• 07
  • January
    2011

A former police chief for the community of Little River-Academy was arrested in Arlington in 2009 for charges that included child pornography. The charges were later dropped. The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that the former police chief now contends that the allegations were baseless and that he is owed $1.5 million from the City of Combine.

The charges in Dallas County, which included possession or promotion of child pornography and sexual performance by a child, were all dropped. Combine's city attorney maintains that there was probable cause for the arrest of the former chief. The lawsuit, however, disagrees with the city attorney, arguing that the charges were baseless and that this is an instance of bad faith prosecution.

The former police chief alleges that the reserve police officer who filed an affidavit against him had a personal vendetta. The former chief alleges that the reserve officer has had an issue with him since they were in competition for the same job in 2006, according to the Star Telegram. The reserve officer is also named in the lawsuit.

At the time of the initial arrest in 2009, investigators claimed to be in possession of thousands of text messages and e-mails that detailed potential criminal activity. The prosecutors alleged that the police chief had pretended to be a woman in order to solicit nude photos from a seventeen-year-old boy. The former chief described these allegations as sensational and says that none of the allegations were true. He also noted that the judge who had issued the arrest warrant has since apologized.

Source: Former police chief sues city over teen porn investigation Fort Worth Star Telegram, 12 Dec. 2010