The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) has two open investigations on Hays County Constable Ray Helm.
One involves falsifying training records and the other is for material misrepresentation. Helm is currently running for re-election to his Third Precinct seat.
Former deputy constable Gary Griffin filed a complaint with TCOLE last month. Helm is accused of taking credit for training hours on drone usage when he and three deputies were serving as extras for an ad for a drone video production company. They were wearing county-issued uniforms and in their law enforcement vehicles during film.
Griffin was with Helm and the other deputies and said he was unaware that Helm filed the drone training certification. He also said he didn’t know his name was on the training roster, and that he did not sign it. Griffin said he has never received drone training.
He told KXAN-TV he was on county time and being paid by the county while the video was being shot.
The Hays County Auditor’s Office is investigating Helm for a complaint of misuse of county resources filed by Ari Axelrod, a former Hays County resident. Axelrod began looking into Helm after his wife was – he believed – wrongfully ticketed by Helm.
A current TCOLE investigation into “material misrepresentation” stems from an incident that happened before Helm was constable. Axelrod’s complaint alleges it would have disqualified Helm from receiving his peace officer license. Helm pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year of deferred adjudication probation for damaging a vehicle in 1995. Helm was arrested and charged three months later for driving while impaired. He pleaded no contest.
Helm did not disclose this information when he applied for the peace officer license he received in 2003.
“Back then it was a five-year wait for any Class A or B misdemeanor. It was cleared by TCOLE and the executive director at that time,” Helm said.
The current investigations are not all that hamper Helm during his bid for re-election.
TCOLE in January concluded an investigation into claims by Griffin that Helm concocted training records for himself and 11 other deputies. The training course was for body cameras and Helm was listed as instructor. That investigation ended with Helm being formally reprimanded by TCOLE for fabricating training records. He was warned that his peace officer license could be suspended if he receives two more reprimands.
Griffin was charged in January with misusing official information, tampering with a government record, abuse of official capacity and theft by a public servant. The charges came at approximately the same time TCOLE was finishing its investigation into Griffin’s allegation that Helm falsified records for the body camera training.
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