Deputy Chief of Compliance and Standards

Deputy Chief T. J. Vineyard began his law enforcement career in January 1995 with the Austin Police Department. During his decade of service as a police officer, he held positions in Patrol, Street Response, and as a District Representative. Early in his career, he developed a proposal to establish dedicated firearms investigators working in partnership with ATF agents—an initiative modeled after a successful NYPD program. The Austin Police Department formally adopted his plan. 

After being promoted to detective, he joined the Gang Suppression Unit and later moved within the Organized Crime Division to serve as a firearms investigator, a position created from his proposal. Over the course of several years, he was assigned to task forces with ATF, DEA, FBI, and ICE, focusing on firearms investigations and narcotics interdiction. He presented numerous cases directly to the United States Attorney’s Office, where he served as an expert witness in federal court. He also instructed courses at the Austin Police Academy on search warrants, monitoring jail communications, and organized crime investigations. 

He served in the Cold Case Homicide/Missing Persons Unit before being promoted to sergeant and assigned to the Robbery Unit. He continued as a Robbery sergeant until retiring from the Austin Police Department in 2017. He then joined the Pflugerville Police Department as a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division, retiring from traditional police work in 2018. 

Following retirement, Deputy Chief Vineyard remained active in investigative and security work as a private investigator and in private security roles. He returned to peace officer duties when he joined the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) in 2020 as a Sergeant Investigator in the Enforcement Division. Within a year, he was promoted to lead the division. 

Under his leadership, the Compliance and Standards division has implemented methods to better quantify and track statewide compliance data, prioritizing proactive education and communication to prevent rule violations. These efforts proved successful when fewer than twenty licensees failed to complete legislatively mandated training by the 2023 deadline—compared to the hundreds of deficiencies seen in past cycles that required Enforcement investigations. 

Deputy Chief Vineyard played an active role in the 88th Legislative Session, contributing to significant statewide reforms for TCOLE. He served on all three advisory committees responsible for developing standards related to law enforcement agency operations, mental and physical evaluations of licensees, and misconduct, hiring, and personnel records under Senate Bill 1445. He also served on TCOLE’s Licensee Wellness Advisory Committee, focused on connecting struggling licensees with appropriate support resources, and the Law Enforcement Polygraph Examinations Advisory Committee, developing statewide recommendations and certification standards required by Senate Bill 2180 (89th Legislature). 

His work centers on proactive education, communication, and collaboration to help agencies and licensees implement legislative and regulatory changes effectively and consistently while maintaining compliance with rules and laws.