2nd State Probe Centered On WilCo Police Training Site Launched

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — A second investigation into training practices at the Williamson County police training facility in underway, Patch has learned.

"I can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office related to training," Gretchen Grigsby, a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, wrote Patch in a May 22 email. But she declined to provide more information: "No other details are available at this time," she wrote.

A message left with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office was not immediately returned. Reached by Patch over the telephone, Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick declined to comment.

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• Culture Of Abuse At WilCo Police Academy Found In State Probe
• WilCo Police Training Center Under State Investigation

One source familiar with the complaint who declined to be identified told Patch the doors to the facility were closed as a result of the investigation, and members of the cadet class that had been training there were sent home.

The new probe is the second in some seven months centered on training practices at the Deputy A.W. Grimes Training Facility on 8160 Chandler Rd. in Hutto, Texas. In October 2019, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement launched an investigation into allegations centered on the use of racial, homophobic and misogynistic slurs against cadets by a now-departed trainer. The infractions resulted in an official reprimand from the state agency, short of a feared "at risk" designation that would have jeopardized the academy's accreditation, a spokesperson told Patch at the time.

The 25,000-square-foot training facility was completed last year at a cost of $9.9 million. Patch learned the prior investigation was sparked after a complaint filed by Pflugerville Police Chief Jessica Robledo, which was confirmed in the state report. Robledo declined to be interviewed.

A central figure in the previous probe, Sgt. David Nickel, who previously served as an officer with the Austin Police Department and in Lakeway, resigned before the report centered on that investigation was released. Among the allegations against Nickel was that he used abusive language and slurs against African Americans and women cadets, Patch learned. Another allegation centered on manipulation of scores, including charges one recruit from Williamson County who failed a battery of tests was artificially elevated ahead of his class to ensure valedictorian status from the host county.

Patch will update this story when more details are known related to the new investigation.