Texas trooper files suit over punishment
for Snoop Dogg picture
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[April 30, 2015]
By Jon Herskovitz
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas state
trooper who says he was reprimanded after posing for a photograph with
rapper Snoop Dogg filed a civil suit on Wednesday over the punishment he
felt was unjust.
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The Department of Public Safety (DPS) told Trooper Billy Spears,
who was off duty but working in uniform as security at a music
festival, that he posed "with a public figure who has a well-known
criminal background including numerous drug charges" and it
reflected poorly on the agency, according to the suit.
Spears filed the suit against the leader of the DPS and others for
subjecting him to administrative counseling after the photo with the
music star, who was in Austin for the South by Southwest music
festival, was posted on social media about a month ago.
"The DPS does not discuss pending legislation," the department said
in a statement.
Snoop Dogg posted the picture with a caption that read "Me n my
deputy dogg."
After the photo went out, DPS dispatched an agent to Spears to serve
him with a copy of his counseling record, which the lawsuit said was
meant to show the department's anger.
The suit contends that Spears' superiors "could not identify any
policy, rule, order, or law that he violated, so they just
fabricated something."
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Spears' lawyer, Ty Clevenger, said a major point of the suit was to
remove the punishment from Spears' record. The suit contends Spears
fell afoul of the department after filing a complaint against a
superior over an incident that took place in 2014.
"Once you are on the blacklist, they pretty much don't take you
off," he said. He did not specify any monetary damages he was
seeking.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz)
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