DPS has been under fire for Mansion fire

By Jim Forsyth
Friday, July 11, 2008

The second top state official in a month has resigned following criticism of his agency's handling of a high profile incident, 1200 WOAI news reports.

Colonel Tommy Davis, who has been with the Department of Public Safety for more than 43 years, announced in a terse statement released today that he is retiring as of the end of August.

Lawmakers have criticized the DPS in the wake of the arson fire at the Texas governor's Mansion June 8, which occurred while a DPS trooper was supposed to be guarding the building. Evidence indicates the trooper was surfing the Internet at the time, and was away from a security console where cameras were monitored. There have also been allegations that many of the cameras were not working, and that security at the mansion had been diluted by DPS command decisions.

Last month, Texas Child Protective Services head Carey Cockrell announced his intention to resign on the same date, August 31. CPS was heavily criticized for its handling of the raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado, and the decision to seize all 460 underage children and place them in foster care. The Texas Supreme Court overturned the decision and returned the children to their families.

http://radio.woai.com/script2/print.php?page=/cc-common/news/sections/
newsarticle.html&article_id=3944631&feed_id=119078

Emphasis added by H4K Editor