Smit resigns, seeks Hutchins PD post

The Ellis County Press

COCKRELL HILL – The only police chief to have arrested former Bardwell Police Chief Michael Chase Meissner resigned last week over a "secret internal" investigation by the mayor.

The investigation was first reported by the Dallas Morning News a week after the April 8 GOP run-off in which Smit’s endorsed candidate, Jim Bowles, lost. Smit herself ran for sheriff and came in third, said the story was not reported accurately.

Meissner, the focus of several local and state investigations for alleged public corruption, reportedly told two of Smit’s co-workers to "become plants" in the small Dallas County police department in west Dallas.

Smit, who didn’t answer critics of Meissner who alleged the "plant" theory, said she is seeking a ranked position in one of Ellis County’s agencies, as well as Hutchins Police Department.