only for himself and not the union. He also referred KPRC Local 2 to his attorney, saying he feared retaliation.
Several drivers were upset to hear about the allegation.
"I am more likely to believe it because it would be hard for a police officer to go against that," driver Kattie Brewer said. "If he hasn't done anything wrong, he should've been the first person to step up to the plate and say, 'I haven't done that.'"
The district attorney's office is looking into the matter.
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