WilCo Commissioners Sue Chody Over 'LivePD' Contract

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Commissioners Court members have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Sheriff Robert Chody from executing agreements to film his deputies at work for the cable reality show "LivePD."

Commissioners telegraphed their intention to file the lawsuit during their Tuesday meeting. Patch secured a copy of the lawsuit from one of the attorneys handling the case.

During their April 23 meeting, Williamson County commissioners expressed surprise — and some measure of outrage among some members — upon learning Chody has secretly signed an agreement with the show's producers even after they had ordered a halt to such filming. As they discussed strategies to end the sheriff's agreement with television producers — including issuing a cease-and-desist order to prevent future filming in unanimously agreeing the sheriff had no authority to sign the contract — Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell recused himself with no explanation.

Concerns had arisen of police overreach with suspects for the benefit of cameras and the destruction of footage by show producers that could have yielded needed evidence in cases — dual worries that prompted commissioners to pull the plug on local filming in August 2019.

Related stories:

• WilCo Commissioners To Discuss 'Live PD' Resurgence
• Final 'Live PD' Show Featuring WilCo Cops Airs Aug. 24
  
• WilCo Commissioners End 'Live PD' Contract
  
• WilCo Sheriff Chody Finds Himself Under Unwelcome Spotlight

According to the lawsuit, Chody "secretly executed" an agreement with the production company without permission of county commissioners. To the surprise of many, Williamson County deputies were featured on the television show in April without notice — long after commissioners had cut ties with the show.

Previous contracts between the production company, Big Fish, and the county included a box for Gravell to check in signaling his permission to film, according to the lawsuit. The litigation claims Chody removed the signature block from the document in an "...underhanded effort to defy the will of the Commissioners Court."

Chody has insisted the show yields a powerful recruiting tool for his office. Commissioners view it decidedly different, as expressed by attorneys Sean Breen and Randy Leavitt, who summarized the suit's argument: "Sheriff Chody doesn't need live TV to do his job, but he didn't like losing the spotlight. More concerned about show business than sheriff business, Sheriff Chody went behind the commissioner's backs, and secretly and illegally tried to recontract with the show."

Chody's focus on the program has become a distraction, attorneys added. At the height of the show's popularity, Chody took to posting highlights featuring county deputies on his Twitter page in promoting the program. "Blinded by the TV lights, Sheriff Chody has lost sight of his core duties as sheriff of Williamson County," the attorneys wrote. "His job is sheriff, not TV producer, reality TV star or show business agent."

An emailed request for comment from Patch to the sheriff's office was not immediately returned.

Critics of the sheriff's participation in the reality show — such as prominent police watchdog Buddy Falcon — believe deputies often play to the cameras for the benefit of the program's dramatic narrative. Two arrests recently featured on the show were dismissed. One of the arrests centered on Gary Wayne "Bubba" Dodd has been invoked by Falcon and other critics of the show as an example of the perceived police overreach for dramatic effect.

Examining material deputies theorized was drugs during a search, deputies placed Dodd in custody as the cameras filmed the action. No field tests were conducted to test the material, as is standard procedure for law enforcement officials on patrol duty as a law enforcement source explained to Patch. During the interaction, a deputy spoke of a previous arrest for Dodd involving a public intoxication charge while atop a horse in Liberty Hill that occured in 2008 — a story that became subsequently part of the lore of the small community.

The very next day, the case against Dodd was dismissed. Patch spoke to a law enforcement source who confirmed the substance that had been scrutinized by deputies during filming turned out to be fragments of sheetrock.

"There is no way that deputy on LivePD would have known that horse story if they didn't research him," the source added.

Another incident featured on the re-booted version of the show was highlighted by Chody on Twitter and the case was also later dismissed. "Passenger in possible stolen vehicle bails and crosses busy interstate to avoid capture," Chody wrote on his official page. "UNBELIEVABLE!" he added in all capital letters, and using the hashtag #LivePD.

That case also was subsequently dismissed without explanation.

Screenshot via Williamson County Jail records.