Dallas County homeland security director fired

Last week, in a sudden announcement, Dallas County’s homeland security director Lisa Chambers was fired.

In a press release, County Judge Clay Jenkins took responsibility stating that he alone made the decision to let Chambers go.

“As the elected official in charge of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) for Dallas County, I have a duty to put the safety of the people of this County first,” Chambers said.

According to the release, Jenkins held meetings with Chambers as well as HSEM staff beginning in July, but the situation did not improve.

Chambers believes the decision may have been political, pointing to her refusal to conduct a sweep of Dapheny Fain’s home for surveillance devices following an FBI raid in June.  

Fain, was the executive assistant to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. The FBI searched Price’s offices and those of his associates, possibly in connection to a large inland port development in southern Dallas County.

In response to the request, Chambers told county administrator Darryl Martin in an email message, “This isn’t the right thing to do if you were under FBI investigation, and you want to have your house sweeped, google 1-800-house sweep.”

In the interim, Jenkins has appointed Scott Greeson to serve as the director of HSEM.

Prior to serving as the director of HSEM, Chambers held positions with the U.S. Department of Defense and the CIA.