HPD officer back on duty after 16-day ban due to investigation into alleged ties to auto theft ring

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston Police Department officer who was investigated following allegations that he helped a suspected criminal is back on active duty after serving a 16-day suspension.

Keith E. Roy Jr. was relieved of duty last August pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation after a text message from his phone number was found on the phone of a suspect in an auto theft ring.

According to a search warrant affidavit, the suspect sent a picture of a vehicle and its license plate. Roy responded, "Got it," and then replied again with a picture of the vehicle registration from a computer mounted in an HPD patrol car.

The accusation raised questions about criminal involvement and whether it violates law enforcement policy. In January, Chief Troy Finner handed down a suspension.

"Is it something you can be fired for? Yes," former HPD officer-turned-attorney Tom Nixon said. "But is it also something that you can be suspended for? absolutely."

According to Roy's suspension letter obtained by Eyewitness News and signed by Finner, Roy violated two HPD policies related to computer use and sensitive information.

"The investigation revealed that Officer Roy shared personally identifiable information with unauthorized individuals," the letter states.

Accessing and providing the information is "expressly prohibited by policy."

Roy's union attorney did not respond to an ABC13 request for comment, and Roy could not be reached.

An HPD spokesperson deferred to the suspension paperwork when asked for a statement.

Roy agreed to a 16-day suspension, eight days of which he could get paid for by using personal time off, as allowed by a recent labor agreement. He served that suspension from Jan. 24 through Feb. 8, according to a "positive discipline approval notice" included in Roy's personnel file.

Nixon is unrelated to the case but says a suspension suggests he will not be criminally prosecuted and that investigators could not prove it was more than a one-time deal.

"If he did something stupid and he didn't do it a lot, then he's going to be suspended," he said. "But if he did something stupid and did it a lot, you get fired."

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