RRISD police chief leaves, says district 'delayed' investigations

Round Rock ISD Chief of Police Dennis Weiner said in a letter to the district's superintendent that he was leaving due to "delayed" investigations, including an alleged student sexual assault that happened last month.

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- Round Rock ISD Chief of Police Dennis Weiner said in a letter to the district's superintendent that he was leaving due to "delayed" investigations, including an alleged student sexual assault that happened last month.

In his letter to the RRISD superintendent, Weiner began with the latest investigation involving a 5-year-old who was allegedly sexually assaulted on one of the district's school buses on April 12. He said that while the bus driver witnessed the assault, they did not report it to police.

Then, by April 15, Weiner said campus leadership reviewed the video, but police were still not notified. He went on to say that due to police not knowing about the incident, the victim was "subjected to additional trauma" by having to ride the bus to school on Monday morning.

Furthermore, Weiner said after the investigation, it was revealed that the victim and one other student were previously assaulted on the bus route by the same person, who was identified as an older student in the letter.

He said the district failed to notify and inform police, which directly impacted the department's ability to protect student victims. Weiner said he contacted the Texas Attorney General's Office as a request to investigate this most recent case, as well as the practices and actions of district leadership.

In a joint statement from board members, Danielle Weston and Mary Bone, it said both of their reactions were "shock and concern for the students, families and staff in our schools."

"As parents ourselves, we know that parents have a right to know what is going on in their schools and to make their own decisions on how to best protect their children. They can only do this if they are fully aware of what is going on," the statement said.

The board members' statement said Weston insisted in writing to board president Amber Feller Landrum asking that she "immediately" call a special meeting to "address accusations in the letter."

KXAN reached out to RRISD for a comment. We will update this if a statement is received.

History of delayed reporting of crimes

Weiner continued in the letter by saying that since he joined the district, he "experienced numerous practices of non-reporting and delayed report of crimes."

He said the district also questioned the police department's "viability of the police radio system as it relates to interoperability."

Wiener said the district directive interfered with his duty to "provide a public safety radio capability" to the RRISD police department and that it was a "potential Texas Penal Code violation." He stated in the letter that it was "a crime for any person including school administrators to interfere with school district peace officers while they are performing their duties or lawfully exercising their authority."