Ex-Pflugerville Police Chief pointed gun at officer, probe reveals

Former Pflugerville Police Chief Jason O’Malley pointed a gun at a subordinate inside a police building earlier this year, according to a third-party investigation that spurred O'Malley and two captains to exit the force.

The City of Pflugerville released a report on Wednesday detailing an interaction on April 23 where, in front of witnesses in a sergeant’s office, O’Malley pulled out his Staccato 2011 handgun, pointed it at Lt. Michael DeLaRosa’s legs and joked about shooting him in the foot. O’Malley then re-holstered the weapon and smirked before leaving the room, according to the report.

The report also found a wide-ranging pattern of misconduct by O’Malley that it summarized as, "A lax attitude toward weapon safety protocol inside a municipal facility, inappropriate language and gestures at the workplace, a decrease in professionalism in the workplace, and a sense of fear of retaliation by police employees if they reported O’Malley’s misconduct."

O’Malley chose to retire during the investigation, according to the Pflugerville Police Department.

The report also found two other officers, Captains Makeba Lewis and Jared Thyssen, guilty of misconduct for not taking appropriate actions to address O'Malley's wrongdoings. Lewis retired during the probe while Thyssen resigned.

The city said O’Malley’s conduct was not considered dangerous to the general public and that he is not facing any criminal charges.

"While the actions in question did not endanger the public, they did not align with the expectations we hold for leadership in our police department," City Manager Sereniah Breland said in a statement. "We took immediate and appropriate action to address this with the seriousness it deserves."