Commerce ISD Trustee Steps Down After Encounter That Led to Miss Black Texas' Arrest

A Commerce Independent School District trustee announced his resignation Tuesday, following the controversial arrest last month of the 2016 Miss Black Texas US Ambassador. Michael Beane says his resignation, which is effective immediately, is to save the district from further media attention."It's not because I did anything wrong, but because we don't need to be held hostage," he said. "We're in the business of helping kids here in Commerce. I volunteer for this spot on the board to help those kids. And nobody cares about that anymore. All they care about is something that someone said in the parking lot at Wal-Mart."Former Commerce police Chief Kerry Crews announced his resignation Monday because of the same incident.The resignations follow the May 20 arrest of Carmen Ponder, a 23-year-old pre-law student Texas A&M University-Commerce, who was detained outside a Wal-Mart after an encounter with Beane.   Continue reading...