The latest episode of “Cops Behaving Badly—And Illegally” comes from Jackson County, Florida, north of Panama City. A now-former sheriff’s deputy there, Zachary Wester, was arrested yesterday after a yearlong investigation revealed that he had planted meth and marijuana on dozens of innocent drivers, then framed them for drug possession. Now he could face as much as 30 years in prison.
Wester, who was fired last September, was arrested Wednesday and charged with 52 counts of racketeering, false imprisonment, official misconduct, fabricating evidence and possession of controlled substances, among other charges. He’s accused of indiscriminately targeting innocent drivers and hauling them off to jail after planting meth or marijuana in their vehicles while feigning a “search."
“There is no question that Wester’s crimes were deliberate and that his actions put innocent people in jail,” Chris Williams, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s assistant special agent in charge, said in a news release.
This whole imbroglio started with a prosecutor who remembered that his duty is not to punish the guilty, but protect the innocent. He noticed that Wester, who had been on the force since 2016, had a bad habit of keeping his body camera off. When he turned it on, the footage often didn’t match what he wrote in his reports. The prosecutor also noticed that Wester just happened to hit the record button after “discovering” drugs in vehicles during traffic stops. In one case, Wester was caught on camera holding what appeared to be a small baggie in his hand—only to have it conveniently disappear before appearing to find meth in a woman’s car.
When Wester’s superiors found out about this, they were alarmed enough to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate last August. Wester was fired a month later.
The fallout has already been staggering. Some 119 of Wester’s cases have already been thrown out, and at least eight inmates have been released from prison. Several of his victims have either sued the sheriff’s department for false arrest or have filed notices intending to sue. At least one victim briefly lost custody of his daughter after being framed.
The case is presently being handled by prosecutors in the Pensacola/Fort Walton Beach area, presumably due to conflicts of interest. The state’s attorney there, Bill Eddins, has no intention of offering a plea deal—meaning that Wester could potentially be in his 50s before he gets out of jail.
And this may just scratch the surface. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Wester was a deputy in neighboring Liberty County for a year before signing on in Jackson County. One has to wonder if he’s pulled similar stunts there.
I have to hope that the U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida is taking a look at this as well. This is the very definition of violating people’s rights under color of law. I know 30 years sounds like a lot, and anything less than 20 years would be a joke. But this criminal with a badge ruined who knows how many lives. There is no such thing as too harsh for something like this.
I also have to hope that there’s a very deep dive into how Wester became a deputy in the first place. After all, many cases of cops who abuse their badges, and who even turn criminal, involve people who have no business being on the force in the first place. Whatever the case, this must never be allowed to happen again.