Pasadena Council meeting where council members Carlos Heredia and Emmanuel Guerrero say they lost faith in the city's police leadership.

PASADENA, Texas - Two Pasadena City Council members are calling for changes in the city's police leadership as five police lieutenants sue over the appointment of Assistant Police Chief James Holt.

Council members Carlos Heredia and Emmanuel Guerrero publicly criticized the department's leadership, with both saying they have lost confidence in Interim Police Chief Raul Granados.


 Pasadena, we have a leadership problem,  Heredia said.  We need a police department that our residents trust and officers that are proud to serve in. 

Guerrero called for both Granados and Assistant Chief Holt to be dismissed.

 I am formally asking counsel for the dismissal of duties of Assistant Chief James Holt and interim chief Raul Granados,  Guerrero said.  You have failed this city, you have failed this department, accountability matters. 

The calls come as five senior Pasadena police lieutenants challenge Holt's appointment in court.

Five lieutenants challenge Holt's appointment

The lawsuit asks a judge to determine  whether the Chief of Police may install…a person who, on the day of the appointment, was not employed by the police department at all. 

The lawsuit cites Section 143.014(d) of the Texas Local Government Code, which it says requires a person appointed to the assistant chief classification to be employed by the municipality's police department as a sworn police officer and to have at least two years of continuous service in that department as a sworn police officer.

According to court records, then-Chief of Police M.P. Jackson appointed Holt assistant chief on April 13, 2026. But the lawsuit says Holt had been serving as Mayor Thomas Schoenbein's chief of staff the day before the appointment.

 On April 13, 2026, then-Chief of Police M.P. Jackson purported to appoint James R. Holt to the position of Assistant Chief of Police,  the lawsuit states.  On April 12, 2026 - the day before - Mr. Holt was the Mayor's Chief of Staff. 

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