‘Red Flag’: Man charged in fraudulent attempt to gain job with Bruceville-Eddy Police Department: warrant

BRUCEVILLE-EDDY, Texas (KWTX) - A man who has applied with at least 55 law enforcement agencies tampered with a document in an effort to fraudulently obtain a police officer position with the Bruceville-Eddy Police Department in Central Texas, an arrest warrant alleges.

Theodore Khnanisho, 47, was arrested in McLennan County on Aug. 5, 2025, and charged with tampering with a government record, according to the arrest warrant.

Bruceville-Eddy Police Chief Michael Dorsey said Khnanisho inquired about a police officer position with his department. Dorsey sent him the most current version of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) personal history statement (PHS) document.

When Khnanisho applied, however, Dorsey noticed the PHS document submitted by Khnanisho was not the version Dorsey sent, rather, an outdated version of the document, the warrant alleges.

Dorsey further reviewed documentation provided by three of Khnanisho’s previous law enforcement employers, including PHS statements submitted by Khnanisho. According to the warrant, Dorsey found discrepancies when comparing the PHS statements and documents.

Dorsey, in the arrest warrant for Khnanisho, specifically listed the following items under the discrepancies he allegedly noticed in the PHS documents:

• Other names, including nicknames, you have used or been known by
• Have you ever applied to any other law enforcement agency in the last 10 years?
• List all residences during the last 10 years
• List all jobs during the last 10 years
• Have you ever been disciplined at work?
• Have you ever been fired or been asked to resign from any place of employment?
• Have you ever been detained for investigation, held for suspicion, questioned, fingerprinted, arrested, indicted, criminally charged, convicted of any misdemeanor or felony?
• Have you ever been party in a civil lawsuit?

Dorsey then met with TCOLE Deputy Chief TJ Vineyard, who oversees the commission’s Compliance and Standards Division, and provided more background information about Khnanisho.

Vineyard informed Dorsey he had been investigating Khnanisho for some time and had extensive records.

“Deputy Chief Vineyard was able to provide me with a list of approximately 55 law enforcement agencies that Theodore Khnanisho has applied with starting from 10/18/2017 to 6/25/2025,” Dorsey wrote in the arrest warrant.

In his investigative briefing, Vineyard noted that Khnanisho:

• “Appears to have held more than 30 jobs as an adult. He has been fired from several of them and frequently threatens to sue employers that fire him.”
• “Khnanisho previously admitted to key factors, like drug use and terminations, that he now denies. In some cases, he no longer lists a past job to conceal a termination.”
• Khnanisho “found people willing to act as ‘references’ and endorse some of his ‘untruths.’”
• “Because there are so many problems with his employment history, agencies with more rigorous or thorough background processes identified concerns early and disqualified him from consideration, often without completing the background investigation.”
• Khnanisho “applies almost exclusively with very small departments, likely hoping that their low pay, dire need, and limited resources will make them less likely to do a comprehensive background investigation.”
• Khnanisho “never discloses all of the agencies that he has applied with, the sheer number is a red flag in itself.”

Vineyard further stated that he had reason to believe Khnanisho on June 12, 2025, “knowingly made a false entry in a government record and make, present, and use a government record with knowledge of its falsity.”

“Khnanisho did so with the intent to harm or defraud the Bruceville-Eddy Police Department and Chief Dorsey.”

“Law Enforcement is a noble profession due to the vital role Officers play in maintaining public safety and upholding the law. In my position as an Administrator, it is my role to protect the integrity of our profession, and to do my due diligence to ensure that we are hiring candidates with sound ethical, and moral standards,” Chief Dorsey wrote in a statement emailed to KWTX.

“This case represents that our Department takes any application process seriously and will take the necessary steps to uphold the trust of our Citizens, and our Community.”

Khnanisho was released on a $20,000 bond.