A former Hendry County Sheriff’s Deputy was indicted by a federal grand jury for unreasonable use of force and obstruction of justice. The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Tyler Williams, age 29, was fired from the Hendry County force at the close of the investigation last year.
“Just as in any other sector, law enforcement is not immune to the presence of a small number of individuals who tarnish the reputation of their profession, who erode public trust, and who damage community relations,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg.
On July 4, 2023, while investigating a possible burglary in Hendry County, Williams allegedly threw a suspect to the ground while the man was handcuffed, which caused the suspect to lose consciousness.
Williams then allegedly obstructed justice by writing a false justification for the use of force on the man. The use of body-worn cameras by the Hendry County Sheriff's Office allowed Sheriff Steve Whidden to see Williams’ unreasonable use of force and request an investigation.
“When I watched the body camera, I was shocked and I was appalled. And what I saw on this body camera, it violated the trust of our community. And that trust is so sacred, and we work very hard to keep that trust between our deputies and our community of Hendry County, which is one of the reasons we have body cameras, because it documents everything that they do,” Whidden said.
Williams was formerly employed as a Fort Myers police officer but was fired from that department when he was investigated for not reporting suspected child abuse at a traffic stop.
In that case, he stopped a woman who had narcotics and paraphernalia in her car, and an unsecured toddler sleeping in the back seat. A month after the traffic stop, the child suffered fatal injuries after she was thrown from a van driven by her mother who was under the influence of narcotics.
At a press conference today, Hendry County Sheriff said that Hendry hired Williams despite the black marks on his record because the Fort Myers charges against him were ultimately dismissed.
Williams’s trial will be in Fort Myers and he could face up to 30 years in federal prison.
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