Just had to get this grub!
Suit Accuses Texas Police Chief of Harassing Man During Affair with His Wife
A Texas police chief is being sued in federal court for allegedly harassing the husband of a woman with whom he purportedly fathered a son.Kyle City Police Chief Jeff Barnett allegedly "abused his authority and connections in January 2012 by having Dr. Glen Hurlston arrested for domestic violence soon after Barnett left his position as police chief in the North Texas town of Princeton," according to the lawsuit filed December 27 in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas.
Barnett has been Kyle Police Chief since May, 2011. Prior to that, he served as chief of police for the City of Princeton, Texas, since 2005.
In the suit, Hurlston, who is chief of anesthesia at Byrd Regional Hospital of Leesville, La., alleged that Barnett ordered his officers to conduct a "campaign of harassment" against him, which included an arrest in January 2012. The suit notes that a Jan. 1, 2012 domestic battery abuse arrest pressed by the chief against the doctor was reduced to a misdemeanor, to which he plead no contest.
The suit alleges that Hurlston was threatened with arrest if "he showed his face" in Collin County, "making it difficult to exercise his visitation rights."
Hurlston told ABCNews.com that he filed the civil rights suit against the cities of Kyle and Princeton as well as Barnett and other officers.
"It is a very complicated case… it involves up to 15 characters, and it involves two states," said Hurlston.
"My client is seeking whatever penal damages that will ensue… he just wants authorities to acknowledge that his civil rights have been violated," Hurlston's attorney James B. Doyle told ABCNews.com. "He has spent the last two years trying to retrieve public records dating back to 2009 that might implicate Chief Barnett."
Kyle is supporting its chief of police. In a statement, the city attorney said "that this lawsuit, as it relates to the City of Kyle, is without merit, substance or viability. The city stands behind and supports Chief Barnett during this difficult time for him and his family." A spokesman for the chief said he would not comment on the suit.
ABCNews.com was not able to reach Hurlston's estranged wife, Suzanne, for comment on the allegations. The two have a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old son.
Hurlston said that he and his wife split in January 2012 and are in the process of getting a divorce after being married since August 2007. "We are currently moving our divorce case from Texas to Louisiana," Hurlston told ABCNews.com. |
