Fired deputy charged with crimes had troubled past in law enforcement

A local police officer resigned in lieu of termination after dozens of disciplinary actions against him, so how was he hired at another southwest Florida law enforcement agency?

Former Hendry County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Williams was charged with two felonies in federal court in early April 2024, after knocking a handcuffed man unconscious.

It was the slam that got Williams fired in Hendry County. The two federal charges carry a possible sentence of 30 years combined. But how did Williams get that job with a law enforcement past littered with disciplinary issues and stiff punishments?

Issues at FMPD

Williams’ first issues as a member of law enforcement can be seen in body-camera footage from a traffic stop that he conducted while on duty with the Fort Myers Police Department in January 2020. Williams had been with FMPD for more than three years at that point, but this incident led to the first mark on his file.

An internal affairs investigation revealed Williams found drugs, syringes and a three year old child in the car with the child’s mother driving, but failed to report his findings or conduct a proper investigation. Less than a month after the stop, the same woman blacked out behind the wheel. The same child was inside, and died in the crash.

Williams was arrested for failing to report the information, though criminal charges were later dropped. He was then recommended for termination at FMPD and faced four counts of department discipline. But after the police union fought on his behalf, his punishment was converted to less than five months unpaid suspension.

However, the behavioral issues were just beginning.

Paperwork shows he resumed working for FMPD on July 12, 2021. Another internal affairs investigation launched less than three months later found “Williams displayed a pattern of reckless driving between September 1, 2021, and December 15, 2021.”

A third investigation in November 2021 claims Williams responded to a domestic violence call and committed six policy violations, including falsely reporting that his body camera died, failure to conduct a preliminary investigation, and failure to notify a supervisor of a domestic violence incident.

In the next four months, while internal affairs looked into his actions at the domestic violence scene, Williams faced two more internal affairs investigations: one for tampering with equipment and another for threatening a citizen with a metal jack handle while off duty.

In total, he received 38 disciplinary actions at FMPD after he was reinstated. All of them were sustained, meaning the then Chief of Police signed off on his recommended punishment.

Williams’ file shows he resigned in lieu of termination while his final three investigations were still ongoing.

Hired in Hendry County

Paperwork shows he was hired one month later at the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, where he lasted barely one year.

The incident with a handcuffed victim being slammed to the ground ended his time at the HCSO and led to two felony charges against him. The body camera footage is loud and explosive. But the issues and outright false information started quietly, almost immediately during his time in Hendry County.

Williams’ application, dated April 27, 2022, was filed just six days after he resigned in lieu of termination at the Fort Myers Police Department.

He was the subject of four separate internal affairs investigations in his last year with FMPD. But when he was asked why he left, Williams wrote “irreconcilable differences.” He later expands, writing “resigned from FMPD after many internal affairs investigations were filed over a period of time to hold me back from career advancement.”

There is no mention of Williams’ rampant speeding and traffic violations, all without properly engaging his emergency equipment or considering public safety. No info about the domestic violence call he failed to report or notify a supervisor about, during which he falsely reported his body camera dying. And not a word about his last incident at FMPD, in which he showed up at a business while off duty and threatened the owner with a metal jack handle.

Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden signed off on Williams’ hiring in May 2022, just 14 months before officials say Williams knocked out a handcuffed suspect cold.

Sheriff addresses incident, hiring process

“When I watched the body camera footage, I was shocked. I was appalled,” Whidden said during a press conference to announce the charges against Williams.

Whidden condemned Williams’ actions in a press conference in early April after his former deputy was charged with unreasonable use of force and falsifying of records. It is the only time Whidden has addressed Williams’ time with Hendry County.

“What I saw on that body camera footage, it violated the trust of our community,” Whidden admitted. “And that trust is so sacred, and we work very hard to keep that trust between deputies and our community of Hendry County.”

But where was HCSO’s background research? There is no evidence that Whidden was aware of Williams’ past when he made the hire.

The sheriff declined an interview request from WINK Investigative Reporter Peter Fleischer for this story, but Fleischer did ask about the process of hiring Williams at the only press conference where Whidden has addressed the topic.

“I’ve seen complaints that go in files, there’s internal affairs investigations, and we look at those and we don’t like to pick those up,” Whidden reasoned. “If it’s a complaint, depending on what it is, and it’s not sustained or proven to be untrue, then we have no problem picking them up.”

But Williams did have internal affairs investigations; several of them. And all of his discipline was sustained at FMPD.

Fleischer filed a records request with FMPD looking for any proof that HCSO looked into Williams background. Records show a Hendry County sergeant requested copies of all records related to Williams. But there’s no date on the request letter, and while it does have Whidden’s letterhead on it, his signature is not.

“It’s my understanding doing the backgrounds that the allegations were overturned from the firing, which is the reason we picked him up,” Whidden explained. “I just hope that the community knows that we will still strive to keep that trust in our community.”

When a WINK News crew spoke with Williams outside his latest court hearing, he had no comment on this case. Fleischer also reached out to Williams by phone, but he has not responded. His next court date is set for May 13.

WINK has also requested the date that HCSO filed their request for Williams’ background, along with all materials that FMPD sent to Hendry County.

WINK will update this story if and when new information becomes available.