The city of Plum Grove has appointed a new police chief after a six-month vacancy. On Monday evening, June 10, the city council held its monthly meeting at the Plum Grove Volunteer Fire Department, where they addressed several key issues.
The agenda, posted on June 7, included discussions on rescinding previous actions related to the reinstatement of former police chief John Joslin and invalidating the council’s Dec. 11, 2023, meeting.
At the Dec. 11 meeting, Joslin was reinstated as police chief after a two-year dismissal, following a majority vote. Joslin had demanded his position back, threatening litigation against the city. Brandon Frazier, the then-current police chief, resigned immediately after Joslin’s reinstatement.
Voting in favor of Joslin’s reinstatement were former council members Lee Ann Penton Walker and Rodney Walker, current council members Kevin Lee and Danielle Enloe, with only Councilwoman Deborah Bell opposing.
At the June 10 meeting, Mayor Mary Arrendell explained that Joslin had not completed the necessary steps to be officially appointed.
“Six months ago, on December 11, 2023, a motion was made and passed to reinstate John Joslin as the Chief of Police for the Plum Grove Police Department. Since then, John Joslin has refused to comply with the mandatory steps to be appointed as the Chief of Police through TCOLE. Specifically, he has not completed and submitted the necessary Personal History Statement, so that a proper background investigation could be conducted. It is mandatory that a background investigation be completed prior to appointment and failure to adhere to mandated procedures poses a significant risk to our city’s compliance with state standards and could have legal and operational ramifications for our police department,” said Arrendell.
During the June 10 meeting, Councilman Lee was the sole vote against invalidating the actions of Dec. 11. Council members Froy Ortiz and Diana Chunn voted in favor, while Bell and Enloe were absent.
The council then addressed a letter from former police chief Brandon Frazier. Councilwoman Chunn read Frazier’s letter, highlighting the numerous challenges he faced, including budget overruns, compliance issues, and compromised evidence logs.
“On March 22, 2022, I was approached about being the Chief of Police for the City of Plum Grove. I was warned that the police department was in bad shape, but it wasn’t until March 30, 2022, when I accepted the duties and responsibilities associated with the position that I would learn the extent of the issues. The city was at risk relating to violations of the Equal Pay Act Provisions by not having employees in similar positions at similar pay and violation of the Texas Labor Code by employees not appropriately being compensated for hundreds of hours worked. The issues continued to stack up,” Frazier wrote in a letter read aloud during the meeting by Chunn.
In his letter, Frazier recommended Plum Grove Police Sgt. Frank Longoria as his successor, praising Longoria’s integrity and experience.
“Sgt. Longoria is by far one of the best supervisors I have ever had the privilege to serve with. The city is blessed to have such a quality law enforcement officer with his experience. He is honorable, has integrity, and sound decision-making. He has trained many of the law enforcement officers in the area and is well respected throughout the county. I hope that you consider my recommendation and allow him the opportunity to continue building this police department,” Frazier’s letter continued.
The council unanimously accepted Frazier’s resignation and then moved to appoint a new police chief.
Mayor Arrendell nominated Longoria for the position of police chief, and Longoria accepted.
On Tuesday, June 11, at 10 a.m., the City of Plum Grove made history by swearing in Frank Longoria, a 32-year law enforcement veteran, as its first bilingual and first Hispanic police chief.
Congratulations !!!!!!
Congratulations.