Former Windermere officer sues town, police

WINDERMERE — Former Windermere Police Department Officer Jason Darnell, 29, faced an arrest in 2013 on charges of profiling black motorists in 2012 and telling colleagues at the department to do so, too.

Some officers said Darnell had stopped minority drivers without cause, but inconsistencies in testimony of then-Officer Alejandro Rivera led to the drop of all charges against Darnell just a month later. That included April 2013 charges of misconduct and threats against a public servant, after a colleague had told the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that Darnell had told him to stop minorities.

As a result of these charges and arrest Darnell has deemed false and damaging to his reputation, his attorneys, Benjamin Crump and Jose Baez, filed a lawsuit June 18 on his behalf against Daniel Saylor — Windermere’s former police chief — the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the town of Windermere and others.

Crump and Baez became famous nationwide during cases involving Trayvon Martin and Casey Anthony.

Rivera and former FDLE Investigator Alphonso Williams, who attorneys said both conspired against Darnell, and Windermere Police Chief Dave Ogden also are among defendants in the lawsuit.

Darnell said he had exposed corruption in the department, such as marking false overtime hours, which caused Rivera to retaliate with false charges.

Those charges have prevented Darnell from working as a police officer, Darnell said, and his attorneys said his reputation has been unfairly tarnished. This includes admitting to arrests on five felony charges for job applications and background checks, Darnell said. Those felony charges could have resulted in 55 years in prison.

The attorneys believe FDLE officials did not correctly perform their jobs, saying any legitimate investigation easily would have revealed the accusations against Darnell as false, which forced them to raise this suit.

An FDLE official said FDLE affirms its investigation.

Windermere Town Manager Robert Smith and Ogden said they must take time to review the lawsuit before making any comment on it.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].