Williams hands over peace officer license in plea agreement
Former Cottonwood Shores Police Chief Tom Williams permanently surrendered his peace officer license in a plea agreement Thursday following his investigation in two domestic cases.
Williams formed a plea agreement with Burnet County Attorney Eddie Arredondo, Llano County Attorney Rebecca Lange, and District Attorney Sonny McAfee who were all involved in the investigation of two cases involving Williams; one in Granite Shoals and a second in Horseshoe Bay.
Eddie Arredondo stated in a release that Williams “agreed to permanently surrender his peace officer’s license and agree to a deferred prosecution for the conduct that occurred in Burnet County in lieu of formal charges being filed against Williams.”
Arredondo further said that after consultation with the victims in the cases, law enforcement, and the other prosecutors, that all concerned believed this disposition was in the best interests of justice. As a result of the surrender, Williams is permanently banned from being a peace officer in the state of Texas, and as a result of the agreement with Arredondo, Williams cannot seek employment as a peace officer in any state.
Williams, who resigned his position as Chief of Police last week, had recently been investigated for incidents occurring in both Burnet and Llano Counties. In January, an investigation was conducted by the Granite Shoals Police Department regarding Williams sending unwanted text messages to a person that had previously advised Williams not to contact that person. That conduct constituted the misdemeanor offense of harassment.
Williams was involved in a disturbance in March that occurred at the Horseshoe Bay Resort Towers hotel involving his fiancee. The Horseshoe Bay Police Department investigated that incident and referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office for review.
McAfee, reviewed the incident and determined the conduct did not constitute a felony offense for which his office had jurisdiction, and he referred the incident Rebecca Lange, Llano County Attorney. However, due to investigations of Williams in two of the four counties of the 33rd/424th Judicial District, McAfee said that Arredondo and Lange invited him to participate in resolving the matter.
“When there are criminal allegations against a peace officer, and especially a Chief of Police, we all have an interest in ensuring the public’s safety, and law enforcement in conjunction with the county attorneys have done a very good job of accomplishing that goal in this case, in my opinion,” McAfee said.
For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.
