Share and Follow
A TEXAS woman has filed a complaint about a police officer who showed up at her door in the middle of the night to kick her out — but he did nothing illegal.
While receiving a home eviction notice is never an enjoyable experience, it can become intimidating if done unexpectedly at 1 am.
This is what happened to Hally Kilburn of Burnet County, Texas last August, according to local NBC affiliate KXAN.
She was awakened that night by a loud knocking on her door.
Not knowing who it was, she hesitated before answering and began recording video on her phone.
“It scared the bejesus out of me. Somebody banging on my house at one o’clock in the morning,” Kilburn said.
Kilburn soon learned that it was a Burnet County Constable behind the ruckus — and he was there to serve her an eviction notice.
She can be heard in the video immediately telling the officer it was inappropriate for him to come to her home so late and asked for his name and badge number.
“It is 1 am. This is illegal,” Kilburn said again and again.
“I don’t care. Here’s your paperwork. Come get it,” the constable replied.
He also repeatedly refused to provide his badge number but eventually offered his name — Adams.
Although not a common time of day to issue legal documents, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure state that the constable was not actually doing anything illegal.
Constables have the right to serve legal papers at almost any time, with some exceptions on Sundays.
“I will be back,” Adams can be heard in the clip telling Kilburn as he is leaving.
The dark video shows the two arguing for over three minutes.
NO EXCUSES
Adams (full name Garry Adams) told local reporters that he does not usually serve legal documents at night but he had been having trouble getting a hold of Kilburn.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time I make a phone call, people answer me or call me back, and we set up a date and time,” Adams said.
It was really traumatizing. I wanted to put it behind me.
Hally Kilburn
But when the Justice of the Peace who issued the notice from Adams’ precinct saw the video, she was disappointed in the officer’s behavior.
“After viewing it, I found the unprofessional conduct displayed to be very concerning,” Lisa Whitehead said.
The court relinquishes control of the eviction process to law enforcement after the papers are drawn up, she said.
Constables are elected in Burnet County and are held accountable by the public and their opinions at the poll.
“Constable Adams, as an elected official, is solely responsible and accountable for his actions and behavior/conduct in the course of his business,” Whitehead said.
ANOTHER SHOCK
Kilburn did not immediately report the incident, assuming that it would go ignored.
“It was really traumatizing. I wanted to put it behind me,” Kilburn said.
But when she saw Adams’ face on a 2024 re-election campaign ad to remain county constable, she decided she needed to speak out to let voters know who they were dealing with.
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office told WXAN that they received the complaint but do not conduct investigations into wrongdoing unless a law has been broken — which is not the case in this situation, they said.
Adams won his party’s primary to become the official nominee for precinct constable earlier this month.
Although it appears that Adams did not break any laws with his late-night visit to Kilburn’s home, he told local reporters that he regrets it.
“I am ashamed of my actions. I should have just pitched the papers over the fence and left,” he said.
Kilburn said that she decided to move out of her home into a new county shortly after the unfortunate interaction.
