Doug Balli, police chief in Galveston, Texas, is on 10-day leave in an attempt to mollify critics and victims of a bizarre raid on a local residence that his department isn't explaining very well and which "blindsided" city government.
"We need to figure out if the communication lapse was just a lack of oversight or whether there was intent, which I do not believe to be the case," Maxwell said. "I am a stickler for communication and I do not appreciate being kept out of the loop."
Balli didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Under civil service rules, the city cannot investigate the raid itself or decisions leading up it, Maxwell said.
Between the lines, the story seems to be that the raid was bad in obvious ways—inept, retaliatory or otherwise likely to generate legal problems—but the terrible contracts that cities sign with police departments means there's nothing Galveston can do about it. But they've found a loophole in the chief's failure to inform the city of a SWAT raid, and giving him a long week off is the best they can do.
