Brownfield Police Officer on leave, under investigation

On Tuesday a Brownfield police officer was placed on paid administrative while he is being investigated. The chief of police confirmed the officer is 43-year-old Darrel Williams, but he would not comment on why his officer was being investigated.

However KCBD NewsChannel 11 obtained more than 300 official documents that outline Williams' past including allegation of sexual assault and why he should have never even been able to join the Brownfield Police force. Those documents have been handed over to the Terry County District Attorney's Office and Brownfield Police Department to continue the investigation and determine whether charges should be filed.

The investigation started during the trial for 60-year-old Edward Dugan Barnett back in July. Barnett was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Detective Williams was one of the officials who testified during that trial.

It was that testimony that drew attention to private investigators who questioned the detective's credibility. During the trial Williams testified under oath that he had only been a peace officer since 2006 when he joined the Brownfield Police Department. However taking a closer look, the documents reveal Williams had been a police officer once before back in 1994.

Investigators found it suspicious that Williams would leave this out of his testimony, and digging deeper they found Williams had been forced to resign from the Kermit Police Department just one year after being hired.

Documents from a Texas Ranger's investigation show Williams was investigated in 1994 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl multiple times. According to the documents the girl's parents chose not to file charges and did not want the case going before the Grand Jury. In exchange, an agreement was made that Williams would permanently surrender his Texas Peace Officer License and Certificate and that he could never be employed as a peace officer again.

Regardless of the agreement, Williams re-took the peace officer exam in 2005 and applied to the Brownfield Police Department.

On the application Williams was asked if he had ever been questioned or investigated by police. Williams checked the box 'Yes' but only listed a theft case in 1999 that was dismissed. He never mentioned the investigation of the sexual assault.

The private investigators who dug up all these documents filed a motion for a new trial for Barnett on the grounds that Williams lied under oath about his time as an officer, and that his background discredited his testimony.

As of now there are no charges against Williams.

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