Cop in pic scandal fired, not charged

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) - Midland deputies who took pictures of a waitress holding one of their weapons will not face charges, but one officer was fired for handing his weapon to a civilian - and three others were suspended on Wednesday.

The Round Rock Police Department and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office said they will not criminally charge any of the Sheriff’s deputies from Midland County, Texas after they took photos of a waitress holding an assault rifle outside a Round Rock restaurant.

A photo revealed the Twin Peaks restaurant employee sat on a patrol car and posed with AR-15 rifle on Aug. 10. The restaurant is known for its scantily clad waitresses.

According to KWES-TV in Midland/Odessa, Daniel Subia, 30, was fired because he handed the patrol rifle over to the restaurant waitress.

Miguel Valdes Ramos, 31; Ronald Eugene Wright, 37; and 34-year-old Christopher Lee Evans have all been suspended for three days without pay.

Arturo Nunez Jr., 40, was given a letter of reprimand.

Midland County Sheriff Painter told the news media at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that he was embarrassed for the residents of Midland County and the employees of the Midland Sheriff's Office.

Midland County Sheriff's Deputy Ronald Wright told a Round Rock officer he decided to provide an automatic weapon to the waitress after she asked to have her picture taken with it, which fellow deputy Christopher Evans agreed was the wrong decision.

The other three deputies - Miguel Ramos, Arturo Nunez Jr. and Daniel Subia - spoke to another RRPD officer J.R. Gogolewski. Subia said he and Wright removed the weapon from vehicle before handing it to the waitress.

An incident report from Round Rock police details the evening's events of the disorderly conduct, called to attention by a Manor police officer who flagged down the RRPD officer J. Schultz to say he had seen some people take a weapon out of a trunk in full view of the public. He was with three other peace officers area - two Williamson County deputies and a Travis County deputy constable.

Officers arrived at the Twin Peaks Restaurant and Bar at 100 Louis Henna Blvd. after receiving a 911 call around 10:30 p.m. about the suspicious incident.

The incident report indicated a waitress from the restaurant was in the parking lot with five Midland County sheriff deputies holding one of their AR-15 patrol rifles and taking pictures on the back of the Crown Victoria police cars.

The report states the deputies, who were in the Central Texas area for training, told RRPD officer J.D. Rowe they hoped for "some form of professional courtesy" in the incident.

Rowe told them their request was inappropriate, and the deputies said they knew a similar situation would be unacceptable if they were back in Midland County.

While calling the Midland County Sheriff's Office asking to speak with an on-duty supervisor, Rowe said Subia approached him and said he had his captain on the phone. Rowe said he spoke with a man, who identified himself Capt. McKitrick, and told him of the recent events.

McKitrick said he did not have a pen to write anything down but would give Rowe a call back should he need anything in writing.

Rowe said he soon found out from a Midland dispatcher that the patrol division does not have a captain but rather is commanded by a Lt. Earl Stroup.

After relating the evening's events to Stroup, Rowe said the lieutenant said his deputies' actions were not in holding with his department's standards and that he would be dealing with this situation upon their return.

The incident report indicates Rowe did ask Stroup about a Capt. McKitrick but was informed the captain oversaw the operations division, which did not supervise the deputies in question - belonging to the patrol division.

Round Rock police confiscated the camera but did not retrieve copies of the images. They said that would have required a search warrant, and the camera was returned to its owner after a review determined no offense had occurred.

Round Rock police said the Midland County deputies were released at the scene after the investigation was documented and all information was obtained.