A former Bastrop County deputy who shot and killed a woman during a domestic disturbance call in 2014 has filed a lawsuit against several county officials and employees.
Former Bastrop County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel James Willis, who started working at the sheriff's office in May 2013, was called to a residence on Feb. 26, 2014 to reports of two men who were fighting with sledge hammers. He also heard that guns were involved and that alcohol was "being consumed excessively in a family dispute situation," according to the lawsuit.
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When Willis arrived, Yvette Smith opened the door of the home before Willis used an assault rifle to shoot her. He claims that he thought Smith had a gun.
In 2015, Bastrop County agreed to give more than $1 million to Smith's family. In 2016, a judge found him not guilty of murder in Smith's death.
According to the lawsuit, Willis was terminated from the Bastrop Sheriff's Office on June 17, 2014.
Willis also claims in the lawsuit that when he was responding to the scene, vital information was not relayed to him and that the patrol shift supervisor who responded to the scene conveyed false information to the Texas Rangers.
Among other claims listed in the lawsuit, Willis alleges that former Sheriff Terry Pickering and his office fabricated information in his personnel file indicating he had completed training for family violence situations, when his "training supervisor had not reported that training and altered Officer Willis's field training records."
Willis' attorney issued the following statement Friday evening:
Former Bastrop County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Willis has filed this lawsuit because he believes his constitutional rights were violated when he was prosecuted by his own employer when that employer had evidence that Daniel did not commit a crime. Bastrop County was given the opportunity to handle this matter out of Court when it was given notice of this claim in April 2017, but chose not to. This lawsuit also serves to remind everyone that police officers, who put their lives on the line for all of us every day, have civil rights, too.
