Friday, July 26, 1996

Embattled Head of Elite Law Enforcement Agency Retiring

By JUAN B. ELIZONDO Jr.
Associated Press

AUSTIN - Maurice Cook, leader of the elite Texas Rangers law enforcement agency since 1992, has told superiors he will retire at the end of next month.

Cook's recent tenure has been marred by claims of plummeting morale in the crime-fighting unit and accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination by two female officers.

The Associated Press reported in February that Department of Public Safety Col. James Wilson had given Cook an ultimatum to leave the Rangers. The DPS oversees the 173-year-old Rangers force.

Last month, Cook sued the AP claiming that report was false and defamatory. He also two Texas newspapers, two reporters, Travis County Sheriff Terry Keel and Houston attorney John Phillips, claiming libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In February, Cook denied he planned to retire, telling The Brazosport Facts: "I haven't said I would retire yet. When I say it, I can let the public know. There is no dishonor in retiring."

Neither Wilson nor Cook was immediately available to comment Thursday, but DPS spokeswoman Sherri Deatherage Green confirmed Cook had submitted his formal notice of retirement Wednesday.

"As I look back on my years with the Texas Department of Public Safety, I do so with a sense of accomplishment ...," Cook's letter said.

"I thank God I have obtained by goal of being a Texas Ranger. ... In my opinion, I am retiring from the greatest law enforcement agency in the world. ...

"I leave the Texas Rangers with a sense of accomplishment, not for myself but for the Texas Rangers," he said.

His retirement is effective Aug. 31, the last day of a favorable state retirement package.

Cook, 53, has been in the Rangers for more than two decades. His historic tenure as senior captain saw the first recruitment of women into the agency in 1993. Since then, accusations of sexual bias have surfaced.

Cheryl Steadman, a Ranger from Houston who resigned in 1994, and Lisa Sheppard of Corpus Christi, who angrily spurned a Ranger job, sued Cook, the agency, the DPS and others last December in federal court.

"They don't know what sexual harassment is and they couldn't care less," Steadman said last month.
She and Ms. Sheppard declined comment on the announcement of Cook's retirement.

"I know that my reputation has been tarnished by the false reports of the news media," Cook's letter said. "It is very distasteful to me that the news media cannot write about all the good things one has done. Rather, they relentlessly try to come up with some negative things over which we usually have little or not control and then feature this story to meet their objective."

Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for Gov. George Bush, said the governor thanks Cook for his service. He had little to say about the controversies that have surrounded the Rangers or the agency's top official.

"It's the governor's management style to allow the board chairman and top officials to examine and correct any concerns or perceived problems," Sullivan said.

Public Safety Commissioner James Francis declined to comment Thursday. Calls to the two other commissioners were not returned.