An ethics complaint against McKinney City Council member La’Shadion Shemwell centers around his failed proposal to declare a “Black State of Emergency” during an Oct. 15 meeting.
The complaint alleges Shemwell violated the council’s code of ethics with his draft proclamation that read: “the State of Texas and its local governments have declared war on black and brown citizens by conspiring to kill, injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate, and to willfully deprive citizens of their constitutional rights while acting under color of law.”
Shemwell’s statement violates the city’s “code of ethical conduct in that it alleges criminal conduct by local and state officials,” according to the ethics complaint filed Dec. 12 by a McKinney resident.
“The wording is detrimental to the good will, safety and security of McKinney public servants, McKinney Police Officers and the peace and dignity of all McKinney citizens,” the ethics complaint stated.
Community Impact Newspaper received a copy of the complaint after filing a public records request with the city.
During the Dec. 17 meeting, council discussed the complaint and had the option to either dismiss the allegations or have a third-party attorney investigate more thoroughly if there was cause enough to believe that a violation may have occurred, according to city attorney Mark Houser.
Shemwell defended his actions during that meeting, saying that he has only given his subjective opinion. However, the council, Shemwell included, unanimously voted to have the potential violation further investigated.
This is not the first time McKinney residents have criticized Shemwell’s actions.
On Dec. 27, a petition aiming to recall Shemwell was turned into the city with more than 3,000 signatures, according to Jolie Williams, one of the petition's organizers. According to the city, the petition needs 2,127 signatures of registered McKinney voters to prompt a recall election.
Since then, city staff has been checking the validity of the signatures and will present their findings to the council at the Jan. 7 McKinney City Council meeting.
Shemwell could not be reached for comment.
Mayor George Fuller has been outspoken about his support for the recall process.
“It is not about how he delivers the message,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said. “It is not because he's black. It is not because he's fighting against injustice ... [and] it is not because we are white. It is because he is untruthful. And he's willing to be untruthful at the expense of the city's well-being of which he is supposed to be serving.”
