Taft Community Fills City Hall in Show of Support for Police Chief

TAFT, Tx — Taft City Council surpassed maximum occupancy as citizens rallied in support of Police Chief John Landreth during Thursday’s special meeting, which addressed the possible termination of his employment.

With only council members Chris Keeney, Alonzo Molina and Rolando Rodriguez present, the meeting began with an hour-long executive session. Landreth had requested an open session for discussion, but the request was denied.

When the council returned to open session, Molina and Keeney questioned Landreth, many of the questions focused on the ongoing investigation intoLeeAnn Goben and alleged misuse of city credit cards for personal expenses totaling more than $30,000 from June to September.However, most of the questions concerned Landreth’s past interactions with the council.

Landreth was placed on unpaid leave in May after he reported possible criminal violations to the city clerk.She first reported the violations to city officials, including then-City Manager Kandi Hubert, but after nothing was done, she contacted 6 Investigates.

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On several occasions, attendees expressed their disagreement with the council’s actions. When Keeney asked if “the City Council had always supported you (Landreth),” the audience collectively responded with a resounding “No.”

“This is not the time or place for that. The moment for that remained in the citizen comments. You knew what the problem was. If you had something to say, you should have said it then,” Keeney told those who spoke.

During the session, Molina accused Landreth of being a “friend” of the former municipal administrator Kandi Hubert. Landreth responded: “I brought her here and introduced you. You all hired me. You all did it. “I was smart enough to know that.” He continued: “They keep saying she’s my friend. Now that all this water is going under the bridge, do you really think we were friends? I don’t make friends. I don’t do that. She’s not my friend. She has never been to my house; “I have never been to his house.”

After about 30 minutes, Keeney decided to fire Landreth. Despite protests from the audience, Keeney asked for a second second on the motion, but neither Molina nor Rodríguez responded. Without support, the motion failed and Landreth kept his position.

Keeney made a motion to fire Landreth during a special council meeting in June, but it also failed to pass.

“This participation means more than anything. It means more than keeping my job,” Landreth told 6 Investigates after the meeting. “The fact that I have the support of the community, the fact that so many people showed up and showed up and got involved, and I appreciate that.”

Landreth informed 6 Investigates that despite the possible dismissal, Thursday’s meeting has not affected the progress of the department’s investigation.

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