The town of Palmer Lake has hired as its new police chief a man who was convicted of one count of misdemeanor official misconduct for falsifying an alcohol breath test in 1997 while a police officer in Frisco.
Michael Williams, 47, was hired for the $49,000-a-year job Thursday, three years after he resigned from the police force in Silt after questionable tactics in a hit-and-run case. Williams will supervise four full-time police officers and two part-time officers for the El Paso County town.
Williams told The Denver Post on Friday that Palmer Lake conducted an intensive background check and independent investigators have reviewed the Frisco case and found “nothing that would conclude any unethical behavior on my part or any intent to do anything illegal.”
“I had to tackle a real serious problem with DUI, and in my view, found myself in the middle of a political nightmare,” Williams said Friday.
Max Parker, mayor of Palmer Lake, said town officials were “fully aware of, and full disclosure was made, regarding Mr. Williams’ background.”
Parker said Williams was the “highest-rated applicant” for the job.
In 1997, while serving as an officer in Frisco, Williams was charged with tampering with evidence. He allegedly had performed two breath tests on a drunken-driving suspect and had thrown out the lower results. Williams also was charged with attempting to influence a public servant who investigated the tampering case. In a plea bargain that resulted in his resignation, those felony charges were dismissed.
Williams entered an “Alford plea,”contending there was no factual basis for the charge, though, if the case went to trial, there was enough evidence that he could be convicted.
Because he was convicted of a misdemeanor, Williams wasn’t subject to a state regulation that revokes certification of police officers with felony convictions.
After he left Frisco, Williams worked until 2003 as a police officer in Silt. He then obtained a high-level federal security clearance for an overseas police assignment. He worked at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands and then as a state police officer in New Mexico.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
