Police Chief and Half of an Entire Dept Arrested for Violating ONE Man’s 4th Amendment

It has been several years since I passed through Llano, Texas but even back then (30/40+ years ago) LLano had a reputation as a speed trap county and the cops were less than the smiling kind..Especially if you were driving a nice muscle car like a Corvette and they assumed you had money..

Read whatever you want to into this case.. I for one think falsifying police reports (which can put someone away for a crime they did not do) should be right up there with a first degree murder case as far as sentencing ... If someone in enforcement is going to ruin your life just because they have a quota or a vendetta against someone then.. I do not care how badly they get treated.. And I can be very imaginative about such things.. haha

It is a small police department with only 8 officers to include the Chief. But in a totally unrelated case another officer is under investigation for destroying a video and falsifying a police report. Must have a D.A. needing winnable cases ?

According to the documents from the Judicial District Court of Llano County, as reported by KVUE, Llano Police Officer Grant Harden, who has been suspended since December, was indicted on one count of official oppression and another count of tampering with a government record.

The documents allege Hardin made a false police report to justify the arrest of the unnamed victim on May 2. On top of Harden’s charges, Llano Police Chief Kevin Ratliff, Sergeant Jared Latta and Officer Aimee Shannon were indicted for official oppression in connection with the same arrest.

Good news is this is such a big deal in Texas they even have assigned a Texas ranger to the case.. There are only 116 Rangers authorized by the Texas Legislature and to be honest I am not sure if they are at the authorized level..

Of course once Kevin Ratliff the Chief became aware of the investigation into his department's wrong doing he suspended himself with full pay.. My next life I want a job like that... Screw up and take a month or two off with full benefits and pay..
www.activistpost.com...

Tampering with, or falsifying evidence should be an automatic 10 year sentence.

a reply to: 727Sky


I was thinking poetic justice till I read the bit about the chief suspending himself with pay.


I guess the reality is the police protect the lawyers and judges and vice Aversa, at the end of the day they all work together for the same goals until that changes nothing else will.

Avoid Williamson County in Texas. Georgetown/Round Rock area.
The cops there are total turd-buckets.
Be prepared to be shaken down, searched, and left with your belongings tossed on the side of the road if you make the mistake of passing through with long hair.
I cut a wide path around that corrupt #hole.

a reply to: skunkape23

The entire thing from san marcos to georgetown/sun city....

Under cover traffic police tell me all i need to know about the motives and intentions of a police force


Eta...anyone going through Llano....Coopers bbq is legendary.

a reply to: 727Sky

Some of them cops down there don't like northerners, trust me I know. My boss at work knows also but that wasn't in Texas.

originally posted by: vonclod
Tampering with, or falsifying evidence should be an automatic 10 year sentence.

UNLESS studying the Opponents of the current Democratic Administration at the time of the crime.

remember.....CIVIL SUIT....is what ya say when they fail to promptly tell you of your rights......in Texas say

texas code 38.22............38.3..........ask for the officers supervisor so that person can be included in the civil suit

originally posted by: skunkape23
Avoid Williamson County in Texas. Georgetown/Round Rock area.
The cops there are total turd-buckets.
Be prepared to be shaken down, searched, and left with your belongings tossed on the side of the road if you make the mistake of passing through with long hair.
I cut a wide path around that corrupt #hole.

I know of some officers who helped prove one of those in my home town. THe officers were from surrounding jurisdiction, on private trips to the store or whatever being shaken down by them for spending money for the Mayor's pet projects. The state troopers stung em, case closed, they got shut down. We fired the mayor on the next election and all is good now many years later but the burnt locals who paid don't let us forget.

I have to agree. Cops that abuse their position should be severely punished, given the power they have to potentially remove the freedom from the rest of us. I'm a big supporter of law enforcement, but that necessarily includes holding the bad apples among them accountable.

When I was stationed in North Carolina the local PD got stripped of its investigative powers and a whole bunch of them got arrested for corruption, making illegal arrests, illegal seizures, all kinds of stuff. The county sheriff had to handle LE in town for like 2 years while the federal investigation went on and then they basically rebuilt the police force from the ground up.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan


Dear Sir/Madam- There was some legislation re: using an unmarked car for the primary purpose of traffic enforcement, this was circa early 90s. Judging by Your comments and others re: this area, it would seem that the traffic stops are nothing more than 'fishing expeditions' to catch folks 'dirty'.. There also was a Supreme Court decision re: traffic stops turning into 'detentions' Where an officer can only detain a driver for how long it takes to write a citation, so "Wait here I called for the K9 to search for drugs and guns..." is OUT.

**** The above is "Friendly Advice" only and NOT to be taken as 'legal counsel' **** I used to keep up on these decisions when I was a Ca. cop.. Does that County run the jail or is it a "private jail"?

Stay Hydrated...

a reply to: Justoneman

Dems, Reps, all the same, don't kid yourself, often just a matter of who's in the driver seat..ANYONE caught should get it..we are talking about the police here though.

a reply to: 727Sky

MURICA Land of the free!

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's department down in Maricopa County, Arizona did a lot of illegal stops on interstate 8 and 10 looking for people moving across the US.

Since many rental moving trucks have at one time been used to move drugs the dogs will alert on them and since many people moving across county close out there back accounts and take the money with them it gives the cops a easy time taking there money under forfeiture.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Justoneman

Dems, Reps, all the same, don't kid yourself, often just a matter of who's in the driver seat..ANYONE caught should get it..we are talking about the police here though.

And for weeks the FBI..... yeap that bunch should, naturally, be held to a high standard.

a reply to: Justoneman

Any branch of LE should be held to the highest standard, moreso than a civillian ..IMO

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: skunkape23

The entire thing from san marcos to georgetown/sun city....

Under cover traffic police tell me all i need to know about the motives and intentions of a police force


Eta...anyone going through Llano....Coopers bbq is legendary.

Thumbs up for coopers bbq! I also liked hard 8 in Brady when it was open. Always fill up on bbq and Mexican food when hunting the hill country! Llano is a pretty town in great country.

I’ve been through that area several times over the years and never had any problems. Been pulled over near Llano but it was a trooper. Nice guy.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Under cover traffic police tell me all i need to know about the motives and intentions of a police force

One thing that I think should be completely illegal is unmarked cars pulling people over. That was a big thing when I was in NC, and it's more a safety issue than anything, because of LE impersonation. I would never pull over for an unmarked car with a flashing blue light that didn't look official; I want to know you're a cop, I want your vehicle to be clearly marked as such, so I know you're not some crazy #.

That said, and this impresses me and goes along with what you said, there is one county here in GA and in some sections of town (no the best areas, either) the marked cars sometimes ride around with their blues on. Not flashing blues, but just solid blue. To me, this speaks more along along lines of "C'mon people, behave," rather than "I'm looking to bust your balls for something." I've never seen that in many other places.

As somebody who was raised in Llano, Texas, this is long overdue. I'm very pleased that decades of corruption has finally caught up to to this town, and I only hope that other departments in rural towns make the same mistakes to lead to their downfall as well.

This is a place where anything goes.

So crazy to see it brought up here by another ATS member. I didn't because I thought nobody cared.

S+f for bringing home to the forefront.

Grant was a little #-ass as a kid, being a Leo was his destiny. Our moms were coworkers.

He fits the profile of abusive super-pig wannabees.

It doesn't surprise me about the additional cover-up from other employees, as that is SOP in these little sleepy towns. Thus charges brought on unrelated cases.

All that aside, Llano is a great little sleepy town.

The meth-heads are the biggest problem, the cops are the second biggest, but when you avoid both and just have a good time, the place is a little slice of heaven.

LEAF Fest, and the Crawfish Open are great parties.

Don't miss Cooper's if ya happen to go through there.

Also, the Spanish pronunciation does not fly there. It is pronounced with an "L" and not a "Y".