TEXAS – Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering the Texas Rangers to investigate The Texas Juvenile Justice Department after reports of multiple TJJD staff engaging in “potentially illegal behavior.”
“The Office of the Inspector General for TTJD and the Independent Ombudsman, the state agency responsible for investigating reports of illegal behavior in the TJJD, reported the allegations to prosecuting attorneys”, Abbott said in a letter to Texas Department of Public Safety Director, Col. Steven McCraw,
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Abbott said he wants a report from the Texas Rangers so that remedial action can be taken in these allegations.
In June, KSAT reported that a former juvenile detention officer was arrested after the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said he used excessive force on a juvenile in 2019.
Officers said Ramon Montanya, 31, was observed on camera on June 29, 2019, restraining a 13-year-old by placing the child’s arm behind his back and then lifting his arm up. Montanya then hyperextended the child’s arm, fracturing the child’s shoulder.
BCSO said their Public Integrity Unit investigated the case and determined Montanya had used excessive force and he was indicted by a grand jury on June 23.
Montanya was arrested and charged with a first-degree felony for injury to a child causing bodily injury and assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, according to officers.
It’s unclear whether Montanya’s case is related to the allegations that the governor referenced.
According to their website, “The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is committed to the highest professional standards in the execution of our agency’s mission and interactions with the youth in our care.”