State: Officers must be certified

RAYMONDVILLE — State officials informed Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra that investigators in his office must be certified to perform police work, an official said Tuesday.

A Texas Attorney General’s opinion requires Guerra to certify investigators who perform peace officer work with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, agency Executive Director Tim Braaten said.

Guerra runs the state’s only district attorney’s office whose investigators lack state certification, Braaten said.

“It’s the only one we’re aware of,” he said.

Guerra had said state law allowed him to appoint investigators without certification because they don’t perform police work.

“The attorney general disagreed with Mr. Guerra on his supposition. They agree with us,” Braaten said.

Guerra said his investigators didn’t perform police work such as making arrests, which exempts them from certification.

While Roy Tamez investigates and reviews cases, investigator Marte Guillen works as a legal researcher, Guerra said. Neither carries a gun; only Tamez carries a badge that identifies him as an investigator for the district attorney’s office, Guerra said.

Braaten said he was preparing to present Guerra with a letter on the agency’s finding.

“It basically says we both understand that these people need to be licensed. If he’s going to have people do peace officer work, they need to be licensed,” Braaten said.

“We’ve come to the consensus that if he’s got his people doing law enforcement work, he’s got to be certified. I think he’s fully aware now that we’ve got a good interpretation.”

In July, an agency field officer learned that Guerra had appointed investigators who lacked state certification, Braaten said.

Guerra said he asked the agency to determine whether state certification was required of his investigators.

“We agreed to everything,” Guerra said.

Tamez, a state-certified jailer, will attend the Lower Rio Grande Valley Police Academy in McAllen, his first step toward certification, Guerra said.

To become certified as peace officers, candidates must earn at least 618 hours at a police academy, Braaten said. Within 180 days of completion, candidates must pass a state examination, and then criminal background checks, he said.

Guillen, who will not perform police work, will be restricted to research work, Guerra said.