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Has the chief lost control?

Up and down the chain of command - it appears much has changed since you've been around. Old cop told me years ago that if there is stupid stuff going on in a department, it's bad training, bad leadership if not a combination of both. I believe there's plenty to be had at TPD. There are several patrol supervisors who are steady and have their heads screwed on straight but they can't be up and on duty 24/7 to keep things on an even keel. Lots of stupid stuff going on - a gal who is a secretary for a state-level commission told me about an incident where a TPD cop screamed at her and threatened to yank her out of her car and faceplant her on a parking lot. She's a little old lady in her sixties for pete's sake. Sounds like the one who planted the teen at the Walmart. Another mature fellow I know who is in to customizing and restoring old cars was nursing one of his latest creations over to a muffler shop while being followed by help. They got pulled over by a plainclothes TPD officer in an unmarked car, who harangued them for about 15 minutes, threatening arrest, seizing his car, all sorts or nonsense before writing out an incomprehensible citation and cutting them loose. Then there's their over-use of the SWAT team - one example is they showed up at a friend's business one morning dressed for the battle of Fallujah looking for a guy that hadn't worked there for nearly two years over a non-violent, non-felonious misdemeanor warrant. You'd have thought they had Osama Bin Laden cornered in there. Many more examples to be had about such goings-on. I'd say that department runs the gamut from incompetent to corrupt - I know that county deputies like to keep dealings with that department at arm's length though they don't openly go into their reasons, but I can certainly extrapolate as to why. Any and all responsibility for the department lies with the Chief - and it's very apparent they need another one.

Here is another article.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/San-Marcos-police-officers-under-investigation-in-4671119.php

Palermo had no justification for his “clearly excessive” actions

“Any and all responsibility for the department lies with the Chief - and it’s very apparent they need another one”

New blood might be necessary, as the present chief started with TPD decades ago, “growing up” there, from police cadet to chief. Kind of one dimensional, I’d say.