Category: Officer of the Court

Being out of work as a cop in McLennan county will not last long. All of the local PD’s are full of wash outs from other jurisdictions. Barnum was fired from Bellmead PD before the Sheriff swore him in as a jailer in May 2017, seen here on the book of faces.

This man must be under a heavy amount of stress, his home, job, club, are all falling apart.

Don’t be a used car dealer with your emotions, own the lemons and make no more excuses to NOT change for the better. We are only as sick as our secrets. There are innocent men and women who no longer have the freedom to wake up and your mistakes not haunt them. It will follow you where ever you go, so do what is right and admit you were following orders. If not orders from your immediate supervisor, who was it?

If you let these innocent men go down because you had orders, why do you work for a company like that? Even soldiers can disobey orders, and they might not beat the ride, but they will eventually beat the wrap. What more do you have to loose, a pension?

The following story from 2016 is from the Waco Tribune and describes Barnum’s demise, and his momentary lapse of reason.

Firing upheld for Waco police sergeant who attacked doctor

By TOMMY WITHERSPOON twitherspoon@wacotrib.com Mar 31, 2016

“A former Waco police sergeant who was fired last year for attacking a doctor who had an affair with his wife has lost an appeal of his indefinite suspension.

Arbitrator Norman Bennett, who presided over Jason Barnum’s civil service appeal of his firing, ruled that Police Chief Brent Stroman’s recommendation to fire Barnum was appropriate despite Barnum’s otherwise exemplary record during his 16-year career.

Barnum, 39, asked to be reinstated and claimed Stroman’s actions were not consistent with how he treated other officers in similar disciplinary situations.

Stroman declined comment on the arbitrator’s ruling.

Bennett’s ruling comes three months after he conducted a hearing in Barnum’s case. Barnum, who has won numerous commendations during his career, said he likely will not appeal Bennett’s decision and thinks his law enforcement career could be over. He said he does not have a job now and is uncertain what his future holds.

Barnum admitted he punched Dr. Eric Walker in the face while on duty and while driving a city-issued truck in June 2015. He was not wearing a police uniform at the time and was on his lunch break.

Barnum testified that Walker and Barnum’s wife had an affair from October to December 2014 and that he warned Walker several times to stay away from his wife after Walker’s wife learned of the affair and told Barnum.

He called Walker several times to talk about the situation and later confronted the doctor about the affair in a stairwell at Walker’s office.

Walker, an infectious disease specialist, admitted during the hearing that he has had numerous affairs with nurses and was fired from his medical practice in November.

Walker said Barnum told him during the stairwell confrontation that “at some point, the devil’s going to come calling if you keep living your life this way, but it’s not going to be me.”

Barnum said he intentionally left his gun in his truck during his conversation with Walker.

Seven months later, Barnum said he saw Walker driving by as Walker was on his way back to work from lunch. He said emotion took over and he followed Walker back to his office, parked his city truck behind Walker’s truck and approached the doctor.

Walker testified at Barnum’s appeal hearing that he saw a man coming toward him but he did not recognize Barnum because he had on sunglasses and had a long beard. Walker said he partially rolled down the window, thinking the man was lost and needed directions.

He said Barnum punched him in the face and tried to hit him several more times while the doctor tried to deflect the blows.

Walker said he reached for a gun he carried in his back pocket but couldn’t get it out because he was sitting on it.

Walker said he called police after Barnum left.

Barnum said this week he deserved to be reprimanded and suspended for a time. But he thinks being fired for what he called a momentary lapse in judgment was too extreme.

“It was a personal issue. But now my career is over for five minutes of a lapse in judgment,” Barnum said. “It is my own fault. You can’t go back in time and say, ‘Hey, you have too much to lose. Don’t do that.’ I saw him that day, and my emotions got triggered. If I had put rational thought behind it, I wouldn’t have done it. But my family was jeopardized by this man, and I reacted with a poor decision. We are human. We have emotions.”

Assault classification

Barnum said he disagrees with the opinions of Stroman and department investigators, who said the assault constituted at least a Class A misdemeanor because Walker had a black eye, a swollen face and an abrasion over his eye.

Barnum said Walker’s injuries were slight at worst, and the incident easily could have been classified as a Class C assault.

Stroman, a 38-year department veteran, testified he has been involved in a number of officer disciplinary cases, but in his eight years as chief has never retained an officer who committed an offense more severe than a Class B misdemeanor.

Walker did not file charges and testified he did not do so for fear that the publicity would damage his medical practice.

In deciding to fire Barnum in September, Stroman determined the sergeant “brought discredit on the department.””