SHOCK: License Plate Reader Technology Weaponized Against City Manager in Texas
A coordinated smear campaign by one or more members of the law enforcement community appears to have been launched against a city manager in Texas.
The target of this potentially criminal effort is Theogene “Theo” Melancon. Last week, it was announced that the Navasota city council voted to enter contract negotiations with Melancon to become their next city manager.
Melancon, who currently serves as the city manager for Dickinson, is a tough, no nonsense municipal executive. He has built his professional reputation on rooting out government waste and inefficiency. However, it is his unflinching courage and willingness to lock horns with entrenched police chiefs that has placed him in the crosshairs of this scheme. We will come back to this in a moment.
Plot to Takedown City Manager Candidate in Navasota
While many aspects of this plot are unknown, the details that have emerged paint a terrifying picture about how private citizens can be targeted by unscrupulous members of the law enforcement community. Some members are abusing technology like automated license plate readers (ALPR) and extremely sensitive databases containing personal information about American citizens.
This technology surveils and monitors the movements of all citizens, including those who have not committed any crimes, through fixed pole-mounted cameras and mobile units mounted inside police vehicles.
On February 19th, Melancon was in Navasota to participate in a series of interviews and tours related to their city manager search. At 1:58 PM his personal vehicle was imaged by a patrol unit equipped with Motorola’s Vigilant ALPR technology presumably belonging to the Navasota Police Department.
Some ten hours later around midnight, the image of Melancon’s vehicle and identifying information had been leaked and posted to a Dickinson Facebook group filled with his detractors.
How did private information about an individual who was not wanted by any law enforcement agency and did not trigger any alerts magically appear in a private Facebook group filled with his critics in a town more than 100 miles away just ten hours later?
I believe multiple individuals and possibly multiple members of the law enforcement community participated in this conspiracy and that it should be criminally investigated by authorities.
Melancon: Not Afraid to Lock Horns with Police Chiefs
When Melancon arrived in Dickinson, he encountered a bloated, ineffective top-heavy police department filled with administrators and managers riding desks and pushing papers. At the time, the department was led by Chief Ron Morales who had been in the role for about 25 years. Morales was your stereotypical “this is my department and we will do things my way” police chief resistant to accountability and the change that comes with it.
It is a daunting task to get into a pissing match with an entrenched police chief who has spent decades building relationships with the people of that community. But Melancon would not be deterred in his quest to return value to his residents by streamlining the department, getting more officers out on the beat, and reducing crime.
Melancon, to the absolute horror and dismay of Morales, sought to eliminate the bloat and wanted to reorganize the department. At the time, Chief Morales had three captains, a lieutenant, a community policing officer, and a total of 23 officers for patrol and investigations.
Chief Morales’ Insubordination & Legacy of Incompetence
After the reorganization, Morales refused to fully conform to the plan and carry-out the objectives of the governing body and Melancon. This included the elimination of the lieutenant and one captain position so that these resources could be reallocated to street patrols. An insubordinate Morales reassigned the lieutenant to a patrol position on paper only and without a reduction in salary.
When Melancon discovered this deceit and clearly demonstrated he would not back down and allow Morales to run roughshod over him, Morales wisely saved face and resigned. I have it on good authority that Morales has been actively working to sabotage the selection of Melancon in Navasota.
After Morales’ resignation, multiple matters came to light. One such incident dealt with the cover up of a use of force case against Michael Scurlock that left the 65-year old with a traumatic brain injury . Melancon was given multiple contradictory statements as to the cause of Mr. Scurlock’s injuries. Less than a year after that incident, Mr. Scurlock passed away. Although his death cannot be directly linked to the injuries sustained at this time, there is an ongoing criminal investigation regarding the officer in that case.
Misplaced Evidence & 15-Year Old Rape Kits
Another issue uncovered by Melancon’s administration was the negligent manner in which evidence was stored. Over 1,100 pieces of evidence were misplaced. Pieces of evidence and ammunition were found in the lieutenant’s office after his departure. Shockingly, numerous sexual assault kits had not been tested for several years.
Who knows how many criminals could have been put in jail and how many rapes prevented had the Dickinson Police Department had real leadership instead of the incompetent Morales.
Melancon’s courageous leadership will undoubtedly result in the prevention of future rapes and sexual assaults. But it does not end there.
Dickinson Ain’t Melancon’s First Police Chief Rodeo…
Prior to his arrival in Dickinson, Melancon previously served in Dayton. That was where Police Chief John Headrick ultimately resigned after discussions with Melancon. In media reports, Melancon stated that they had a long talk about the future trajectory of the department and Chief Headrick’s long-term plans. After that discussion, Chief Headrick elected to resign.
Tough courageous leadership by city managers often results in a target being placed on their backs. They can become subject to vicious smear campaigns in their current community and bad actors will often follow them across the country digitally through social media harassment campaigns.
I believe the potential arrival of Melancon in Navasota posed a potential threat to one or more individuals and that sensitive information was leaked to the public out of fear and a desperate bid to sabotage his candidacy.
Can I prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt at this moment?
No.
Do I have information about this case that I cannot reveal at this time.
Yes.
With that said, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect some dots and understand that there are clearly some individuals with bad intentions and that this matter needs to be fully investigated.
Melancon: Supporter of Law Enforcement
The sad part is that Melancon has a tremendous record of supporting police officers and getting them the resources they need to be effective at fighting crime. And he has fought for better pay and benefits for rank-and-file officers. In Dickinson, Melancon negotiated a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Dickinson Police Officers’ Association.
The agreement included the most significant pay increase in the department’s history –21% over three years in salary adjustments. He was also instrumental in driving down the cost of dependent insurance premiums, which helped all employees, including the police department.
Heads Will Roll Once Investigation Completed
Make no mistake.
Once this matter is investigated fully — and it will be — some heads will roll because this data was accessed improperly and used for nefarious purposes.
Whoever is involved with ferreting out this data and “masterminding” this scheme is going to be revealed once a user audit of this data is collected and analyzed. And the companies have a vested interest in ensuring that these individual(s) are revealed because abuse and misuse of the data and their technology compromises their entire existence.
Stay tuned over the next several days and weeks because I will be closely monitoring this situation and posting regular updates.
