Private Jail Firm Employs Former Texas Ranger. Will Rangers Investigate Deaths in Those Jails?

AUSTIN -- For years, private jails in Texas run by LaSalle Corrections have been plagued by complaints of lax training and abuse at their jails. In-jail deaths at their facilities across the state have resulted in multiple lawsuits for wrongful deaths and negligence.So when the state passed a law in 2017 requiring Texas jails to have an outside law enforcement agency investigate such deaths, the Texas Rangers seemed a perfect fit. Nearly every jail in the state chose the Rangers, the state’s premier investigative agency, to oversee their investigations - including seven of eight LaSalle-run jails -- overseen by the state. Now, the Texas Jail Commission, which oversees 241 jails across the state, is reviewing its decision to appoint the Rangers as the investigating agency for eight LaSalle-run jails, including ones in Parker and Johnson counties.The review comes after The Dallas Morning News informed the commission that LaSalle's director of governmental affairs, Bob Prince, is a former Texas Ranger whose son, Randall Prince, now oversees the Rangers as a deputy director for the Department of Public Safety. The younger Prince, who is part of Director Steve McCraw’s three-pronged executive team, ran the Texas Rangers for four years prior to his promotion last September.Brandon Wood, executive director of the jail commission, said his staff had reached out to the Louisiana-based private jail company to discuss designating another agency to investigate its in-jail deaths after The News informed him of the company’s connections to the Rangers.“While I have full faith and confidence in the Rangers not being influenced one iota, we are looking at the possibility of having someone else designated because we want to make sure there’s no room to doubt that deaths in custody are being investigated properly,” Wood said. “We’re trying to make sure no one could even question. We want people comfortable in knowing that they conduct those investigations with complete impartiality.”Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, stressed that there had been no impropriety in previous investigations of LaSalle-run jails and emphasized the Rangers’ “well-deserved reputation for conducting comprehensive and unbiased investigations.” But she said the department would expand its practices to avoid conflicts of interest.“We do recognize that perception matters,” Cesinger said in a prepared statement. “We remain committed to operating beyond reproach to assure the public that investigations are conducted thoroughly and impartially.”If the Rangers were called to investigate LaSalle’s jails, she said, they would still conduct the investigation, but Randall Prince would recuse himself and one of the department’s other two deputy directors would oversee the case.The Rangers already bring in outside agencies, like the FBI, in investigations on in-jail deaths or officer-involved shootings when an apparent conflict of interest exists, Cesinger said. The department also takes Rangers off investigations when conflicts exist.Jay Eason, director of operations for LaSalle, said the company “does not view Bob’s role with the company as a conflict of interest when it comes to the Texas Rangers investigating deaths in custody.”“Bob Prince’s job duties are strictly Governmental Affairs,” Eason said in a statement. “He does not have any oversight of facility operations.”Still, the jail commission is planning to replace the Rangers as LaSalle’s outside investigating agency. Wood said the commission and LaSalle had not decided on a course of action yet or when the change might happen, but “they’re willing to do whatever we say or deem necessary.”The requirement for an outside law enforcement agency to investigate in-jail deaths was passed into law under the Sandra Bland Act of 2017. The law’s author, Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman, said the law’s “language on investigations was purposefully included to eliminate conflicts of interest” and added that he would continue to work on tweaks to the law this session.“We will look at the alternatives as part of the Bland Act follow-up,” he said.Local jails were tasked with presenting an outside agency to investigate them, which the commission then would sign off on, Wood said. All but seven jails - including Dallas' which chose the local district attorney investigator - chose the Texas Rangers.Wood said he was focused on meeting the deadline for the requirement - which had to be in place by the beginning of 2018 - and did not make the connection between LaSalle and the Texas Rangers until The News brought it to his attention.“It’s one of those things when you brought it up, I said, ‘You’re right.’ His dad does work for LaSalle,” Wood said. “While it doesn’t violate the statute, there could be a perception involved that someone does somebody a favor. We strive each and every day to make sure we’re aware of the perception and that people are comfortable with what we do and there is no room for questioning that.”The only LaSalle-run jail not assigned the Texas Rangers as their outside law enforcement agency was the Jefferson County Downtown Jail, which chose the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.LaSalle officials said their jails are overseen by local counties, which are responsible for naming the outside investigating agencies required by the law.“When we have a death in custody in one of the county jails we operate in Texas, we report the incident to the Texas Jail Commission and the Sheriff’s Office,” Eason said. “ An outside law enforcement agency is appointed to investigate the death in custody. Lasalle Corrections is not involved in that decision and the investigation.”Diana Claitor, executive director of the Texas Jail Project which advocates for improved standards at jails, was critical of the Rangers investigating LaSalle jails.“It’s disturbing to find out that the former Texas Ranger and longtime DPS officer Bob Prince is a Director of Government Affairs for LaSalle Southwest Corrections,” Claitor said in a statement. “Worse, his own son works at DPS in an oversight position of the Texas Rangers. So when a Ranger is sent to investigate LaSalle deaths, which occur frequently, I’m sorry to say, there is likelihood of conflict of interest.”She called for a closer watch on jails run by LaSalle, which she said had an “abysmal track record.” In November, The News reported on LaSalle’s high use of untrained jailers who don’t have the required 96 hours of training on how to handle volatile prisoners, when to use force and what constitutes basic safety techniques.Last year, LaSalle-run jails were found out of compliance with Texas jail standards at least four times. In addition to jails in Parker and Johnson, the company runs lockups in Bowie, Fannin, Haskell, Jefferson, McLennan and Limestone counties.“If there are any jails in Texas that deserve close observation and unbiased oversight, it’s the privatized facilities run by LaSalle,” Claitor said.She applauded the commission’s move to designate new investigating agencies for LaSalle-run jails.“It’s essential that they get somebody else and I’m glad that they’re doing that,” she said.  Continue reading...