Houston officer back on the beat

HOUSTON — The police officer here has his answer, but a recall applicant to oust the city’s mayor is still waiting for a ruling.

Houston Police Sgt. Charlie Seidl was reinstated to full duty Thursday, lifting a two-week paid suspension pending the results of an internal personnel review. The suspension remained even after the Houston city council voted to retain Seidl in the wake of the officer using a gun to euthanizing eight animals at the Houston Animal Shelter.

Seidl claims Mayor Roger Purcell issued the order, which Purcell denies.

Despite the council’s vote on Feb. 8, the same day Seidl was placed on suspension, the city’s only police officer remained suspended following the vote. The mayor refused to discuss why Seidl was on suspension, only saying it would be lifted once the city attorney reviewed certain information.

At a Feb. 11 council meeting, Seidl said the mayor told him he had a habit of leaking information to the press. Seidl said he was told there was a legal review being conducted to determine what information he could and could not have access to.

On Friday, Seidl said he met with the mayor Thursday and was allowed to return to work that day. He could not go into any more detail than that.

Recall petition pending

An application is also pending with the city clerk for a petition to recall Purcell. The application met the legal requirements of having the necessary signatures and contact personnel, and now the city clerk must determine if the 200-word statement explains the reasons for recall with particularity.

The statement claims the mayor violated the city’s employee travel codes, was unauthorized in using the vehicle’s blue flashing lights, violated the Open Meetings Act and authorized the city clerk to file an election complaint knowing it included a false statement.

City Clerk Steven Cunningham said he was going to refer the application to the city attorney for review and recommendation.

Richard Payne, the attorney with Denali Law Group who does contract work for the city, said he looked at the legal sufficiency of the allegations and his would simply be a recommendation to the clerk. Ultimately, Cunningham makes the decision on the application for a recall petition.

Cunningham said he has received the attorney’s review and is now taking it under consideration. According to state statute, there is no time limit for when the application has to be ruled on.

If Cunningham rejects the application, the recall petition is dead. If he accepts it, the contact person on the petition has 60 days to gather 73 signatures of registered voters to put a question on a ballot to recall the mayor.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.