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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 12 - Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET)MEMO TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: BRUNO RUMBELOW, CITY MANAGER MEETING DATE: JANUARY 5, 2016 SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR THE FORMATION OF THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM RECOMMENDATION: City Council to consider approval of an Interlocal Agreement with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department for the formation of the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (CHET). FUNDING SOURCE: Funding for the assignment of personnel to the Tarrant County CHET currently exists in operational accounts of the Criminal Investigation Division in the Police Department. InalM—.;roulgIit The Police Department has participated in a county wide narcotics task force for over 25 years. The task force has historically been coordinated and managed by staff in the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office. In an effort to consolidate law enforcement activities under law enforcement management, the task force is being removed from the District Attorney's Office and moved to the Tarrant County Sheriffs Department. Grapevine currently has one officer assigned to the task force. Funding for any expenses associated with this assignment is included in various accounts of the Criminal Investigations Division. Such funding includes items such as training, equipment purchase and replacement, and overtime. The existence of a team to respond to and investigate the sale and distribution of illegal narcotics is a necessary part of protecting our citizens. However, those that engage in such illegal activity do so without regard to governmental jurisdictions or boundaries. It is therefore necessary to join forces with other Tarrant County agencies to effectively combat this criminal activity. The formation of the Tarrant County CHET will allow the participating agencies to more effectively combat this illicit activity. Staff recommends approval. THE STATE OF TEXAS § THIS ORIGINAL § EXECUTED BY TARRANT COUNTY COUNTY OF TARRANT § • 1 1 ' � Lei MUM .. WHEREAS the sale and distribution of illegal drugs, and the violence that often accompanies such illegal enterprises, is an important health and safety concern to Tarrant County and its citizens; and, WHEREAS those that engage in such illegal enterprise do so without regard to governmental jurisdictions or boundaries; and, WHEREAS the detection, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals who engage in such illegal activities is often hindered because the area in which the criminal offender operates is often greater than the jurisdiction of the individual peace officers called upon to investigate such crimes; and, WHEREAS past experience has indicated that a cooperative effort between law enforcement agencies and Tarrant County has been effective in detecting and deterring the activities of targeted criminal groups to the mutual benefit of all neighboring municipalities and contiguous counties; and, WHEREAS for these purposes, under the auspices of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys' Office, certain municipal law enforcement agencies have engaged in such a cooperative arrangement for over twenty five years; and, WHEREAS the current participants of this organized effort, including the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney, desire that this endeavor continue under the auspices of the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office in a manner set forth herein; and, WHEREAS pursuant to Chapter 362 Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 791 of the Texas Government Code, and other relevant laws of the State of Texas, the principal entities to -wit: Tarrant County, Texas, the Tarrant County Criminal District THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE Attorney, and the Tarrant County Sheriff, hereby agree to participate in, and be a part of cooperative multi -jurisdictional investigative and enforcement effort, which is herein known and designated as the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET). That Tarrant County, Texas, acting by and through its duly authorized County Judge, the Criminal District Attorney of Tarrant County, the Sheriff of Tarrant County, and the agencies that have executed, are executing, or will execute substantially similar copies hereof at this time or in the future during the time that this agreement is in force, acting herein by and through their duly authorized chief administrative officer, do hereby covenant and agree as follows: The Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (hereinafter referred to as "Team") will be a part of the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office, for administrative purposes. The activities of the Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team shall be supervised by a Board of Governors, consistent with this agreement and the terms of all governing statutes and agreements. This Board will include as permanent voting members a member of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court or its designee, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney, and a Chairperson, who shall be the Tarrant County Sheriff. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court hereby designates the County Administrator as its representative to the Board of Governors. Additionally, the Board will consist of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) from every additional agency that participates in the Team by providing personnel. Ex officio members of the Board shall include an appropriate executive level designee from the local offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Other ex officio members, if any, may be added by agreement of the voting members. Any and all ex officio members shall be non-voting. The Board of Governors shall have the responsibility for policy, direction, and control of the Team. The Board of Governors will have direct responsibility for the selection of a Commander for the Team, who shall be an employee of Tarrant County. THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 2 The Board will monitor the activities and accomplishments of the Team to ensure orderly progress towards attainment of all stated objectives and shall meet at least annually. There will be one unit, a Team, which may form sub -groups, or sectors, as appropriate. The activities and investigations of these sub -groups, or sectors, may be led by a Team member holding supervisory rank at the direction of the Commander of the Team. These sub -groups, teams, or sectors, will have the duties assigned to them by the Team supervisor at the approval of the Commander. The investigation of offenses concerning illegal or controlled substances and dangerous drugs may be coordinated through the Team. All relevant or related intelligence received by a law enforcement agency that is a party to this agreement may be referred to the Team for investigation. The assigned officers will respond to complaints in a timely manner. The Team will conduct covert operations, training, investigations, arrests, and provide assistance to other agencies in an effort to combat these and related offenses. ASSET SEIZURE There is hereby created a certain fund to be known as the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team Asset Forfeiture Fund (hereinafter called "Fund"), said Fund to be created in compliance with State law. The purpose of the fund shall be to augment Team operations, consistent with applicable state laws. The funds awarded and deposited therein shall be distributed in accordance with this agreement. Asset seizures developed by the Team in Tarrant County, under Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure, will be prosecuted by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office. The decision to try, dismiss or settle asset seizure cases will be made by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney; the Team will abide by that decision. Cash, cash equivalents or any similar instrument, seized for forfeiture shall be placed with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office as indicated by THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 3 Chapter 59.08, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure until a final award is made. Upon final disposition, the property awarded to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney, as the Attorney Representing the State, will be administered in accordance with chapter 59, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. If awarded property is sold, it will be sold in any commercially reasonable manner. Any proceeds from the sale of the awarded property will be divided as set out in this agreement. Upon final disposition of the forfeiture action, and after all costs and fees incurred have been paid from the forfeited monies made the subject of that forfeiture proceeding, including but not limited to outstanding liens on property, maintenance costs, and litigation costs, any and all remaining monies, cash, cash equivalents, interest accrued and all awarded property shall be distributed in accordance with chapter 59, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and this agreement. Upon entry of a judgment in a judicial proceeding awarding monies, cash, cash equivalents, other similar instruments or other proceeds to the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, all said monies, cash, cash equivalents, other similar instruments or proceeds will be, within a reasonable time, deposited in the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team Forfeiture Fund. The monies and proceeds in this Fund must be used to further the purpose of the Team or distributed in accordance with Chapter 59, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the terms of this agreement. All forfeiture funds and any other generated program income shall be subject to audit by the Tarrant County Auditor and the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Any awarded property other than money seized by a Team officer that is the subject of a final forfeiture judgment shall be forfeited to the state and transferred to the Team to be used to further the purpose of the Team. Awarded personal property may be sold at auction, or any other commercially reasonable manner in accordance with law and Tarrant County policy, and the proceeds deposited in the Fund or distributed in accordance with Chapter 59, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the terms of this agreement. THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 4 Property other than money, seized by officers assigned to the Team which is forfeited and awarded to the State will be transferred to the Team and thereafter, will be governed by this agreement and Chapter 59, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Monies shall be divided in the following manner: 1. 40% to be deposited in a special fund in the county treasury for the benefit of the office of the Criminal District Attorney, Tarrant County; 2. 20% to be deposited in a special fund in the county treasury to be used for the official purposes of the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office; 3. 40% will be awarded to the remaining participating law enforcement agencies, and deposited in the Fund. Any further distribution and accounting will be the responsibility of the Team. Distributions from the Fund will be disbursed periodically to the participating agencies in a manner proportional with each agency's number of assigned officers. In the event the Team is dissolved all remaining forfeited assets seized under Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure shall be transferred to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney for disposal in accordance with law. All participating agencies agree that equipment purchased with funds made available for the specific use of the Team shall be under the care, custody, and control of the Team. If and when this agreement is terminated, equipment may be subject to equitable sharing of the participating agencies upon written request and subsequent approval of the Board of Governors in a manner proscribed by law; provided however, the requirements of a superseding agreement or contract concerning the disposal of equipment or monies shall be honored. Any peace officer assigned to the Team by a government entity which is a party to this agreement shall be empowered to enforce all laws and ordinances applicable in the jurisdiction of the Tarrant County and municipal entities signatory to this agreement, THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 5 including the power to make arrests, execute search warrants, and investigate relevant offenses outside of the geographical jurisdiction from which he or she is assigned, but within the area covered by the jurisdictions of the counties and municipal entities which are parties to this agreement. A peace officer who is assigned, designated, or ordered by the sponsoring agency to perform law enforcement duties as a member of the Team, shall receive the same wage, salary, pension and all other compensation and all other rights for such service, including injury or death benefits and workers' compensation benefits, as though the service had been rendered within the limits of the entity from which he or she was assigned. Recognizing the benefits to a participating entity to this agreement, it is agreed that all wage and disability payments, including workers' compensation benefits, pension payments, damage to equipment and clothing, medical expense and expense of travel, food and lodging shall be paid by that peace officer's sponsoring agency. Individuals assigned to the Team that are not Tarrant County Sheriff's Office employees will not work overtime that is not reimbursable to the individual's home agency, without prior approval from their home agency supervisor. Instead, they will be permitted to flex their work hours as necessary to accomplish Team objectives and assignments. Except in accordance with the terms of a superseding contract or agreement, each party to this agreement, when providing services of personnel, expressly waives the right to receive reimbursement for services performed or equipment utilized under this agreement even though a request for such reimbursement may be made pursuant to Chapter 362, Texas Government Code. It is further agreed that, in the event any peace officer assigned to the Team is cited as a party defendant to any civil lawsuit, state or federal, arising out of his or her official acts while functioning as a peace officer assigned to the Team, said peace officer shall be entitled to the same benefits that such officer would be entitled to receive had such civil action arisen out of an official act within the scope of his or her duties as a member and in the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency from which he or she was assigned. Further, no entity shall be responsible for the acts of a peace officer of another entity assigned to the Team. THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 6 Each party to this agreement expressly waives all claims against every other party for compensation for any loss, damage, personal injury, or death occurring as a consequence of the performance of this agreement. Third party claims against members shall be governed by the Texas Tort Claims Act or other appropriate statutes and laws of the State of Texas and the United States. It is expressly understood and agreed that, in the execution of this agreement, no party waives, nor shall be deemed hereby to waive, any immunity or defense that would otherwise be available to it against claims arising in the exercise of governmental powers and functions. The validity of this agreement and of any of its terms or provisions, as well as the rights and duties of the parties hereunder, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Each party to this agreement agrees that if legal action is brought under this agreement, the venue shall lie in Tarrant County. In case any one or more of the provisions contained in this agreement shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision thereof and this agreement shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein. This agreement shall become effective as to a party hereto on the day of the execution of the agreement by the party. This agreement may be amended or modified by the mutual agreement of the parties hereto in writing to be attached to and incorporated into this agreement. This instrument contains the complete agreement of the parties hereto and any oral modifications, or written amendments not incorporated to the agreement, shall be of no force or effect to alter any term or condition herein. To minimize the administrative difficulty of signature between the many parties, each city or other law enforcement entity will sign a substantially similar agreement with Tarrant County; however, each party signing substantially similar copies is immediately bound one to another to all other entities participating during the time said agreement is THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 7 in force as to said entity, even though the parties' signatures appear on different copies of the substantially similar copies. Any entity being added after the agreement is in effect need only sign the documents which Tarrant County signs to be fully a party bound to all other parties, and such signature shall, as of the date of the signing, have the same force and effect as between the joining and already -bound members as if a single document was signed simultaneously by all then -participating entities. All parties currently participating in this original agreement, if any, are identified in Exhibit "A". The Team established by this agreement is subject to the conditions herein contained, and on such conditions lawfully added by amendment or by law, and not for any purpose or period beyond that permitted by such amendment or law. This instrument contains all commitments and agreements of the parties, and no oral or written commitments have any force or effect to alter any term or condition of this agreement, unless the same are done in proper form and in a manner constituting a bona fide amendment hereto. The parties agree that their collective agreement may be evidenced by the execution of an identical counterpart of this instrument by the duly authorized official(s) of each participant and the failure of any anticipated member to enter into or renew this agreement shall not affect the agreement between and among the parties executing the agreement. :191010�. Where permissible under this agreement, participating entities entitled to reimbursement must submit requests for reimbursement through the Tarrant County Auditor's Office, 100 E. Weatherford Street, Fort Worth, TX 76196. The disbursement and reimbursement of confidential funds using money held in the relevant Tarrant County accounts, will be conducted in accordance with the current Tarrant County Sheriff's Office policy, and attached as Exhibit "B" and "C," concerning the management of confidential informants, to include the purchase of information, and the purchase of evidence. THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 8 it:ftl Ril Any party to this agreement may terminate its participation or rights and obligations as a party by providing (30) days written notice to the Board of Governors of the Tarrant County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, 200 Taylor Street, 7 th Floor, Plaza Building, Fort Worth, Texas 76196. Such termination shall have no effect upon the rights and obligations of the remaining parties under this agreement. WITNESSETH: B. GLEN WHITLEY, COUNTY TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF L, 4k --- DEE ANDERSt3Pd, SHERIFF TARRANT COUNTY CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNE SHAREN WILSON, CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY1 RM, DATE THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 9 APPROVED AS TO FORM: riminal District Attorney's Office* *By law, the Criminal District Attorney's Office may only approve contracts for its clients. We reviewed this document as to form from our client's legal perspective. Other parties may not rely on this approval. Instead those parties should seek contract review from independent counsel. THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PAGE 10 EXHIBIT A: CNET PARTICIPANT LIST Dee Anderson - Chairman Sheriff — Tarrant County Texas 200 Taylor St., 7'" Floor, Plaza Bldg. Fort Worth, Texas 76102 817-884-3099 B. Glen Whitley, Founding Member Judge's designee: G.K. Maenius County Judge — Tarrant County Texas Tarrant County Administrator 100 E. Weatherford, Ste. 501 100 E. Weatherford, Ste, 404 Fort Worth, Texas 76196-0101 Fort Worth, Texas 76196-0101 817-884-1441 817-884-1267 Sharen Wilson, Founding Member Criminal District Attorney — Tarrant County Texas 401 W. Belknap Fort Worth, Texas 76196-1667 817-884-1400 None at this time. 1:rwelfaq • T • David Franklin - Captain Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division 624 NE Loop 820 Hurst, Texas 76053 817-299-1360 Mike Ferry - RAC U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency 801 Cherry Street, Ste. 700 Fort Worth, Texas 76102 817-639-2000 Page 1 of 1 fAININUffell N_ e rr_17_lc3Z•Z.7�r r_l�N:z•1T»1_��r• • ►� MR THE TARRANT COUNTY COMBINED NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT TEAM INTERLOCAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT Page 11