Humble Police Captain Retires Amid Investigation Following Chief's Resignation

A police captain who had been on paid administrative leave while the Humble Police Department was under internal investigation retired Thursday, city officials announced, marking the second major personnel departure from the department's leadership ranks in five weeks.

The March 12 retirement came roughly a month after Police Chief Dan Zientek offered his resignation effective February 9, 2026, which City Manager Jason Stuebe accepted. Zientek had been placed on unpaid administrative leave in December 2025 after the city commissioned a third-party review of the department's "management and operations." Stuebe later specified that the investigation was directed at Zientek. According to city officials, the investigation into Zientek has since concluded, though the city declined to disclose findings or specific allegations. The Humble city manager separately told ABC13 that Zientek received poor marks on an employee satisfaction survey.

Zientek had joined Humble PD in June 2022 and was promoted to chief in June 2025, giving him just over a year in the top role before he was sidelined.

Prior to Zientek's resignation, investigative reporting by KPRC's Mario Díaz had revealed that a captain named Kimberlin was placed on paid administrative leave, representing the department's second leadership-level leave in as many months. City records reviewed by KPRC showed that Kimberlin had received nearly $40,000 in travel and training expenditures over two years, more than any other employee in the department and roughly $20,000 more than Zientek, who ranked second. Records also showed Kimberlin was promoted twice in a four-month span following Zientek's appointment as chief in May 2025, moving from sergeant to captain. The sources reviewed for this report do not explicitly confirm that Kimberlin is the captain whose retirement was accepted on March 12, though she was the captain previously reported to be on paid administrative leave.

When asked to comment on Kimberlin's administrative leave in January, Stuebe gave a brief, blunt reply. "As this is an ongoing investigation, the City has no further comment and will not be answering any further questions on the topic," he said. Asked whether the leave was paid or unpaid, he responded with a single word: "Paid."

Through all of this, Captain Kris Battenfield has held the department together. Battenfield was named acting chief on December 12, 2025, the same month Zientek was pulled from duty, and was formally elevated to interim police chief when Zientek's resignation took effect. Battenfield joined Humble PD in 2006 and has spent 20 years with the department in various roles.

Stuebe offered a direct endorsement of the interim chief in a written statement: "I am confident that Interim Chief Battenfield will serve our citizens and department well, as he has shown himself to be a capable law enforcement officer and leader during an uncertain time within our agency. I look forward to working with Kris as we begin to move the police department onward as it carries out its mission for the citizens of Humble."

Battenfield will remain in the interim role while the city conducts a comprehensive search for a permanent police chief, which Humble officials said they expect to launch in the coming weeks.