Deputy Tex Thomas, Violation of Policy, Using Shortcuts in DUI Cases

The Polk County Sheriff's Office has officially found Deputy Tex Thomas in violation of policy after learning earlier this year that he used shortcuts in DUI cases.  Thomas used templates for DUI reports, cut-and-pasted between reports and didn't observe drivers face-to-face for 20 minutes before conducting breath tests.  Thomas was "upfront about all of this . . . [and] he had great intentions"; said Gary Hester, Chief of staff at the Polk County Sheriff's Office.  Thomas's goal was reportedly to "speed the process up so he could take more drunks off the street."  As a result, 54 DUI cases were abandoned this year in Polk County.  Hester said: "Really, what happened here is that defense attorneys get paid good money to create the appearance of problems in cases." . . .  Create the appearance of problems in cases!! . . .