FERRIS – Hank Weber is out
and Jacksboro’s Frank Mooney is in as the new police chief, according to City
Manager David Chavez.
Mooney
is scheduled to begin work Monday, Sept. 8, replacing Michael Braly, who
resigned over the summer to take a police position in Irving.
“…The first choice [Weber]
for the position called to inform me that because of recent health events with
his father, he will be unable to accept the position,” Chavez said. “I then
called the second choice on my list, former chief of police of Jacksboro
[Texas] Frank Mooney, to see if he would accept the position. After consulting with his wife, he agreed
to my offer of employment. He is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Mooney, who served with
Jacksboro for eight years, resigned from that department on Thursday, Aug. 18,
according to the Jacksboro Gazette-News.
Chavez said Mooney would be
available next week for an interview
“Obviously, I was
disappointed that Hank Weber was unable to accept the position, but in the
interview process, Frank came out very high in the rankings,” Chavez said. “He
was a very close second.”
After Braly’s
resignation, Chavez fired former Lt. Mike Zaidle “without cause” after The Ellis County Press reported
allegations that a Ferris officer was searching city computers viewing porn and
chatting on dating sites.
Though Zaidle was not the
source of the allegations reported to the paper, the firing prompted the
resignation of Councilman Fred Pontley, himself a former Ferris officer and
current Ennis police officer.
The city council has yet
to make an appointment to Pontley’s Place 5, Chavez said.
