Half of small Texas city’s police force facing charges

LLANO, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury has handed down more indictments to half the officers in a small city police force, including the chief.

The Llano County grand jury indictments from late February include two previous counts of official oppression and one new count of tampering with a record to defraud against Llano Police Chief Kevin Ratliff.

Three other officers on the eight-person force in the city about (121 Kilometers) northwest of Austin, Texas, have charges pending related to allegedly wrongful arrests or issues with reports in other arrests.

Ratliff’s charges are related to the arrest of a man on a public intoxication charge, which was later dropped. Prosecutors say he wrongfully entered the man’s home to arrest him. Ratliff’s attorney says he prevented a use of force incident.