Lone Star College police training academy being shut down in Houston

State law enforcement regulators shut down the Lone Star College System's police training academy, the second time in four years the state has forced closure of the beleaguered police academy over failures to meet state standards.

Investigators from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement notified the system Tuesday that the contract allowing it to operate a law enforcement academy had been suspended and would be cancelled in 10 days, spokeswoman Gretchen Grigsby said.

The college system failed to properly vet instructors and restored subpar cadets to the program even after academy staff dismissed them, Grigsby said.

The 36 cadets currently enrolled in Law Enforcement Academy will complete the basic peace officer course under TCOLE's supervision, she said. Academy graduates from previous classes will not have to undergo any additional training.

Lone Star College did not respond to repeated requests for comment. As of Wednesday afternoon, however, it was still promoting several law enforcement programs on its website, including a certificate program and an associate's degree.

Lone Star advertises the $2,900 academy as a program that "includes rigorous training and testing to ensure each graduating cadet can successfully pass the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement's state exam and demonstrate the knowledge and physical skills that allow the cadet/graduate to serve the public in an effective, courteous, and professional manner."

The Lone Star investigation comes two years after the academy reopened following an 18-month shut-down by the state in 2013 over allegations it cut corners in providing training.

LaChelle Rhoads, a former Houston police officer who has served as academy director since 2015, told the Chronicle Wednesday she had not committed any wrongdoing and that the shutdown would not affect her ability to lead future law enforcement academy programs. She declined to comment further.

READ MORE: TCOLE investigates local psychologist for rubberstamping evaluations for thousands of new peace officers; case ends with psychologist and her husband pleading guilty to criminal charge

TCOLE investigators began the latest probe after an academy cadet filed a complaint with the agency earlier this year.

Investigators discovered several violations of the agency's administrative rules and Lone Star College's training contract, and found the college system did not properly vet instructors.

"It is the responsibility of any hiring agency to make sure they do a thorough background check which should include any potential ethical concerns that would conflict with responsibilities for which they are being hired," Grigsby said.

Investigators also learned that college administration told academy staff not to contact or report any information to TCOLE, a direct violation of its training contract with the agency, Grigsby said.

Charles Canfield, lead instructor for the academy since April 2015, said Wednesday that academy staff had eliminated the problems that had dogged it when TCOLE last investigated four years ago.

The latest problems stemmed from actions by Lone Star College administrators to reinstate cadets who had been thrown out by the academy director for bad conduct, he said.

"They had instructed us we would not be dismissing cadets until they went through a review process the Lone Star College system had in place," he said. "That's not the way it works. The director of the academy is the one who has responsibility alone to decide if a cadet should be dismissed."

Academy leadership found themselves unable to remove substandard or disruptive cadets, he said.

"We knew we were likely going to be overridden," he said "and the college would put problematic cadets back in class."

Canfield said a Lone Star College administrator — in overriding academy staff — had told them he had notified TCOLE when he had not.

"He misrepresented the facts to parties on both sides," Canfield said.

Grigsby confirmed Canfield's allegation.

READ MORE: Investigators find a raft of other problems at Lone Star training academy

Four years ago, the college ran afoul of TCOLE rules when investigators found the academy had allowed a cadet to obtain a peace officer license without undergoing instruction in several components of the basic peace officer course, Grigsby said.

The cadet managed to complete 660 course hours in only four months, weeks ahead of his classmates, the Chronicle reported at the time.

Investigators also found a raft of other problems. The academy did not have a contract on file for the firing range where cadets trained, and advisory board members had not completed required training within one year of appointment. The academy also failed to maintain schedules, files and lesson plans; to enforce admission, attendance and retention; and to distribute and review commission rules to students for licensing courses.

The college system's previous suspension lasted from July 2013 until January 2015, when it was allowed to reopen.

Since then, the academy has touted its cadets' high first-time passage rate on the TCOLE licensing exam.

It's unclear if the college system will be allowed to hold future academy classes, Grigsby said.

"Whether there is a time-out period or a permanent ban is a decision for the executive director and commissioners," she said. "Their priority is making sure that academies are holding their cadets to the same standard that we do for the sake of the communities they will be serving."

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.