The Brookshire City Council fired Police Chief Brandal Jackson for cause in a June 8 special meeting, but what the “for cause” means, however, was not immediately clear.

The termination came after a 3-2 council vote. Voting for termination were Alderwoman Position 3 and Mayor Pro Tem Kim Branch, Position 4 Alderwoman Amanda Neuendorf and Position 5 Alderman Jeremiah Hill. Hill made the motion to terminate. Neuendorf seconded it.

Voting against termination were Position 1 Alderwoman Monique Taylor and Position 2 Alderman Lyndon Stamps.

Both Jackson and Branch declined comment on the cause of termination, citing pending litigation.

Also unclear is who is now serving as the city’s interim police chief. A Brookshire Police Department receptionist said all police department inquiries were to be referred to Mayor Darrell Branch. Efforts to reach the mayor for comment by press time were unsuccessful.

Darrell Branch served as police chief before he was elected mayor in 2019.

Jackson, given the chance to comment before the council voted to fire him, said he had given his heart and soul to the community.

“I had a job when I came here, when I was requested to come here,” Jackson said. “You have to know where we’ve been to know where we’re going.”

Jackson said when he joined the department—his LinkedIn profile said he joined the Brookshire Police in 2010—he was asked to meet with Drug Enforcement Agency officials.

“They sat me down at this round table, and they told me about the horrible things going on in this community,” Jackson said. “I had the opportunity then to walk out, but I stayed.”

He said he stayed because he was getting calls from local senior citizens who told him that drugs were being sold in front of their homes.

“I gave up a job with a mayor and council that supported me and cared about me being there,” Jackson said. “I gave that up to come to a city that’s so divided where everyone is all political instead of who’s here for the betterment of this community, and that’s where I come in. I have no hidden agendas. I have nothing to prove to anybody.”

Jackson said he received calls from and other area police chiefs expressing their support. He said he had no reservations about anything he’s done.

Jackson told the council that it didn’t have to admit that his firing was for political reasons.

“You don’t have to admit it here,” Jackson said. “You don’t have to admit it to me. But you will have to admit it under oath.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Jackson became Brookshire police chief in October 2010 after having served as San Felipe police chief for the previous two years. He began his career in 1992 as a correctional officer with the Texas Department of Corrections. In 1988 he became a correctional officer with the Texas Youth Commission. In 2000, he joined the Austin County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.

The Brookshire City Council is expected to meet in special session at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Brookshire Municipal Building, 4029 5th St. On the agenda is an executive session where council members are expected to discuss the police chief position, along with those of the city secretary, municipal court director and public works director.