coming up. But while he's sitting in jail, he finds out that this is a case that never should have

been prosecuted. Turns out he's not the only one who was arrested by deputy Zach Williamson there in

Delta County, Texas that shouldn't have been. For Vault Studios, I'm Reid Redmond. You're listening

to The Daily Crime.

If you've ever been pulled over by a police officer, you expect the person wearing the badge to be an actual cop.

Yeah, now this next story does not involve an impersonator, but the police officer who charged dozens of people with breaking the law didn't have a license to work in Texas.

For 66 days in the fall of 2019, a sheriff's deputy in Delta County, Texas, could not legally act as a cop, but he still made a number of arrests. And now, officials in the county

have been served with a federal lawsuit. How many total days do you think you were incarcerated?

For a total, incarceration, my feeling is about six months.

Six months?

Yes.

Over a case, they couldn't prosecute?

Correct.

You would think that the people who are tasked with enforcing the rules would at least follow the rules,

and that would involve making sure the person has the authority to do that.

So how this deputy got hired without first confirming that he is licensed to be a certified peace officer in the state of Texas is completely beyond me.

Jason Whiteley is a senior news reporter with WFA in Dallas, Texas.

Jason, thanks for coming on.

Hey, good to see you.

So Jason, this is a story that took you out to Delta County, Texas, a little ways northeast of Dallas.

Yeah, I've lived in Dallas almost 15 years. I honestly,

I've never heard of Delta County. It's about 90 minutes east of Dallas, a tiny little county.

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