COFFEE CITY, Texas — An East Texas city without a police force could soon be selling their former department’s property. After the termination of Coffee City's police chief JohnJay Portillo and the deactivation of his entire police force in September, the city council is looking to move forward.
An investigation by our sister station KHOU11 revealed questionable hiring processes, and Portillo's history with a previous arrest for driving while intoxicated.
Just two months after the investigation, the city is looking to sell four of the five police officer vehicles they currently own. Mayor Jeff Blackstone said several departments from other cities have already reached out about purchasing their units.
On Monday, a motion was passed during their monthly city council meeting to consider selling the vehicles. Blackstone said getting the vehicles off their hands will help them save money on auto insurance and other expenses.
"They're just sitting there and their batteries are going bad," Blackstone said. "It's just better to go ahead and get rid of them if we're just not going to use them. But the one Tahoe we (keep) could be functional for the fire department."
Councilmembers also discussed creating a neighborhood watch program since the city does not have any local law enforcement.
"We'll get with Sheriff Hillhouse and see what he recommends," Blackstone said. "There's probably some program that he can give us, and some tips that he can give us to move forward with that."
Blackstone said he does not believe the city will reactivate or hire another police officer due to budget restrictions.
"When you start looking at the numbers I don't even know about one officer," Blackstone said. "I mean, to have a police force with just one officer you're looking at is least $250,000. Then as you add officers you’re just adding basically a little bit more of salary and we don't have that kind of money."
As the city continues moving forward from Portillo’s termination, Blackstone said things have been going smoothly. He also mentioned their previous officers have been looking for other departments to transfer to.