HUMBLE, Texas – Humble Police Chief Dan Zientek has been on paid administrative leave since Thursday night.
On Tuesday, the city confirmed it was changing his status from paid to unpaid.
PREVIOUS: Humble police chief placed on unpaid administrative leave
It’s a significant development, according to law enforcement experts, and it comes after 2 Investigates began asking the city questions about a company connected to Zientek.
Humble City Manager Jason Stuebe informed 2 Investigates of the new development with the following statement:
“In the course of the City conducting its investigation into Police Chief Dan Zientek, new information and allegations came to light beyond the scope of the original investigation. Due to the severity of those allegations, Dan Zientek has now been relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.”
Stuebe, who has been primarily silent since we first started examining personnel issues within the police department back on Dec. 8, went on to add the following:
“The City of Humble is committed to transparency and is cooperating fully with the independent investigation. To maintain the integrity of that investigation and ensure a fair and thorough investigation, we cannot provide any further comment at this time.”
On Friday, 2 Investigates began asking the city about a company called “Acquire Training Solutions.”
The company’s website lists Zientek as its chief operating officer and an instructor.
The site shows various law enforcement training courses being offered — from forensics to drone training — at Humble Police Department headquarters. In one instance, a course had a prepayment cost of $395, or $495 at the door.
As a result of what we discovered on the site, we sent specific questions to the City of Humble on Friday. The city manager responded Tuesday with the following:
2 INVESTIGATES: Considering what 2 Investigates uncovered, was this a business the City of Humble was aware of, and granted permission to hold events with a registration charge at the police department headquarters?
- HUMBLE’S RESPONSE: The City was not aware of this business (Acquire Training Solutions), permission was not sought or granted to hold events with a registration charge at the Police Department headquarters.
2 INVESTIGATES: If yes, what monies in return did the City of Humble receive for such events?
- HUMBLE’S RESPONSE: Based on a preliminary review, the City has not paid nor received funds from Acquire Training Solutions
2 INVESTIGATES: Was any property or drones at the Humble Police Department, purchased with taxpayers’ dollars, used by this business to conduct training courses for a profit?
- HUMBLE’S RESPONSE: This may be a subject of the ongoing investigation. In the interest of protecting the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on that at this time.
2 INVESTIGATES: Was the City of Humble’s FAA license leveraged in any way as part of the course that was offered?
- HUMBLE’S RESPONSE: This may be a subject of the ongoing investigation. In the interest of protecting the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on that at this time.
2 INVESTIGATES: What is the city’s policy on employees disclosing outside income?
- HUMBLE’S RESPONSE: The City of Humble’s personnel policies clearly provide the process in which employees must disclose external/secondary employment and such employment must be approved by the employees’ respective supervisor. In this instance, the City was unaware of Dan Zientek’s involvement with Acquire Training Solutions; at no point did Zientek request in writing to engage in outside employment – as is required by the personnel policies; and at no point was authorization granted to him by the City Manager.
The city has hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation, which is slated to last into the new year.
2 Investigates is monitoring the situation closely as our investigation remains ongoing.