WilCo Sheriff Chody Finds Himself Under Unwelcome Spotlight

Editor's note: In a previous version of this article, Patch wrote that Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody said in an interview with KVUE that with regards to comments made by Stephen Deaton about a female A&E producer, Chody said "what was alleged did not occur." However, after reviewing the unedited version of that interview, it was clear that Chody acknowledged a comment was made but that there was no challenge issued, as was alleged in a complaint filed by a local attorney that said Deaton "challenged" deputies in a meeting to have sex with a female producer. Patch has clarified and corrected our language to accurately reflect what Chody said.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — It's been an unwelcome spotlight for Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody the past few days by virtue of news stories on how he's handled discovery of a subordinate's offensive social media page.

County residents are well familiar with Chody's implausible narrative — a 2001 state lottery winner who overnight found himself with a multimillion-dollar windfall he parlayed into robust campaign war chest to secure the job as the county's top cop. Yet the recent emergence of his commander's Facebook page — replete with rape jokes and calls for the maiming of black NFL players protesting during the National Anthem — has served to heighten his profile to an audience less familiar with his compelling rags-to-riches story.

So who is Robert Chody? Arguably, he's best known as the former Austin Police Department officer who won a substantial jackpot 18 years ago with a winning Texas state lottery ticket purchased by his wife. The Lotto Texas ticket matched all six numbers drawn to win one of the biggest jackpots issued by the Texas Lottery Commission to date— an overnight windfall of $85 million. The couple opted to take an immediate lump sum rather than yearly annuities, taking home $51.2 million.

Lottery winnings fuel political aspirations

Flash forward 15 years later, and Chody would turn some of his winnings into political currency in running for sheriff. Given his considerable, lottery-aided campaign war chest, Chody easily vanquished four opponents for the sheriff's post in securing 58 percent of the vote, as shown in results compiled by Ballotpedia.

The four other contenders in the 2016 race — Randy Elliston, Mike Cowie, William Kelberlau and Tony "L.A." Trumps — were far outspent by the lottery-laden Chody, who had the luxury of pumping more than half-a-million dollars into his war chest to dwarf expenditures of his rivals — little more than $50,000 apiece — as reflected in campaign reports filed in Williamson County. Most of Chody's campaign money went to high-dollar consulting firm Murphy Nasica, which boasts on its website that, since its inception, has "...won more campaigns in the regions where we operate than any other firm."

Chody's considerable capital proved an insurmountable obstacle for challengers struggling to get their own political messaging out to the electorate. His closest challenger, Elliston, placed a distant second in managing to secure 15 percent of the vote when all the ballots were tallied.

Related stories:

WilCo Sheriff Addresses Furor Over Subordinate's Facebook Page

WilCo Sheriff Disavows Commander's Controversial Facebook Page

Williamson County Sheriff Not Amused After Being Mocked On TV

Challengers' anemic showings at the polls belied impressive professional pedigrees: Elliston formerly was a Texas Department of Public Safety chief; Cowie, a lieutenant in the criminal investigations division of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office; Bill Kelberlau, a 30-year U.S. Navy intelligence officer retiree; and retired Houston police officer Trumps, who, as the Austin American-Statesman reported, dropped out of the race but still managed to snag 2.18 percent of the vote.

And so, Chody was able to handily win the election in securing the job of top cop of 1,100 square miles of Texas land known as Williamson County of which Georgetown is the county seat. The cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock also fall under his jurisdiction.

The sheriff's post wasn't the first political office Chody was able to secure with help of his winnings. He ran for the March 2008 Republican primary for the Precinct 1 constable seat — ultimately successful in unseating 10-year incumbent Gary Griffin. As noted by the Austin Chronicle, Chody's lottery winnings figured prominently in his campaign website at the time with a television clip showing him and his wife clutching an oversize check from Texas Lottery officials.

Robert Chody via WilCo Sheriff's Office.

Sporting the 10-gallon cowboy hat that seems all but a prerequisite in such political law enforcement races around these parts, Chody presented a "warm-and-fuzzy" portrait as a religious family man, generous donor and an officer with a penchant for working with kids, the Chronicle reported. The tactics paid off, with Chody securing 57 percent in the March Republican primary with Griffin and setting him up to win the primary election without Democratic opposition, as the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Unwanted spotlight dissipates post-lottery

The stroke of luck in winning the lottery proved especially fortuitous for Chody. When he won the money, the Austin Chronicle reported, he was the principal defendant in a police brutality lawsuit filed on behalf of a black, epileptic teen in East Austin. The lottery money doubtless came in handy when the suit was quietly settled out of court, as the Chronicle suggested.

Here's how the newspaper described the particulars of the lawsuit: "According to court documents, Chody stood accused of beating a much smaller 15-year-old black teenager in East Austin, smashing the youth's face on the hood of a patrol car, putting him in a 'full nelson' (a forceful, immobilizing wrestling hold that places pressure on the neck), triggering a seizure in the terrified youth and bruising his ribs – and finally arresting, without apparent probable cause, Marcus Dewayne Frank, then an exemplary student at Johnston High School."

Fourteen years later, Chody would organize a "Police Lives Matter" rally in response to the murder of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth, allegedly gunned down by Shannon Miles at a gas station, as CBS Austin and others reported at the time. Miles ultimately was found to be mentally incompetent.

The settling of that lawsuit effectively put Chody out of an unwelcome spotlight in which he had found himself since early 2001 when the litigation was filed. Today, Chody finds himself under the unwelcome glare of another controversy — this time indirectly of his own making.

Glare of unwanted spotlight returns

In a recent report, the Southern Poverty Law Center exposed the Facebook page of one of his commanders that contained offensive material that's prompted many county residents to call for his firing. In the since-deleted page, Commander Stephen Deaton took the time to position Barbie and Elf in the Shelf dolls in compromising positions to air his views on a variety of hot-button issues.

The posts are at turns misogynistic — making light of sexual assault and abuse of women — and graphic in their depictions of violence:

• One post positions dolls to depict a black football player being dismembered at the knees by an elf with a chainsaw against an American flag backdrop. There's a pool of blood under the chainsaw blades, with a caption presumably written by Deaton that reads: “And here’s the start … Our Patriotic elf grew angrier all season. He finally snapped and decided to show the NFL how he goes about taking knees for not standing during our national anthem.”

• Another November 2018 post shows an elf with a ransom note while a captive Barbie lies behind him wrapped in tape. The caption reads: “Our elf is searching for just the right words to convince Ted he wasn’t fooling around and to pay the ransom. While he didn’t mind burying another body, it was time to get paid.”
• There's an image of a Barbie doll surrounded by three prancing elf dolls seemingly in celebration. The caption: "After partying hard with the elves last night, Barbie woke up confused. She couldn’t understand why the elfs [sic] were so busy laughing at her and she was really wondering what smelled so bad #rustytrombonenext." A quick Google search yields the meaning behind the chosen hashtag. A so-called "rusty trombone" is a purported act in which a man stands with his knees and back slightly torqued with feet spread shoulder width apart to expose his anus for a partner to perform anilungus.
• Another post on Deaton's page shows an elf doll of dark complexion holding the hair of a Barbie doll lying on the ground made to look as if being in the throes of vomiting. "Sticking to etiquette, our elf holds the hair of his date to the party while she pukes," the caption reads. "Silently though, he wonders whether the roofie slipped her earlier will still be effective." The term "roofie" is a slang term for the date rape drug flunitrazepam or any drug designed to cause drowsiness or disorientation for the person unwittingly ingesting it.

Commander Stephen Deaton via Williamson County Sheriff's Office homepage.

Chody enjoyed the post depicting mutilation of a black football player, hitting the "like" button below the posting. County Judge Bill Gravell liked it too. In a previous email to Patch, Chody expressed regret for having hit "like" on the image showing a facsimile of an NFL player's bloodied and disembodied legs, but said his reaction was rooted in support for standing during the anthem rather than endorsement of violence: "I will say I do not condone the posts and the one 'like' from me was related to standing for the U.S flag, and only that," he wrote in an email. "As a veteran, I am very passionate about the issue of standing for our U.S. flag and completely overlooked the obvious. That was a mistake on my part."

Gravell also expressed contrition when approached for comment from local media outlets.

Deaton's use of elf dolls is in stark contrast to Chody's. Having ushered in Williamson County as a social media presence — a development he lists among his accomplishments since becoming sheriff — Chody uses elf dolls in a decidedly wholesome manner, employing them around the holidays in keeping with the spirit of the Christmas season.

"Our elves are celebrating #NationalCookieDay!" Chody's post last December read. "What's your favorite kind of cookie?"

In another post, "Williamson County Sheriff "swears in" new reserve deputy Elves for the Christmas season," Said Chody: "These special deputies are ordered on Christmas Eve to report to the Sheriff the whereabouts of Santa so the kids know when Santa is close to Wilco."

The holiday outreach efforts secured positive press for Chody: "Though we can’t be sure when Santa Claus will show up in Williamson County, we can say that the sheriff is doing exceptional work keeping citizens informed, safe and stylish before the new year," gushed the Austin American-Statesman in reporting on the special elves.

Residents' outrage grows as word of Deaton's page spreads

Behind the scenes, though, elves aren't that family-friendly.

Residents objecting to the content of Deaton’s page directed their ire and concern during the Aug. 6 meeting of the Williamson County Commissioners Court. The outrage is directed not just at Deaton, but at Chody for not disciplining his commander.

"Deaton received a verbal reprimand, which is exactly what I was limited to with the other employees and their K9 digital text thread," Chody wrote in a written answer to various questions. "I cannot retroactively go back and punish Deaton for what ever new policy is approved by legal to address these issues."

Actually, Deaton received a mere "oral counseling" — far short of formal disciplinary action — with the option of "could be terminated" marked out of the disciplinary form as consideration.

Gary Richter, a 40-year resident of Georgetown, ticked off a number of the disturbing images but said he was most disturbed by the images of violence depicted against black NFL football players.
"This had a visceral effect on me; it made my stomach hurt," Richter said. He noted there were several layers from which to be disturbed by Deaton's posts, chiefly the mindset that would create such imagery.

"This person had to imagine this in the first place, and then had to go to the trouble to purchase the supplies, and take the time to pose these images, take the pictures and post them online. I don't think such a person should be in law enforcement at all, and certainly not in a position of leadership as this person is."

Susan Wukasch, a 36-year resident of Williamson County, was similarly disturbed. She appealed to many of the commissioners' expressed Christian beliefs in condemning the posts.

"What the public has learned about the character of these two men in the posting and responding to vile images of torture, racism, gang rape and degradation of people Commander Deaton apparently feels are less valuable than he is has many of us appalled, frightening and sick," Wukasch told commissioners in a conservative county where politicians make a point to note their religious affiliations and activities for political gain.

And yet, it’s not the first time Chody has let his commander off easy. Deaton previously nothing more than a tongue-lashing after inquiring of his deputies if any of them had had sex with a female producer of the A&E show “Live PD” that features the law enforcement exploits of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office that constitutes its programming.

In an April 17 interview with KVUE — the same television station that aired a glowing profile of the millionaire sheriff — Chody acknowledged that Deaton made comments asking if deputies had had sex with the producer. A law enforcement source subsequently provided Patch with tapes that corroborated remarks Deaton made about the female producer"

"We called in over 17 people, I believe it was, that were said to be present at this place where the allegation occurred, and overwhelmingly the investigation concludes and shows that what was alleged did not occur," Chody told an interviewer, addressing the issue of whether Deaton issued a direct challenge to his deputies toward pursuing an intimate relationship with the producer.

A WilCo law enforcement watchdog going by the Twitter handle “Buddy Falcon,” provided Patch with a mashup of officers being interviewed by the police internal affairs department independently corroborating the account. The video mashup of internal affairs shows interviews being conducted by Chief Deputy Tim Ryle rather than an internal affairs investigator as is typically the custom.

(Warning: In some of the IA interviews, strong language is used to describe the words allegedly used by Deaton in speaking of the A&E producer.)

In correspondence with Patch, the source using the pseudonym Buddy Falcon is self-described as a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office employee. The source told Patch the videotaped interviews of officers confirming Deaton’s challenge for his officers to bed the A&E producer were obtained as part of a formal state open records request.

The tape of Deaton being interviewed as part of the investigation was conspicuously absent from the requested set of materials, the source told Patch.

"We are also going to request Deaton's interview and the interview they left out, who is someone they are trying to put in office at the Williamson County Deputies Association," the source added. "No reason given for why his testimony was not included."

Discipline proportionality, favoritism questions arise

Last week, Chody said he was unable to implement discipline more severe than verbal warning for Deaton over the Facebook scandal given vague policy guidelines as it relates to employees' use of social media. Moreover, he expressed concern his discipline might run counter to the tactics of freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution, he added.

But the slap on the wrist for Deaton, coupled with contrasting methods of discipline used in other cases, has raised questions of favoritism and proportionality at the sheriff's office. Some wonder if Deaton received special treatment as a handpicked officer to join Chody's force from his old APD stint — a force for which Deaton himself once worked.

Patch reached out to the Austin Police Department to confirm Deaton had worked there, receiving a response from a public information officer: "Stephen Deaton was hired as an APD cadet on August 6, 1990. He was commissioned on Feb. 1, 1991, and left the department on December 4, 2016." The circumstances behind Deaton's departure from the Austin police force remain unclear.

At least one of those interviewed in the internal affairs investigation into Deaton's comments about the "Live PD" officer suggested having being intimidated to prevent his testimony after a thinly veiled reminder of the strong Deaton-Chody bond. Chastened, the officer explains to the interviewer that he feared for his job while profusely apologizing for not immediately having reported the incident to his superiors.

Then there's the handling of another incident that led to the firing of two officers. At around the same time Deaton was being reprimanded, the SPLC reported, Chody fired two other officers for text messages on their private cell phones perceived as disparaging to the chain of command. Assigned to the K9 unit, the two officers were admittedly venting about superiors and the machinations of the WilCo sheriff's office, according to the report.

A complaint affidavit reviewed by the SPLC related to one of the since-fired deputies lays out that it had been "...alleged that on or before March 12, 2019, Deputy Aaron Skinner, sent electronic messages to other employees criticizing The Williams County Sheriff’s Office" before a determination was made the communication was in violation of the department's policy regarding "restrictions on behavior," according to the report.

The K9 officers who weren't fired in the dragnet centered on disparaging texts got an "oral reprimand," which is an official disciplinary action of which Deaton was somehow spared for his own actions. Deaton — whose graphic posts served to re-traumatize at least one sexual abuse victim who spoke to the SPLC by eroding trust in the department's commitment to serve and protect as a result — received a mere oral counseling that doesn't register as formal discipline.

The upshot: Deaton's own transgressions weren't viewed as "restrictions on behavior" like the K9 officers' text messages critical of the chain of command. By Chody's own telling, Deaton's offensive posts represented Constitutionally protected free speech, preventing him from meting out any sort of discipline as a result.

'Locker room' talk out in the open at WilCo Sheriff's Office

For all the shock at Deaton's posts, some measure of "locker room" talk at the WilCo Sheriff's Office hides in plain sight, often advanced by Chody himself. Fond of making videos on his YouTube channel in making the department more accessible to the public, the sheriff posted one early last year in which he exchanges jokes with Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs.

In one 16-minute video titled "Bad Jokes of WilCo Sheriff vs. County Attorney," Chody and Hobbs read randomly selected "jokes" to see who might succumb to laughter first. The material, Chody explained, was selected by staff members, while noting it's the first time either man had seen it.

"What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 80?" Chody begins. "Your honor, or in your case: Mommy." Here's another: "What do you get when you cross a blonde and a lawyer?" Chody asks. The answer: "I don't know, there are some things even a blonde won't do." There's plenty of attorney-bashing jokes too: "Do you know how to save a drowning lawyer?" Chody asked Hobbs. "Take your foot off his head."

While the jokes are more just plain awful and grown-worthy — by their tellers' own admission — than egregiously offensive, the cozy relationships Chody has developed with other key WilCo officials has raised questions related to the professionalism of the office.

Love of spotlight sometimes backfires

Chody's videos and prolific Twitter output reflect the sheriff's seeming love of the spotlight — a penchant seen as early as 2001 when he and wife won the lottery and choosing to be publicly identified for their sudden riches even as most big Texas Lottery winners choose the option of remaining anonymous to safeguard their privacy.

Similarly, Chody relishes the national exposure resulting from his department's "Live PD" appearances, expressing the broadcast's importance as a recruiting tool. Chody often tweets about WilCo's representation on "Live PD," and even stages watch parties during the broadcast. Such tweeting has helped him gain more than 38,000 followers on Twitter. Lt. Grayson Kennedy, the SPLC further notes, has garnered more than 27,000 fans by virtue of being one of the most frequently featured officers on the reality show.

After the incident with Deaton and the show's producer that earned him a verbal reprimand, commissioners court members seemed swayed by Chody's arguments positing the show as an important police recruiting tool, voting 3-2 to continue a contract with Big Fish Entertainment to continue filming the county deputies as they go about their job patrolling the streets. This approval came amid reservations the show might cast the county as crime-ridden even as statistics say otherwise. Others voiced concern related to risks and liability for the county.

Such concerns were manifested shortly after the approval for the "Live PD" contract renewal. WilCo commissioners in July learned of allegations of excessive force against Chody's deputies during a traffic stop that served as entertainment fodder on the show. The man arrested is pinned to the ground, Tasered and punched, all the while as the suspect repeatedly expresses an inability to breathe, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.

The arrested man's attorney said his client suffered serious injuries for the benefit of providing dramatic footage for "Live PD." Moreover, his lawyer told the newspaper, his roughed-up client had to be examined by multiple medical specialists while in custody. In an interview with Fox 7, Chody dismissed accusations his deputies were playing to the "Live PD" camera for the sake of securing the most dramatic footage: "Liability is liability no matter what, no matter whether there's a camera present or not," he said.

Uploaded to YouTube, the episode shows the arrested man unresponsive as he lay supine on the street after five deputies take him down. A pool of blood can be seen emanating from the suspect's head after he was repeatedly punched — several times by one officer rushing to the scene after the man already was being held down by four of his peers. According to the Statesman, the man's injuries included a broken nose, fractured eye socket, two broken teeth, a severe concussion and a torn shoulder ligament. In a letter to county commissioners, the Statesman reported, the man later apologized for having tried to evade arrest but questioned the need for such force.

In terms of production values, the confrontation had the desired effect. On June 14, "Live PD" fans feasted on the Williamson County deputies' take-down in an episode tantalizingly titled "Wilco Deputies Fight Off Druggie:

Chody cuts off Patch from fielding questions

While enjoying the spotlight when cast on his deputies' and his own work, Chody sometimes bristles when asked about less-than-positive things it helps bring to light. In a previous statement, he blamed the Deaton Facebook scandal less on the offending images than on a disgruntled few who have fanned the flames of controversy.

"It has been very hard for my family, my department, my friends and myself to sit back and watch as the agenda of a few disgruntled people plays out in the media specifically attacking me and my County judge," he wrote, the last a reference to Gravell (who, remember, also hit the "like" button on Deaton's page).

And yet, he often enthusiastically goes after critics himself when aggrieved. After his department became the punch line of a joke for cardboard cutouts of cops he had his deputies strategically place throughout the county as deterrent against speeding, Chody struck back.

The humor quality of the edgy joke mocking cardboard officer facsimiles (dubbed "FlatWolf") on "Late Night with Seth Myers" was debatable: "A Texas sheriff has placed cardboard cutouts of officers holding radar guns on the side of several roads to deter speeding. And even one of those managed to shoot a black guy."

Chody was not pleased: "Well, the #FlatWolf even got mentioned in a @SNLUpdate skit," Chody wrote on Twitter, albeit confusing the television show with another. "Too bad they took the opportunity to use a proactive approach to serve the community and vilify police officers."

But when roles are reversed and it's Chody who's questioned, he sometimes bites back. Patch had hoped to interview him about the various controversies swirling around the sheriff's office, but he ultimately declined to answer further questions —referring future requests to his public information officer (PIO).

"PIOs are a common source throughout the country for large agencies," he wrote in a text responding to questions from Patch. "Communicate through Patty [PIO Patricia Gutierrez] at this point." And, despite a call from Patch for comment having been the first time the cell phone had been called for any matter, Chody added: "You have my cell as a matter of my willingness. You abuse it you lose it."

Noted counselor Craig D. Lounsbrough once wrote: “Too often the spotlight that highlights our successes burns out quickly, while the spotlight that scrutinizes our failures is a long-life bulb.” It's unclear what the light will expose in final analysis, but for now focus on the WilCo Sheriff's Office has gotten that much brighter.