Killeen mayor files criminal complaint against resident; City of Killeen says ransomware attack successfully repelled | Local News

Coleman, who worked with special education students at Iduma Elementary School, said she loved her “calling” and was upset that she no longer had daily contact with her “children.”

The termination letter she received Sept. 19 said her actions violated two standards of the Texas Educator Code of Ethics: Standard 2.2: “The educator shall not cause harm to others by knowingly making false statements about a colleague or the school system does.” And Standard 3.5: “The educator shall not intentionally, knowingly or carelessly misrepresent facts about a student.”

Coleman’s complaints targeted the principal and three other staff members, who Coleman said lied about the circumstances of a Sept. 16 classroom altercation. Coleman says the principal and named employees repeatedly bullied, targeted and harassed her. Because of her termination, she does not expect to have a KISD hearing to appeal the decision.

Killeen Mayor Debbie Nash-King filed two criminal charges this week against an outspoken resident and city council critic who recently brandished brass knuckles in front of the mayor and city council.

Nash-King filed a report with Killeen police against Michael Fornino, saying he harassed and threatened her. Nash said one complaint was about harassment and the other was about a terrorist threat. Fornino’s attorney said the allegations were baseless.

Nash-King said Thursday that both complaints have been forwarded by KPD to Bell County court prosecutors and are currently awaiting a response.

Police and emergency services responded Tuesday throughout Killeen, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove and Fort Cavazos to support National Night Out with their community.

National Night Out strengthens the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. In positive circumstances, it can also be a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together.

Residents in neighborhoods across Killeen and the country are asked to lock their doors, turn on outdoor lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police.

In Killeen, over two dozen officers from the Killeen Police Department met at Mr. Kim Barr’s home in downtown Killeen.

“Each of us believes in the power of community partnership,” said Sgt. Kyle Moore of the Killeen Police Department. “We serve the community and tonight they showed us they are willing to work to stop crime in their neighborhood.”

Former Killeen City Councilwoman Mellisa Brown may be working as a consultant for the Killeen Housing Authority after a confrontation at the authority’s office Friday resulted in police being called.

At least five Killeen police officers responded to a civil dispute at the Killeen Housing Authority office on East Avenue B Friday afternoon after the agency’s recently hired consultant reportedly locked out acting board chairman Bruce Whiteside.

A sergeant on scene said only that it was a dispute between the “housing authority board and someone employed there” and that one party was denying access to the other. Police were reportedly on site to defuse tensions; No arrests had been made as of 4 p.m

The Killeen City Council heard a presentation Tuesday on a so-called follow-up report on the Aug. 7 “incident,” in which the city of Killeen announced what officials believed was a successful recovery from the cyberattack.

The ransomware attack, first reported on August 8 and publicly acknowledged by the City of Killeen the same day, impacted services related to utility collections, police records and electronic employee timekeeping.

Willie Resto, executive director of information technology, made the presentation and said the issues were resolved within 36 hours.

Crucially, the BlackSuit hackers who claimed responsibility for the hack gained access to the city of Killeen’s systems on July 30 and were not discovered until Aug. 7, when an airport employee failed to check in, Resto said.

“Despite all the technological defenses we have in place, human error remains a significant vulnerability,” Resto said.

He said the only financial cost the city of Killeen has to pay is about $34,000 for a forensic audit.

“The city was able to successfully reduce the impact of the cyberattack by having a good backup solution and qualified personnel committed to keeping the city’s infrastructure operational,” Resto said.

He said all city systems have been disinfected and restored. The only systems affected are a few credit card machines that need to be replaced.