Texas State Trooper Ordered to Get Counseling After Posing With Snoop Dogg

A Texas state trooper has been ordered to get counseling (pdf) after posing in a photo with Snoop Dogg. Sgt. Billy L. Spears met the rapper while working at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, and posed with him while in uniform. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the photo,…

A Texas state trooper has been ordered to get counseling (pdf) after posing in a photo with Snoop Dogg. Sgt. Billy L. Spears met the rapper while working at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, and posed with him while in uniform. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the photo, which was posted to Snoop Doggโ€™s Instagram account, โ€œreflects poorly on the agency.โ€

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The Dallas Morning Newsย reported that after the photo was posted, a commanding official drove 80 miles round-trip to Austin to deliver the counseling order to Spears.

โ€œWhile working a secondary employment job, Trooper Spears took a photo with a public figure who has a well-known criminal background, including numerous drug charges,โ€ย reads the counseling order. โ€œThe public figure posted the photo on social media, and it reflects poorly on the agency.โ€

According to Ty Clevenger, Spearsโ€™ attorney, his client didnโ€™t ask to take the photo with Snoop Dogg; it was a request from the rapperโ€™s publicist. Clevenger also said that Spears had no idea of Snoop Doggโ€™s background because โ€œbelieve it or not, some folks donโ€™t watch TMZ or read People magazine.โ€

Clevenger alleged on his personal blog that the mandatory counseling is an act of retaliation because Spears has previously spoken about misconduct that was carried out by a fellow law-enforcement officer. The attorney also mentioned that because this counseling is now on his clientโ€™s permanent record, it could block future promotions and/or advancement, even though the agency says itโ€™s not a form of discipline.

Spearsโ€™ attorney also wondered if it would have mattered if the celebrity had been someone else with a criminal record. โ€œSo whatโ€™s the big deal? Would the DPS hierarchy get so bent out of shape about a picture with Willie Nelson?โ€ย Clevenger asked.

Clevenger is seeking to have the counseling order removed from his clientโ€™s permanent record.ย 

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