Saturday, April 20, 2024
A man who was in possession of what one officer described as a black handgun in a holster when he made what some felt were threatening statements at the June regular meeting of the Granbury School Board of Trustees will not be charged with a crime.
According to Deputy Police Chief Cliff Andrews, the decision to not file charges against Cliff Criswell was prompted by the failures of two responding uniformed officers and because Criswell retained an attorney who advised him not to cooperate with the investigation.
Andrews said that the officers did not identify the make and model of the alleged weapon or confirm that it was real.
Carrying a gun at a school board meeting is a third-degree felony punishable by 2-10 years in prison, according to Andrews and the Texas Association of School Boards.
Students were among those present at the well-attended meeting.
As a result of the June 13 incident, heightened security measures will be in force at future school board meetings, according to Superintendent Jeremy Glenn. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 18.
Precautions will include signs prohibiting firearms and possibly a metal detector.
In the days immediately following the incident, some school officials indicated a concern to the Hood County News that the lack of signage at the GISD administration building might be used as a reason not to charge Criswell. However, Glenn stated a belief that “the law is clear” that unauthorized firearms are prohibited on school grounds and at school functions.
Security at the June 13 meeting included GISD Chief of Security Jeff Hastings, members of the GISD’s marshal program and at least one off-duty police officer.
Criswell did not display the alleged weapon or threaten anyone with it when he criticized Glenn and members of the school board for certain books found in school libraries.
Some in the audience responded with gasps and comments such as “wow” and “woah” when Criswell told the school officials, “We have profile sheets on you. We know what you do. We know where you live.”
Others applauded Criswell and said that his remarks were protected by free speech.
According to Andrews, the off-duty police officer noticed that Criswell appeared to be armed and notified an on-duty officer.
On Friday, July 1, Andrews told the HCN via email that no charges would be filed against Criswell but he provided no further information.
After further questioning from the newspaper, Andrews sent this email on Saturday, July 2, detailing that according to the police report, the off-duty officer observed a black handgun in a holster.
Andrews further stated:
“The off-duty officer relayed the presence of a suspected firearm in the meeting to the school board chief of security and on-duty officers. Two GPD officers responded to the meeting. The officers did not stop or identify Mr. Criswell before he left the school board meeting. Mr. Criswell was not asked to leave the meeting by GPD or any school district employee.
“When we (GPD Administration) received notification of the incident, the case was assigned to a detective for further investigation. The detective has conducted interviews and listened to an audio recording of the school board meeting. Our detective has not been able to interview Mr. Criswell. Mr. Criswell has obtained legal representation and has been advised not to talk to our detective. The case was closed due to lack of evidence and no charges of any type will be pursued against Mr. Criswell.
“Logically, a person could assume that the suspected firearm in a holster was indeed an actual firearm and not a toy. Unfortunately, for proof beyond a reasonable doubt, more steps should have been taken to identify the make and model of the firearm. This did not occur.
“I could make several assumptions as to why this did not occur, but none of these assumptions would satisfactorily explain why this step was not taken. GPD will review the incident internally and take steps to ensure this does not happen in the future.”
In a subsequent text message to the HCN, Andrews confirmed that Criswell’s attorney is Richard Hattox.
