Texas City Tyranny
Texas City Tyranny
The videos have gone viral, evidence of abuse of power in Texas City, Texas. But there’s more to what happened at this embarrassing example of a local government gone rogue.
The controversial police chief of the city and a group of his young officers arresting a taxpayer outside the council meeting.
On social media, outrage.
“Every one of these cops needs to be fired.”
Hard to believe, but that wasn’t the only moment that went viral. Check this out
“You talked a lot in there, why don’t you talk to me? Why are you running? Why are you running?” Wayne Dolcefino said.
It begins at the top. This guy, Mayor Dedrick Johnson, quickly turning this suburban refinery town near Houston into a national laughingstock.
But doesn’t he dress nice?
On Facebook the Galveston Police Union wrote.
“What in the hell has happened in the city of Texas City? That place is a circus.”
Ready for more? There was a reason I had a camera watch me doing what the media across America have done for decades before public meetings, putting a microphone on the podium to capture comments from citizens. I expected trouble.
Watch. Weeks before, Mayor Johnson personally removes our microphone from the podium as a meeting begins and hands it to the police chief who gives it to me.
“I thought it was censorship but I didn’t make a scene then, but not this time. Well it was time to chat,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“My money is on Wayne,” Cindy said on Facebook.
“Cindy, you’re a winner. Guess what? It was that same cop who moments later announced that he was the one starting the new union that the mayor clearly wanted. What a coincidence,” Dolcefino told the camera.
And get this. The new union, they promised to play nice with City Hall.
“The TCPA is dedicated to work with the police and commissioners, mayors, current and future,” Joseph Waggoner said
A new union to replace the one that has represented officers in this suburban refinery town for more than half a century.
“They force-feed the communities lies and false accusations. Their actions have resulted in more than unfavorable,” Waggoner said
“The current police union they helped stage a recall of the mayor. Enough signatures were gathered but the mayor’s city secretary struck it down and there was simply no appeal. I love democracy, don’t you?” Dolcefino told the camera.
You can tell she’s glad to see me too.
“This is just another attempt to silence those that you don’t want to hear from, and it doesn’t work that way. It’s not morally correct, legally correct,” Ben Walsall said.
The president of the union was taken out of patrol and reassigned to an overnight jail shift the day after the recall was struck down.
“Hey mayor, that must have been a coincidence too. Not retaliation,” Dolcefino told the camera.
Rachel Spahr had also accused the assistant chief Manuel Johnson of sexual harassment, sending inappropriate pictures. But he got no punishment.
A social media post showed the assistant chief at a meeting of the planned new union back in February.
“I’ve accused the city of pushing the new union out of the mayor’s vindictive revenge. He says no,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“It’s on the agenda because you’ve been mad at the people who wanted to get you out. And you’re looking for ways to punish them. I’ve seen this movie before, Mayor,” Dolcefino said.
“And the cop I met in my big microphone standoff. I’ve learned more about his story that most folks don’t know about,” Dolcefino told the camera.
In 2024, Officer Joseph Waggoner killed 72-year-old George Arness on a Saturday night while speeding to a call without the required lights and sirens.
“The more I think about it, the angrier I get.”
“It was days before George’s 46th wedding anniversary. A grand jury declined to indict Waggoner and he clearly not fired,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“It was like, oh it sucks, he’s gone. Not our problem.”
“And now we’ve been given this internal affairs record,” Dolcefino told the camera.
Alleging Waggoner had been first disciplined for speeding by Texas City police thirteen years before his deadly accident.
My new buddy Officer Waggoner left the department years ago, but he’s back. His buddy is the assistant chief.
And that viral video of the arrest at the commission meeting, the guy handcuffed is David Rodriguez. Here’s the back story.
Rego Orñales was his wife’s brother. He died in Texas City police custody in 2024.
“I’m sad because he’s gone. He shouldn’t be gone.”
“For a year and a half the chief, and his boss the mayor, they have refused to let this family even see the body camera video of what happened to the kinfolk. Mayor you should release those body camera videos and that internal investigation that was done immediately,” Dolcefino told the camera.
That’s why his family comes to city council meetings now, often broadcasting live.
Rodriguez is about to call out the city attorney for talking more than three minutes citizens get. He didn’t know public officials get as long as they want.
“It’s past three minutes. It’s past three minutes,”
No one on the commission seemed to hear him, but the police chief is sitting right in front of him. He gives the look. You won’t hear a warning to pipe down.
Rodriguez will be escorted out.
But this, this was simply unnecessary.
And the probable cause affidavit of Texas City police may dig the hole deeper. The police chief made statements on an affidavit clearly disputed by the video so many of you have seen.
Cravens says he advised Rodriguez that he was speaking out of turn. Not true.
Cravens claims Rodriguez tried to prolong his stay in the meeting by moving at a very slow rate of speed from his seat.
You’ve seen the video, you can judge that for yourself.
Cravens then claims Rodriguez began to resist as he was escorted out of the meeting.
But look at the video.
Rodriguez only resisted when Cravens tried to put his hand behind his back to arrest him.
Making false statements to police is actually a crime.
And it is Chief Cravens who has been accused of dividing this department, responsible for the mass exodus of veteran cops.
The mayor has allowed it to happen.
Audits of the police are being illegally withheld from us.
“This police department is so far separated. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get it together, but I don’t believe this is the answer,” Abel Garza said.
Councilman Abel Garza is the mayor’s chief challenger. The election is just weeks away.
Why the rush to change unions he asked.
The current union, suspicious of City Hall interference, suggested a secret vote.
“The most trusted way to determine representation is simple, a neutral secret ballot election where every eligible officer can vote freely and privately without fear of city involvement,” Rachel Spahr said.
“Let’s just give it a chance. Let’s make a good faith effort to make this work. I believe it can work. Just give it the chance,” Garza said.
“Do you know who you work for? You work for the taxpayers,” Dolcefino said.
We know Texas City city attorney Kyle Dickson well. We call him a serial violator of the public’s right to know.
And he did it again at the meeting.
But seconds later Dickson showed us an unexpected new move, embarrassing really.
“Why are you running?” Dolcefino said.
We called it a “Run Forrest Run” moment, and we weren’t the only ones.
Look at the memes on social media.
“OMG that’s hilarious,” one poster wrote.
“Next time take him a box of chocolates, Wayne.”
“I should. That would be sweet,” Dolcefino told the camera.
The mayor ducked out a back door that was just feet away from him seconds after the meeting ended.
This city marshal held the door shut so we couldn’t follow.
His job is to serve warrants for traffic tickets and city permits, not be another bodyguard.
Doesn’t the mayor have enough?
“By the way, Texas City is hiding the cost of that too. The marshal claimed he was stopping us because we were trying to enter a restricted area at the Doyle Center. Okay, I’m getting old, but I can still remember something if it was said a few seconds ago,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“That’s why it’s a good thing to bring our microphone and camera, because quite frankly we don’t trust you. We want to document this rogue government,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“Millions have watched what happened in Texas City the other day, and the mayor, who wanted to make it worse, went on a blog and explained,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“It’s a government-owned podium. Mic placement on city property is a privilege, not a right.”
The mayor even suggested our mic frequencies could compromise the city’s own recording and sound quality.
“Yeah right. But it’s really about restricting freedom of the press, even the media you clearly don’t like. Like us,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“The city podium is not for content creators who only wish to put out more hit pieces and paid propaganda.”
“Well, Mayor, you could solve all of this by just resigning so folks don’t have to make a trip to the polls in May. You can go back to working at the refinery,” Dolcefino told the camera.
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