HARLINGEN — After seven months, the city might reunite with the area’s police academy.
In a meeting today, city commissioners will consider entering into an agreement with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council’s Regional Police Academy.
The agreement would allow city police officers to provide training as part of the academy’s program.
In October, the police academy resumed classes, about five months after the development council shut down its police academy pending an investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
The state launched its probe after an Instagram video showed a certified academy instructor violently slapping down several class participants during a defensive tactics course May 17.
On Tuesday, Ron Garza, the development council’s executive director, said the state required the academy to implement “oversight measures” to resume classes.
Harlingen Police Chief Jeffry Adickes, who was part of the investigation, requested commissioners consider entering into an agreement with the academy.
“They reorganized and restaffed,” Adickes said yesterday.
City Manager Dan Serna said the city is pleased with steps Garza has taken to improve the academy.
“It’s going to be a great relationship for the city,” Serna said.
Adickes said he plans to issue a press release after the commission considers his request.
The academy is now operating with two assistant directors in the place of a director, Garza said.
He said one assistant director oversees compliance while the other is in charge of curriculum.
“It’s for checks and balances,” Garza said. “It was just about providing ample mechanism for oversight. We did a pretty major redesign of curriculum.”
Garza said the two assistant directors also will provide more internal reporting.
The academy has entered into similar agreements with the cities of Hidalgo, Mission and Edinburg, Garza said.
Gretchen Grigsby, a spokeswoman for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, said she would try to provide additional information regarding the state’s investigation.
