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Officer “W.” Thompson (Florence PD): Officer Thompson of the Florence, TX Police became infamous online after a traffic stop incident that observers say was rife with misconduct. In mid-2023, a driver known as “Joe” was pulled over by Officer Thompson, ostensibly due to an expired vehicle registration (the driver had recently bought a used car that came with expired tags)​
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. The situation escalated when Thompson began to search the vehicle without clear consent. Joe, who was recording the encounter, insists he did not grant permission, yet Thompson searched anyway – allegedly justifying it with a dubious claim of seeing “drug paraphernalia” which turned out to be innocuous​
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. Bodycam and dashcam footage (later made public via YouTube’s LackLuster channel) show that Thompson handcuffed the driver and placed him in a patrol car while he and another officer ransacked the man’s car looking for contraband​
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. They ultimately found nothing chargeable. Throughout the stop, the driver repeatedly asserts his rights – telling Thompson “You do not have consent to search my car” – to no avail​
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. What’s worse, Thompson allegedly filed an arrest report that misrepresented the facts, claiming legal justification that is now being challenged. The driver was initially cited for “disorderly conduct” and other charges (Thompson seemingly took offense at the driver’s tone or words), but those charges were dropped once the county attorney saw the video evidence. The public outcry was swift: citizens flooded the Florence PD’s Facebook page calling Officer Thompson a “criminal” who should be charged with false arrest and kidnapping​
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. One commenter bluntly called Thompson a “domestic terrorist” for abusing a resident’s rights​
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. This incident shone a light on broader issues in the Florence Police. Shortly after, the city council fired the Florence police chief (who was not Thompson but was his boss) for “failing from the top down”​
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. The chief’s firing in late 2023 was partly due to unrelated misconduct (he’d been accused in a federal suit of fabricating a charge against a political rival​
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), but the Thompson traffic stop added to the pressure, highlighting a pattern of poor oversight. As for Officer Thompson, internal affairs reportedly investigated the stop. While specific disciplinary action hasn’t been published, it’s known that Florence PD is a very small force – any proven misconduct usually results in termination or heavy sanctions. In summary, Officer Thompson is accused of conducting an illegal search and false arrest over a minor traffic issue. His case exemplifies a “contempt of cop” scenario: critics say he detained and charged the driver simply because the driver asserted his rights. The fallout included intense community backlash and contributed to a house-cleaning in the department’s leadership.

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