Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Washington Sheriff’s Office – Brenham, Texas – Police News and Reports
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Preschool Teacher, 22, Arrested on TV After Condemning Trump
Cops moved in with handcuffs while the teacher was still on camera
January 06, 2026 – A preschool teacher was arrested on camera as soon as she finished a TV interview criticizing Donald Trump, fueling the debate over protest policing and free speech.
Jessica Plichta, 22, said she was the only person arrested among roughly 200 demonstrators at an anti-war protest in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, hours after Nicolas Maduro was detained in Caracas by the U.S. military.
In the broadcast footage, two officers could be seen approaching from behind as she wrapped her interview with WZZM, the city’s ABC affiliate, then escorted her away as she told them, “I am not resisting arrest.”
She also said officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators.
No more free speech in America?
The U.S. has fallen from third to ninth place in the global ranking for support of free speech rights since 2021, according to a new study published by the Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University.
The annual study, titled “Who in the World Supports Free Speech?” surveyed over 52,000 people about their support for free speech policies in 33 countries in October 2024.
This year’s findings show the U.S. has the third largest decline in support for free speech rights in the world, just behind Israel and Japan.
Plichta later told Zeteo: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as soon as I finished an interview speaking on Venezuela, I was arrested.”
She told the outlet the officers shoved her into the back of a patrol car without fastening her seat belt, then drove a short distance down the street—out of view of cameras and bystanders.
The government is always making Americans bend over
According to Plichta, they stopped again, pulled her out, bent her over the vehicle, patted her down, and took her belongings. She recalled one officer saying they moved her because she was “making a scene.”
“It just shows how much they feel they can get away with things, how easy it is for them to isolate people from the public eye when they’re doing this.”
Plichta said she largely stayed quiet as officers took her to jail, where she said the same questions continued. She was released about three hours later, after other protesters gathered to demand she be freed and was seen punching the air in a video shared on Facebook.
If the Washington County Sheriff’s Office really wanted to fix their reputation, they would??
George Carlin’s thoughts on police.
Deputy Eric Crosby
Deputy Eric Crosby is a safety hazard to drivers on the road in Brenham
More Complaints on Deputy Eric Crosby
Eric-Crosby-pages Eric-CrosbyCertain people get special privileges from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Carey Counsil, a professor at Blinn College in Brenham, crashed his jeep into a fence, drove into a pond, and left the scene of an accident. Counsil then walked in his swim trunks for nearly four hours in the woods and then came upon a house. Counsil broke into a woman’s home, went into her room, and woke her up at 4 a.m.
Instead of going to jail, the Washington County Sheriff Deputy allowed Counsil to go home with his daughter.
More of the story and 911 Audio
Defendants in the lawsuit are: City of Brenham, Officers Ashley Burns, Thomas Kurieand, Richelle Malinowski, Eric Crosby, Jason Kasprowwicz, Karen Stacks, Conner Caskey, Kevin Raven, Llody Powell, and Excel Motors.
Thomas Kurie was with the PD for 24 years and left in 2024 to work for the Waco ISD.
Conner Caskey was with the PD for 4 years and also left in 2024. Now works at the Fulshear Police Dept.
Llody Powell was with the Brenham PD for 27 years and retired in 2024. Powell is now an officer with Prairie View A&M University.
Stand Up For Our Laws and Refuse Unlawful Orders
There Is No Left and Right – Only Tyranny and Freedom
Texas DPS Trooper Is Sent Home For Bumping Into South Carolina Players During The Game Against Texas A&M
Texas DPS.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper bumped South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor and scolded him after Harbor scored a touchdown late in the first half of the Gamecocks’ game at Texas A&M.
Texas DPS – After Harbor pulled away from Aggies defenders on the way to an 80-yard touchdown, he slowly jogged up a tunnel while favoring his hamstring. As teammates and the South Carolina players followed Harbor walked out of the tunnel seconds after the touchdown, an officer bumped through the players before turning around to say something to them angrily.
More Information and records about the cowardly Texas DPS Troopers
Deputy Sheriff Left Inmate in Hot Van, Then Accidentally Fired A Gun a Week Later
Brenham, Texas – Deputy Billy Ruemke of the Washington County, Texas Sheriff’s Department transferred two inmates to the county courthouse for court. Deputy Ruemke took out one inmate and left the other inmate in the department’s transfer van. The inmate was in the hot van for two hours before someone heard the inmate screaming.
Eleven days prior, Ruemke accidentally discharged his firearm in the restroom at the sheriff’s office. Ruemeke decided it was time to resign.
COURTHOUSE-IAD-2025-003_Redacted-10.23.25-5Washington County Attorney Renee Mueller is refusing to release the Sheriff’s records to the public
It has been over 30 days, and Renee Mueller has still not released records to the public, despite the Texas Attorney General’s instructions to release the documents.
Mueller asked the Texas Attorney General if she could keep Washington County Sheriff records secret from the public. The Attorney General told Mueller, NO, that Mueller must release the records. State law allows 30 days for Mueller to release the records.
Out of over 200 requests we have made, Mueller is the first agency to use the 30-day rule on releasing records that the Attorney General allows. Every other agency in Texas we have dealt with has released records within 1 or 2 days after receiving a decision from the Attorney General.
Why doesn’t County Attorney Renee consider the importance of transparency and public engagement in law enforcement?
Sheriff Trey Holleway Fails His First Jail Inspection
TCJS Cites Washington County Jail for Non-Compliance.
Sheriff Trey Holleway receives his first non-compliant inspection. Washington County Jail in Brenham, Texas, has been added to the list of non-compliant jails on the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) website. A notice of non-compliance was sent on May 28, 2025, which was a day after a special jail inspection. TCJS inspectors found that the Washington County Jail has failed to comply with the rules of inmate supervision. Inspectors’ notes follow:
It was discovered that Washington County Jail exceeded the 60-minute minimum requirement for face-to-face observations.
Details on Custodial Deaths in the Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Records show that six custodial deaths occurred in the six years ending 2019 in association with the Washington County Sheriff and/or the Washington County Jail
The death of 31-year-old Cameron James Pritchett on March 6, 2019, at Washington County Jail was a suicide.
The custodial death of 19-year-old Madeleine Gene Richardson in July 2013 was reported as a likely drug overdose. The inmate admitted to jailers upon her arrival at Washington County Jail that she had swallowed a large quantity of meth.
Thirty-three-year-old Charla Glene Mikeska was arrested and jailed at Washington County Jail in 2017, and she was quickly taken to a nearby hospital for abdominal pain.
She was returned to the jail and then later taken to a hospital again and released from custody. It is common for jails to release prisoners to save on the cost of health care and seemingly to be in a position to claim that it was not a custodial death. The woman died 11 days after being booked into jail.
En route to Washington County Jail in July 2016, 48-year-old Alvin Lamar Ray of Brenham complained that he was feeling ill. EMS was contacted, and they said the suspect was experiencing a heart attack. The suspect had run from the police before his arrest. Ray was transported to a nearby hospital and died in the emergency room.
Washington County and the Sheriff’s Department Sued Over Inmate Suicide at the Jail
washington-county-sheriffA federal lawsuit was filed on Feb. 12 in Austin on behalf of the family of a man who died at the Washington County Jail in 2019. The lawsuit claims the defendants violated 31-year-old Cameron Pritchett’s constitutional rights to reasonable medical and mental health care, to be protected, and not to be punished as a pre-trial detainee.
Washington County Sheriff Police Accountability
Washington County Sheriff Police accountability entails holding both individual officers and law enforcement agencies accountable for delivering effective crime control services and maintaining public order.
Deputy Billy Ruemke mishandled a gun, causing it to discharge at the Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Billy Ruemke carelessly mishandles a firearm, and it discharges in the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Holleway said the incident occurred in a secure area and only resulted in property damage.
Ruemke received discipline in the form of time off without pay and is scheduled for remedial training. Holleway said instances of this nature typically carry a suspension of two to three days, adding that the employee has completed that suspension.
Deputy Ruemke a 45-year career in law enforcement, can’t handle a firearm safely.
Billy Ruemke left the Sheriff’s Department one month later.
Sheriff Holleway never followed up by making Ruemke take the remedial training course on how to safely handle a firearm.
Washington Sheriff
The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for more than 600 square miles of roadway with law enforcement protection offered to the 34,000 citizens living in Washington County.
Washington Sheriff
Washington Sheriff – We have started to obtain police reports and records from police departments across the state of Texas, under the state’s Texas Public Information Act.
We are collecting and publishing police complaints, internal affairs records, and disciplinary records of police officers. We also have obtained memos, cell phone text messages, videos, and even emails.
If you would like information on a police department in Texas or on a certain police officer or Deputy, contact us at PoliceTip@PoliceCrimes.com
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What is Police Misconduct or Abuse of Power?
Unlawful stops that violate the Fourth Amendment: You have the right to refuse unreasonable searches, including during police stops. For the police to stop you, they must have a valid reason and reasonable suspicion that a crime or traffic violation has occurred. If you have not committed a crime, you have the right to continue on your way.
Racial profiling or discrimination that violates the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendments: When an officer searches, stops, or arrests you based on your race, they are violating your civil rights. It is also a violation of your civil rights for police to stop you due to your gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.
Unlawful search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment: The Fourth Amendment gives citizens freedom from unreasonable intrusion by the government, including the police. Unlawful searches can happen when an officer searches your vehicle, home, or you without probable cause. If an officer asks to search your property or you, you have the right to say no.
Police Misconduct
Unlawful, false, or wrongful arrest violating the Fourth Amendment: An unlawful arrest occurs when law enforcement seizes and restrains you in a way that leaves you without the belief that you can leave, without having legal justification to arrest you. Law enforcement needs probable cause or a warrant based on probable cause to arrest you.
First Amendment suppression or retaliation: The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, press, and speech, to assemble or petition and to record law enforcement while they are performing public duties. If law enforcement attempts to suppress your verbal expression or retaliates against you due to something you have said, they may be violating your civil rights.
Malicious prosecution violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments:
Lawful prosecutions require evidence that amounts to probable cause at the time charges are raised against an individual. If law enforcement charges you with a crime as a means of harassment, in an attempt to justify police misconduct or to ruin your reputation, they are violating your civil rights. They may also violate your rights by creating false information to create probable cause to justify your arrest or seek a warrant for your arrest.
Excessive force: Law enforcement must be reasonable in the force that is applied so that force is used only when necessary for a lawful purpose. Force is acceptable when law enforcement uses it to arrest a wanted person. Law enforcement’s authorized use of force during an arrest can escalate if the individual flees, resists, or threatens an officer. r Eighth Amendments: When someone dies due to excessive force or other misconduct by law enforcement one of the worst civil rights violations occurs. This may involve anything from illegal shooting to denying an inmate access to medical care or abusing an inmate.
Brenham Texas
Sheriff Trey Holleway. Sheriff’s Office is an official law enforcement agency for the Washington Texas community. The office is located at 1206 Old Independence Road, Brenham Texas 77833
Sheriff Trey Holleway
Sheriff Trey Holleway.
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Brenham Texas can be a great location for those looking to start a new career as a washington deputy sheriff. The state’s police force, brenham sheriffs’ departments, and highway patrols are well-known for their professionalism as well as their dedication. Over 63,000 men and women work as police officers and washington sheriff’s patrol. Although the process for becoming a police officer in Texas is similar to most US states, Texas does have some additional specific requirements. The route to becoming a Texas deputy. Washington deputy sheriff. washington sheriff deputy.
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Sheriff news. Washington Sheriff. Washington sheriff news. Police officer. News. Washington sheriff news the most up-to-date police news, police investigation, law enforcement leadership,news, Washington Sheriff police recruiting, staffing, police training, and police officer safety. Washington Sheriff. news texas. police. News. Washington sheriff news.
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What major city is Brenham, TX near? Is Brenham, TX a good place to live? Brenham, Texas. Things to Do in brenham. Attorney Renee Mueller.
POLICE CORRUPTION
Police corruption is the abuse of police authority for personal or financial gain, ranging from minor favors to systemic criminal behavior. It erodes public trust, undermines the rule of law, and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities.
The scale and nature of the misconduct can categorize corruption:
Corruption of authority: The misuse of a position of authority for personal benefit. This can include taking small gratuities like free meals or discounts in exchange for favoritism.
Extortion and bribery: In extortion, an officer uses threats to demand money or favors. In bribery, a civilian offers an officer money or favors for preferential treatment, such as avoiding a ticket or an arrest.
Perjury: Lying under oath during investigations or court proceedings to protect other officers or secure a conviction.
The “frame-up”: Planting or fabricating evidence to ensure the conviction of a suspect, particularly in drug cases.
Noble cause corruption: Engaging in illegal or unethical behavior for what an officer believes is a good outcome, based on the belief that “the ends justify the means”.
Abuse of authority: This broad category includes police brutality, sexual assault, harassment, false imprisonment, and conducting unlawful searches and seizures.