Nathan R. Lewis .

· Sheriff, Hemphill County Sheriffs Office

401 Purcell
Canadian, Texas 779014

Reprimand No. 19-06-0604RP

Upon receiving the complaint, the TCOLE Enforcement Division initiated an investigation. During the on-site
training program evaluation at your agency on 05/23/2019, Academy Contract Evaluator Malcolm Jackson
found you had reported "personnel orientation" and "field training programs" through TCLEDDS un9er
departmental tab, when they should hav~ been reported under the academy tab. ACE Jackso!}, also found that
your agency had no training files presented during the evaluation process. Investigators found that you-:-
reported eighty (80) hours of "county correction officer field training" for Hemphill County Sheriffs Deputies
J. Ortega and 0. Ortega on 09/18/2019. ·During the investigation you provided word documents created-by
you, and dated September 18, 2018, as documentation of the "county correction officer field training" for both
deputies. During an interview with J. Ortega, she was shown the Wgrd document you create~ as · _
documentation of her field training, and she advised there were topics on that document that she 1'neyer.
covered under a field training program. During an interview with 0. Ortega, he was _showrt. the Wotll ··
document you created as documentation of his field training, and he indicated he did not recognize any .of th~
topics on this document except for the "fire drill", and added that they did conduct "shake downs" .during tlie
fire drills. 0. Ortega advised investigators he had never been formally trained. You admitted to Investjgat~rs "'
that the Word document you created as documentation of the "county correction officer field trafning", dated
September 18, 2018, was actually~created November 29, 2018. Investigators found that you created this-: ~
predated document only after your Chief Deputy, Brent Clapp, advised you that documentation was needed t~
report the county correction officer training. The documentation you created is merely a Word document of
hours for each topic, but there is no supporting documentation of how the field training was conducted with
Deputies J. Ortega, or 0. Ortega, nor by whom.

Our investigation shows you, as the chief administrator of the Hemphill County Sheriffs Office, reported
sixteen (16) hours "firearms proficiency officer training" (Course 3337) for six (6) of your deputies, incl.uding
yourself during the 2015 - 2017 training unit, and six (6) of your deputies during the 201, 7 - 2019. training
unit Through interviews with deputies, Investigators found that the training was actually "annual firearm
qualifications" and was not a "firearms proficiency officer training course". Annual fireal'}llS qualific~tions -
may be reported TCOLE, but only as zero (0) hours of training and not sixteen (16) hours of training. For
those reasons, the Enforcement Division deemed the complaint to be substantiated.

Phone: (512) 936-7700 Fax: (512) 936-7714

 Kim Vickers
Executive Director

This letter of reprimand is now a permanent part of your Commission file.

person who has previously received two written reprimands from the commission is subject to suspension.
· See 1.:itle 37 Texas Administrative Code §223.15 (g). ·

Continued violations may result in further disciplinary action, including reprimand, license suspension and ( · ·
or assessment of administrative penalties up to $1,000.00 per day, per violation. See Tex.' 0cc. Code §-
1701.507; Tjtle 37 Texas Administrative Code § 223.2.

If you have any questions or believe this letter has been issued in . error,
documentation to the Commission's Enforcement Division within ten days.

Sincerely,

Kim Vickers
Executive Director

Phone: (512) 936-.7700 Fax: (512) 936-7714

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 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

CASE INFORMATION

Case Number: 19-06-0604

Investigator: Sergeant Shane Norie

Violation : Tampering with a Governmental Record, Texas PC 37.10 (a)(5)

§218.1. Continuing Education Credit for Licensees (b)

Involved Persons: Sheriff Nathan Lewis, PID

Witnesses: Jerri-Lynn Ortega

Oscar Ortega, PI
Brent Clapp, PID
Cheryl Cano, PID
Pyne Gregory, PI

Involved Agency: Hemphill County Sheriff's Office

SUMMARY:

Sheriff Nathan Lewis reported County Corrections Field Training hours to the Texas Commission on Law
Enforcement without proper documentation.

Definitions

Texas Penal Code§ 37.10-Tampering with a Governmental Record

(a) A person commits an offense if he:

(5) Makes, presents, or uses a governmental record with knowledge of its falsity;

§218.1. Continuing Education Credit for Licensees (b)

(b) A law enforcement agency submitting continuing education courses under the chief
administrator's approval through a departmental report of training, must have the following on
file and readily accessible to the commission:
(1) lesson plans; or
(2) certificate of completion with hours indicated on the certificate;
(3) attendees' critique of the course that includes:
(A) written evaluation of the instructor; and
(B) an assessment of how this training was applicable to their assigned duties;
(4) number of students attending from the agency;
(5) copy of course outline (if available); and
(6) copy of available handouts.

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DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION

On June 4, 2019 I was assigned this case for further review . The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement,
Enforcement Division, received a complaint from TCOLE Academy Contract Evaluator (ACE) Malcolm
Jackson. The complaint outlined on May 23, 2019 Jackson had performed an on-site training program
evaluation at Hemphill County Sheriff's Office with Chief Deputy Brent Clapp .

The complaint outlined several violations the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office had potentially committed
in violation of TCOLE Rules and the Training Provider Contract, which has been in effect since April 26,
2017.

Chief Clapp had advised at some point around November 2018 one of his deputies Jerri-Lynn Ortega, PIO
, had reported she observed training hours on her Personal Status Report (PSR) that she felt like
were fraudulent . The training indicated 80 hours of County Correction Officer Field Training which was
reported on September 18, 2018 . Jerri-Lynn Ortega advised she had not performed or completed any
Field Training Programs for Corrections at Hemphill County.

August 21, 2019

I along with Sergeant Dave New, traveled to Hemphill County Sheriff's Office to follow up on the
comp laint filed by ACE Malcolm Jackson. We made contact with Chief Deputy Brent Clapp and Sheriff
Nathan Lewis. Lewis was advised why Investigators were on scene and Sheriff Lewis produced four (4)
documents outlining the Field Training program for County Corrections. The documents were for the
following deputies:

Deputy Jerri-Lynn Ortega

Oscar Ortega
Nathan Lewis
Pyne Gregory

I then met with Jerri-Lynn Ortega and received a recorded statement, which will be included with the
case file . The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a transcript.

Deputy Ortega advised she had observed 80 hours of Field Training Hours on her PSR to which
she did not complete. Ortega stated she had looked at her PSR in order to see how many hours
she needed before the end of the training cycle.

Ortega advised she printed out her PSR and went to speak with Chief Deputy Brent Clapp about
the hours. She told Chief Clapp she had received 80 hours of training and did not sit in any class
for two weeks.

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Ortega advised the first thing Clapp said was "what did Nathan do?" referring to Sheriff Nathan
Lewis. She stated Chief Clapp had then observed several of the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office
employees had received the training hours.

Ortega advised Chief Clapp told her to call Richard Gutierrez, TCOLE, to advise him of the matter.
Ortega contacted Gutierrez who advised her to write up a statement and forward it to him.
Ortega advised she did not complete the statement.

Ortega advised she started working for the Sheriff's Office around September 2016 when Sheriff
Lewis assumed office. Ortega advised she never went through a Field Training Program due to
her prior experience.

Ortega advised Chief Clapp told her he was fearful Sheriff Lewis would make up a roster for the
training.

Norie then showed Ortega the document provided by Sheriff Lewis outlining the topics of the
Field Training Program for County Corrections. Ortega said there were topics on the document
that she never covered under a Field Training Program.

I then met with Chief Deputy Brent Clapp and received a recorded statement, which will be included
with the case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a transcript.

Chief Clapp confirmed the issue with the Field Training hours being reported with no supporting
documents originally around December 2018 by Deputy Jerri-Lynn Ortega.

Jerri-Lynn Ortega had reported to Clapp she had 80 hours of Corrections Field Training she did
not perform and did not deserve. Ortega also wanted to know how it got onto her PSR. Chief
Clapp then assured Ortega he would get to the bottom of it.

Clapp then went to Sheriff Lewis and inquired why Jerri-Lynn Ortega had these hours. Sheriff
Lewis said she got those hours so he reported them.

Clapp advised Sheriff Lewis the agency did not have an FTO file, training file or any supporting
documents that they should have as a training provider. Chief Clapp stated Sheriff Lewis did not
seem concerned about it. Sheriff Lewis then advised Clapp the agency did not need supporting
documents due to the training being classified Field Training.

Chief Clapp then advised he contacted Director Kenny Merchant, TCOLE, about the matter for
direction. Clapp stated Merchant told him they needed to have documents supporting the
training hours.

Chief Clapp then went back to Sheriff Lewis and told him if he is going to submit 80 hours of
training you have to have the supporting documents. The documents needed to comprise of
what the hours covered.

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Clapp then stated Lewis created a word document showing the topics of what the officers were
trained in and how many hours those topics covered.

Clapp advised Lewis brought the word document to him and asked Clapp "is this what you
mean?" Clapp said the document was created around the December 2018 time frame.

I then produced the document to Clapp and he confirmed it appeared to be the same document
Lewis created around December 2018. Clapp did say however the document was not on Hemphill
County letterhead at the time it was initially drafted.

Clapp then told Lewis if that is the way you're going to justify it and you're comfortable with it
then that's on you. Clapp further told Lewis "you reported these you have to have the
explanation for it".

Clapp further stated Sheriff Lewis kept all the training files in his office until Clapp informed Lewis
ACE Malcolm Jackson was coming in May 2019. It was at this time Clapp was given 8 rosters of
classes the agency had reported. Clapp asked Lewis if this was all the training files and Lewis said
it was.

Chief Clapp said the documents created for the Field Training were not part of the training files
Lewis produced to Clapp for the audit.

ACE Jackson asked Clapp during the evaluation about the FTO training and why weren't the
documents in the training files. Clapp did not have an answer.

Clapp said he could not go ask Sheriff Lewis due to his absence during the evaluation. Clapp said
when Jackson arrived at the Sheriff's Office; Sheriff Lewis departed the Sheriff's Office and did
not return.

Clapp advised he told Sheriff Lewis "he's here", referring to Jackson. Clapp informed Sheriff Lewis
that Jackson needed to meet with them both and Lewis told Clapp "you can handle this" and did
not return for the rest of the day.

The Field Training documents were ultimately recovered from Sheriff Lewis' desk drawer. Clapp
further stated the training files are generally kept in a filing cabinet in Lewis' office and the
employee files are kept in his desk.

ACE Jackson advised Chief Clapp he would be forwarding his findings to the investigative side of
TCOLE. Clapp asked Jackson what he should tell Sheriff Lewis and Jackson advised him to explain
to the Sheriff what your deficiencies were.

Chief Clapp said Sheriff Lewis asked how the evaluation went the next day and Clapp advised him
it wasn't good.

Clapp advised Lewis he had training rosters listed that Clapp had no idea where they came from .
Sheriff Lewis replied he was just doing it like every other Sheriff he has worked for does it.

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ACE Jackson went on to ask Chief Clapp about a Firearms Proficiency Officer Training class. Chief
Clapp went on to say we qualify once a year and the record showed two courses, one in February
2018 and the other in July 2018. Jackson advised Clapp the Firearms proficiency officer training
was not annual qualifications. Jackson told Clapp it was one step below Firearms Instructor
training and asked Clapp if he hosted a class or sent anybody to the class and he replied not that
he was aware of

Chief Clapp was then asked about the jail Field Training Program. Clapp advised the jail
administrator Cheryl Cano has a document depicting a checklist of what they cover in the jail.
Ch ief Clapp went on to say they do not have a jail FTO program for Peace Officers.

Clapp was not aware of how long the FTO program was for the jailers/dispatchers. Clapp said
they would spend a week or two with another officer to learn.

It was brought up to Clapp if he didn't know what the program was for the jail then one could
assume Lewis doesn't know. Due to the fact that Clapp is in charge of the jail and the train ing of
new officers. When asked about the Field Training document Lewis drafted Clapp believes based
on conversations he and Lewis had in December 2018, the document was manufactured and the
numbers were pulled out of thin air. Clapp said Lewis could have called jail Administrator Cano,
but she would have to answer that.

Chief Clapp agreed it appeared Lewis fabricated the documents for the three officers due to the
fact it was the three officers we were talking to on that day.

When Sergeant New recovered the documents from Lewis he advised he had no other
documents for anyone else. Lewis personally gave himself 80 Field Training hours for County
Corrections and 80 Field Training hours for Communications Field Train ing totaling 160 hours.

Lewis had no documents for Communications Field Training and it should be noted no one was
inquiring about Communications Field Training. The only thing people were inquiring about was
the Corrections Field Training which he received 80 hours from himself and thus no documents
were "created" for the communications field training.

Clapp advised he never brought up Communications Field Training with Lewis. Clapp was further
asked why he thought Lewis fabricated those documents and he stated because he thinks that is
what happened.

Clapp said it wasn't outside the realm of Lewis fabricating a document because he had
manufactured a supplement for a missing person a year and a half after it happened.

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I then met with Sheriff Nathan Lewis and received a recorded statement, which will be included with the
case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a transcript.

Lewis began by stating he had never heard of the Field Training issue prior to ACE Malcolm
Jackson performing his evaluation in May 2019. Lewis advised Chief Deputy Clapp had asked him
what documentation the agency had and Lewis told him he had documentation he made up for
the hours he submitted.

Lewis stated he assumed the duties of Sheriff in September 2016 when the prior Sheriff abruptly
left the position prior to his term ending.

Sheriff Lewis was then shown the County Corrections Field Training documents he produced
from his desk. Lewis confirmed the documents were created on September 18, 2018 just as the
date depicted on the document.

Lewis stated he talked to Clapp in September 2018 about the documents and he never spoke
with Clapp about Malcolm Jackson's visit. Lewis said he has never had a conversation with Clapp
regarding the FTO documents when Jackson was at the agency.

Lewis confirmed he only made up the Field Training documents for the three deputies (Jerri-Lynn
Ortega, Oscar Ortega and himself). He advised he didn't make FTO files for the
jailer/telecommunicator because the jail has a Field Training program that they do which is
probably 160-175 hours. Lewis said the jail Captain Cheryl Cano handles her own staff (Cano was
identified as Jail Administrator/Captain).

Lewis identified another deputy Pyne Gregory, who no longer works for the agency, had the Field
Training documents as well.

Lewis explained when he went to give the deputies training hours; he spoke with Cano and asked
her what the deputies were doing in the jail and in dispatch. Cano explained to the Sheriff what
the deputies were doing such as booking prisoners, fire drill training and shakedowns. He said to
him that was training. Lewis then went back and calculated how many hours it was they were
performing those tasks.

Lewis said every time they were booking someone in they were learning the system and he
counts that as training.

I then used Jerri-Lynn Ortega as an example and asked Lewis how she received 80 hours of Field
Training. Lewis explained what he sees as FTO Training is when he sees a deputy transporting a
prisoner to court; those are training hours to him.

I again asked Lewis why Jerri Ortega would get 80 hours and what was the significance of the
hours he said "If their doing stuff to get the hours, then I am going to give them the hours".

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Sheriff Lewis stated he spoke with the Sheriff from Ochiltree County and he advised Lewis he
could give hours for any stuff they do in the jail if the guys were jailers, because their guys do it
all.

Lewis said he went back and visited with the jailers, Jail Capt. Cano and head dispatcher. Lewis
said he did not visit with the deputies. Lewis said he just got the hours from observing what they
did.

Lewis then tried to explain how he calculated the hours and he explained if Jerri Lynn Ortega
went from the jail to the court that was an easy hour every time. Lewis knew Ortega performed
two (2) transports so he gave her two hours of training.

Lewis said all of his guys easily do that many transports to court. Lewis stated he had even done
those transports and so he gave himself those hours as well.

I then asked Lewis about the jail RMS system bullet point and he said it indicated the jail CAD
system. He further explained when the deputies booked someone in that equaled hours they
logged for training on the system.

Lewis advised he took the total numbers of hours TCOLE allots for Field Training (160} and began
speaking with the jail Captain (Cano) and reviewing videos of the duties the deputies were
performing and that is how he came up with the hours.

I then confirmed with Sheriff Lewis, he watched videos? Lewis explained he has a camera system
in his office and he knows what his deputies do because they are a small enough agency for him
to know.

I asked Lewis about the hours totaling 80 not the 160 and if he just gave them the total number
allotted by TCOLE, why didn't he give them the 160. Lewis responded I guess that's just what I
gave them. He said maybe the deputies had hours before they started working with Hemphill
County SO. Lewis said if they had FTO hours before they worked with Hemphill County he gave
them fresh hours for when they started working for him.

Lewis then asked if he was doing it correctly and said he was just giving those hours he felt they
deserved as Lewis being their new supervisor. He reiterated the jailer/dispatchers have their own
FTO documentation and he was only doing this for the deputies.

Lewis said the September 2018 date was the date he realized he could give the hours so that's
why all the hours were submitted on that date in TCLEDDS. Lewis then stated if he has done this
wrong then I am sorry, he thought he was doing it correctly.

Lewis said they were doing some type of training in the jail that caused him to think he wasn ' t
giving the deputies the FTO hours they deserved.

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ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

I then confirmed with Sheriff Lewis that if a deputy transported two inmates to court that was
two hours of Field Training. Also, if a deputy books 8 people in that equated to 8 hours of Field
Training.

Lewis said that was just from him looking at cameras in his office. He justified the hours by
lookin g at the cameras, talking to his jail Captain (Cano) and talking with the dispatchers asking
what the deputies did in the jail the night prior.

Lewis stated any deputy who received Field Training hours would have supporting documents for
those hours. Lewis advised the jailers/dispatchers were the same in regards to Field Training.

Sergeant New advised Lewis that was incorrect. Lewis was advised he had put himself down for
80 hours of Telecommunicator Field Training and 80 hours of Corrections Field Training.

Lewis was then asked if he had any supporting documents for Telecommunicator FTO hours.
Lewis made the statement "every time I'm in there I'm training".

When Lewis was asked were the supporting documents were for the Telecommunicator hours he
pointed to the document for Correction Field Training. Lewis attempted to say they the two
positions were the same Field Training. Lewis was then corrected and advised the document only
covered 80 hours of Correction Field Training and his PSR reflected those hours. His PSR also
indicated 80 hours of Telecommunicator Field Training.

Lewis thought the same document would work for jailer and telecommunicator. When Lewis was
pressed about it he continued to say he thought it was the same thing and he apologized if got it
wrong.

We then educated Lewis on the documentation in regards to Field Training and confirmed the
date of 9/18/18 was the actual date the document was created.

I then met with Trevor McKnight, jailer/dispatcher, and received a recorded statement, which will be
included with the case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a
transcript.

McKnight advised he did receive Field Training, but could not recall how many hours the training
was.

I then met with Captain Cheryl Cano, Jail Administrator, and received a recorded statement, which will
be included with the case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a
transcript.

Cano stated any training or anything which pertains to the jail, she should know about.

Cano began by describing the process of Field Training for the jailer/dispatcher positions. Cano
advised the agency had a checklist of the areas they go over and document (A copy will be
included in the case file).

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ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

Cano further stated the hours granted for Field Training varies and she doesn't know how many
hours the trainee gets. Cano was shown officer receiving 160 hours of Field Training and doesn't
know were Sheriff Lewis is coming up with the number. Cano doesn't put a number of hours
trained. She just tells Lewis when the trainee is competent and can be on their own. Cano said
the FTO checklist is kept with the employee file.

I then went over the Corrections Field Training document supplied by Lewis and Cano has no
knowledge of the document.

Cano went on to say Sheriff Lewis has never called her to ask what his deputies were doing in
reference to Corrections Field Training or Telecommunications.

I then met with Deputy Oscar Ortega, and received a recorded statement, which will be included with
the case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not intended to be a transcript.

Ortega stated he originally discovered he had hours on his PSR when his wife Jerri-Lynn Ortega
brought it to his attention. I then showed Ortega the document outlining the various topics in
regards to FTO Training.

Ortega did not recognize any of the topics except for the Fire Drills. He did say they perform
shakedowns while they do the fire drills. He continued to say they have never been formally
trained.

Ortega was asked about a Legislative Update class. Ortega said he took the class online through
055 Academy. Ortega advised he went into Sheriff Lewis' office and observed former deputy
Pyne Gregory. Ortega had asked Gregory if he had taken the legislative update class and he s'a id
he hadn't. Ortega said Sheriff Lewis voiced that Gregory had already taken the class and Gregory
then looked at Ortega and said "I guess I already took it".

I then asked Ortega about the Firearms Proficiency Officer course and if he had taken the 16
hours of training. Ortega said they had qualified on the range the same date the training was
submitted. Ortega said they spent an estimated 2 hours on the range qualifying and another
hours or so cleaning their weapons. Ortega estimated a total time of 3-4 hours on firearms
qualifications.

Ortega advised he had no knowledge of Sheriff Lewis submitting rosters for training that did not
occur.

We concluded all on site interviews and departed the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office.

August 26, 2019

I then contacted former Hemphill CO SO deputy Pyne Gregory at telephone number ),

and recorded the telephone call which will be included with the case file. The following is a summary of
the statement and is not intended to be a transcript.

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ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

I began by asking Gregory about the firearms qualifications in February 2018. Gregory said he
remembers the qualifications being about 3 hours.

Gregory was then asked about the conversation in Lewis' office when Oscar Ortega walked in
and questioned him about the Legislative Update course. Gregory thought he remembered
taking the course online.

September 3, 2019

I then contacted Chief Deputy Brent Clapp at telephone number ( , and recorded the
telephone call which will be included with the case file . The following is a summary of the statement and
is not intended to be a transcript.

I contacted Clapp in reference to the Firearms Proficiency Officer course. Clapp advised they have
not had the class or sent anyone to the class as reported.

Clapp advised he thinks that class is being reported for firearms qualifications because the dates
are the same dates as the department firearms qualifications.

I also confirmed with Chief Clapp there were no supporting documents and he said there was
not. Clapp also confirmed that all 17 training rosters listed in the department tab in TCLEDDS are
missing files. Clapp stated out of the 25 training classes they have instructed, only 8 have
supporting files.

I asked Clapp if anything has happened since TCOLE departed the agency and he advised Lewis
made the comment "Those classes didn ' t get red flagged; they (TCOLE) got a call". Lewis further
made the comment "I gave those people hours and they called on me".

September 26, 2019

I contacted Sheriff Nathan Lewis at telephone number , and recorded the telephone call
which will be included with the case file. The following is a summary of the statement and is not
intended to be a transcript.

Sheriff Lewis returned my call and I asked him about Course 3337 Firearms Proficiency Officer
Training given to various past and present employees of Hemphill CO SO.

Lewis advised the training was the department's annual qualifications. I advised Lewis this was
not the intended use of the class and that no training hours could be given for annual
qualifications. Lewis acted like he was surprised to hear you don't get hours for yearly
qualifications.

Lewis went on to say since Investigator left the agency in August 2019 he has relinquished all
TCOLE training and duties his Chief Deputy Brent Clapp. Also, Lewis told me he was not seeking

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ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

re-election for the office of Sheriff for Hemphill County. Lewis advised the job was to stressful
and it was his intentions to go back and become a regular street officer at an agency.

Lewis was very apologetic for all the mistakes and trouble the training issue has caused.

I took the opportunity to advise Lewis it was my opinion the County Corrections Field Training
document was not generated on September 18, 2018 as first reported by Lewis. I advised Lewis it
was my opinion the document was created sometime around December 2018.

The call was ended and after a short time Lewis called back (September 26, 2019) with an
explanation of the document.

Lewis advised he had gone back and located the creation date of the document through
Microsoft Word. Lewis said the document was created on November 29, 2018 at 11:04 am. Lewis
then said he meant to add a line on the document stating the effective date was 9/18/18.

Lewis also stated when Investigators were at Hemphill County SO in August 2019 and
questioning him on the spot he had no time to recount when he created the document.

It was at this time Lewis emailed me a screen capture of the creation time/date stamp of the
creation of the document for Corrections Field Training.

LEFT BLANK

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Conclusion

The Hemphill County Sheriff's Office became a Contract Training Provider on April 26, 2017. Sheriff
Nathan Lewis envisioned providing training for his agency along with surrounding agencies in the upper
Panhandle region of The State of Texas. Lewis assumed the office of Sheriff for Hemphill County on
September 16, 2016 after the prior Sheriff vacated his seat prior to the end of his term.

Sheriff Lewis had this vision of training but failed to educate himself on the Texas Commission on Law
Enforcement rules and laws. Sheriff Lewis thought he had the base knowledge to properly report and
put on training classes at the Hemphill County Sheriffs Office. Sheriff Lewis violated his Contract which
he signed on April 26, 2017. The following is a list of those violations:

III. CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION, AND TERMINATION.

11. Either party may terminate this contract upon ten days written notice.
The Commission may also terminate this contract if:

a) The training coordinator intentionally or knowingly submits, or

causes the submission of, a falsified document or a false written
statement or representation to the commission;

b) Training Provider fails to comply with any term of a contract or

violation of a commission rule or law, including when a provider
has been classified as at risk under this chapter for a twelve-
month period without complying with commission rules;

The main complaint of this case was training hours granted without proper supporting documentation in
the training files. The complaint was substantiated and Investigators learned Sheriff Nathan Lewis had
given County Corrections Officer Field Training to various current and former employees of the Hemphill
County Sheriff's Office . It was also learned through the investigation Sheriff Lewis granted 16 hours of
training for Course 3337, Firearms Proficiency Officer for the agencies yearly firearms qualifications.
Sheriff Lewis reported this training on several occasions since assuming the Office of the Sheriff in
September 2016. This act violated Section 11 (a) of his Training Contract with the commission. Sheriff
Lewis submitted those hours to the commission through TCLEDDS and did not have the supporting
documents for the training.

In regards to the Field Training hours reported, Sheriff Lewis drafted a document dated September 18,
2018 supporting the Field Training hours. Initially, Sheriff Lewis stood by the date on the document and
in a recorded statement told Investigators the date on the document was the date it was created. It was
learned through further investigation the document was not generated on the above date, but in fact
was created on November 29, 2018. Sheriff Lewis told Sergeant Norie on a recorded telephone call
when Norie brought it up to him again about the date not being accurate, he in fact generated the

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document on the November 29, 2018. Sheriff Lewis said when TCOLE Investigators were on site in
August 2019 and started asking him questions on the spot he had no time to react and could not
remember when he created the document. Sheriff Lewis then emailed a screen shot of the Word
Document corroborating when the document was created.

Sheriff Lewis advised he was not seeking re-election to be the Sheriff of Hemphill CO SO and had
relinquished all TCOLE training and matters to his Chief Deputy Brent Clapp.

END OF REPORT
RSN

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CASE INFORMATION

Case Number: 19-06-0604

Investigator: Sgt. David New

Offense: Supplement

Licensee : Hemphill County Sheriff's Office

SUPPLEMENT:

On 8/20/19, Sgt. Norie and I travelled to Canadian, TX to follow-up on case #19-06-0604. During this
investigation we were told there was documentation to support Sheriff Lewis's claim that officers in his
department received credit for numerous Field Training hours. This particular document would support
the Field Training hours received by each officer. I asked Sheriff Lewis for these documents and he
th
produced 3 from his lower left hand desk drawer. When asked if he had any more, he produced a 4 for
Officer Pyne Gregory. Gregory's was in his file room in Gregory's personnel file. An example of this
document is below:

Hemphill County Sheriff's Office

Nathan Lewis, Sheriff

401 Purcell Av..,ue Ek tnl Oapp. O,ief Deputy

tanadt.ln. TX 79014 Kim Spene.et, Admln Ant
Phone· 8()6..323 S326 Aimee w,tti,mson, Chief O.tpuche,
fax· 806 323 8355 Cheryt Clino, J•.i Admin

Septembe r 18, 2018

Hemphill County Jail • Training

County Corrections Officer Field Training

To le
Jail Operations 18
Dispatch Operations 12
Fire Drill 6
Shake Down/Movement 12
Inmate Booking 14
Tra nsport 6
Tel Mod/Hospital/Mental 6
Jail RMS Syst m 4
Court 2

J m Lynn Ort ega ha completed l!Q hours of training In County Corrections Officer Field
Training

Nathan Lewis, Sheriff

1
 TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

These were the only supporting documents Sheriff Lewis had for County Corrections Field Training. He
stated he did not have any other officers or other Field Training hours for Telecommunications. This was
suspicious because he only had supporting documentation for 4 officers (him included) and only for
County Corrections.

We did not have an evidence form at the time. I filled one out for the 4 memo's and scanned it to Sgt.
Norie to send a copy to Sheriff Lewis and Chief Clapp.

End of Supplement. D.B.N.

2
 Hemphill County Sheriff's Office
Nathan Lewis, Sheriff

401 Purce ll Avenue Brent Clapp, Ch ief Deputy

Canadian, TX 79014 Kim Spencer, Admin. Asst.
Phone: 806-323-5326 Aimee William son, Chief Dispatcher
Fax : 806-323-8355 Cheryl Cano, Jai l Ad min.

May 23, 2019

Malcolm Jackson
TCOLE Statewide Academy Evaluator

Mr. Jackson,
1 am sending this correspondence as per your request during the contract training provider evaluation
today at the Hemphil l County Sheriffs Office.

Sometime during the last week of November, 2018 Deputy Jerri-Lynn Ortega came to my office,
questioning training hours that had been applied to her TCOLE PSR. Deputy Ortega demanded to know
why 80 hours of County Correction Officer FTO had been added to her PSR. I told Ortega I had no idea
why the hours had been added. I further told her I would visit with Sheriff Lewis concerning this. I also
advised Ortega that I would contact Kenny Merchant or Richard Gutierrez. I told Ortega that she could
also contact Mr. Gutierrez if she was more comfortable doing so. Deputy Ortega was very concerned that
she had been given credit for 80 hours that she felt she had not earned. ( I am not aware if Ortega placed
the call to Gutierrez)

l asked Lewis if he had added 80 hours "Jail FTO" to Ortega's PSR. Lewis told me he had because all
the deputies other than myself are licensed jailers. I inquired as to how the 80 hours was determined,
Lewis told me due to learning the booking systems and Livescan.

I was uncomfortable with this situation and attempted to contact Kenny Merchant for guidance. I placed
call s to Merchant without an answer and therefore left a voice mail. I believe, during the first week of
December, Merchant returned my call explaining that he had been on sick leave. I explained the situation
concerning Ortega' s PSR and the 80 hours of Corrections Officer FTO. Merchant related that there
should be an FTO file with documents to support the 80 hours, but FTO regulations differed sli ghtly from
regu lar training.

I advised Sheriff Lewis that if he were to report the hours on Ortega's PSR he must have documentation
to prove the 80 hours of training, as we ll as some type ofFTO training program documentation. Lewis
asked me what I meant and what must be shown. I explained that in my opinion if he reported the hours
there needed to be an itemized list showing how much time was spent in each different area and what
training was provided. I added this situation is no different than a class roster, and needed to be addressed
as such . A short time thereafter, Lewis showed me a break down of areas of training in the jail that
equaled the 80 hours provided to Deputy Ortega. l was never provided any documentation for this
reported training.

I am unsure of the dates provided and am recalling them based on two days of training at the Hemphill
County Sheriffs Office. Training dates were December 4 and 5, 2018 by Gary Henderson, Law
Enforcement Representative from Texas Association of Counties.
Brent Clapp, May 23 , 2019
Donna Suderman

From: Darla Dixon

Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 7:58 AM
To: Donna Suderman
Subject: FW: Hemphill County SO 5-23-19 Intake Report
Attachments: Hemphill County SO 5-23 - 19 Intake MJ.pdf; Clapp letter 5-23 -19.pdf; Hemphill County
SO 5-23 -19 30 day departmental report.pdf; Nathan Lewis PSR.pdf; Ortega PSR.pdf

Darla R. Dixon
Enforcement Division

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

6330 East Highway 290, Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78723
(5 12 ) 936-7700
(512) 936-7714 Fax
www.tcole.texas.gov

From: Malcolm Jackson

Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 6:35 AM
To: Darla Dixon
Cc: Richard Gutierrez; Doug Skolaut; Michael Dickey; Malcolm Jackson
Subject: Hemphill County SO 5-23-19 Intake Report

See attached intake report and supporting documents for Hemphill County SO possible fraudulent training reports.

Malcolm Jackson, TCOLE ACE

Email: malcolm .jackson@tcole.texas.gov
Phone: 512-940-0635