If you could measure anger on a meter, some Rockport residents would peg the needle.
They’re fed up – the Aransas County District Attorney says she won’t prosecute new cases brought by the Rockport Police Department and, for seven months, hasn’t.
For Rockport resident Caren Crocker, the gridlock is unacceptable.
"The signal that it’s putting out to people is that it’s okay to come here to Rockport and commit a crime," Crocker says. She’s part of on online group now calling for Barnebey’s removal from office.
Despite several requests for an explanation, Barnebey is not telling us what Rockport police did to lose her trust.
The City of Rockport placed a public notice in the local newspaper claiming that police have made 55 arrests for which Barnebey has yet to bring a case, but, neither the police nor Rockport’s Mayor have offered 6 Investigates any specifics into what gave rise to Barnebey’s decision, which was made public more than seven months ago.
Only Aransas County District Clerk Pamela Heard has been willing to discuss the situation with us, on the record.
She says she does not understand what is happening, or more importantly, why it is happening.
But, it’s effecting more than just the police and the DA.
"It’s slowing down the system for a reason I really don’t understand. And, it’s not up to me to understand it – but, as the Clerk – I can see how it’s disrupting the system.. Something needs to get done."
Aransas County Commissioners are getting involved, too. They’ll consider at a special meeting on Thursday whether to hire a third party to help Barnebey and the police work out their differences.
