Police Chief Resigns, Deputy Fired; What is Happening in Stinnett?

I want to know what the Sam Hill is going on in Stinnett, Texas.

There have been two police chiefs who have resigned in just as many years. Stinnett has a population of 1,936--that's barely enough to justify opening up a Walmart, much less a series of scandal and corruption.

In January of 2021, the small town was put under the national spotlight when Police Chief Jason Collier's extramarital affairs were revealed in a highly public scandal. Collier resigned from the Stinnett police department, arrested by Texas Rangers, and charged with tampering with a government record.

With Collier's resignation, the empty position of Police Chief was filled by Corisa Denise Earls, an officer who had been on the force for several years.

One short year later, it's February 2022 and Earls herself has resigned as Police Chief. How did I learn about this resignation? Her TikTok post.

No, really.

The TikTok itself is a bit abstract. A female police officer (who I assume to be Earls) stands in the distance facing away from the camera, her department-issued vehicle occupies the opposite side of the frame. Lovely sunlight and colors serve as a backdrop for the text, which can be paraphrased as an expression of Earls' emotional pain and affirmations of faith.

Sound vague? It's meant to be--and that's concerning.

The police chief of a small town hands in her resignation and all she has to say to the public is in a TikTok of vague sentiments that could apply to just about anything and everything? I don't like it.

That's when I started to ask myself: "What the hell is happening in Stinnett?"

So I did some research of my own. Here's what I've found out so far. I do not live in Stinnett, and I will not claim that these are all the official facts and details. But it paints a clearer picture than Earls' strange TikTok.

Why Stinnett's Police Chief Has Resigned

•  Corisa Earls handed in her resignation at about the same time her husband, Brian Earls, was fired from the Hutchinson County Sheriff's Office for use of excessive force.
• An investigation done by the Texas Rangers found that Corisa Earls had detained an individual named Travis Juarez and placed him in the backseat of a patrol car in handcuffs. Her husband, Brian Earls, was off-duty and present.
• In a series of events unknown to us, Earls was found to have assaulted Juarez as he sat in the patrol car, restrained by handcuffs.
• Brian Earls has a prior arrest of Assault on a Family Member from 2016. Several individuals who have spent time around Brian Earls have relayed accounts of the former Sheriff's Deputy's explosive temper in various scenarios.
• At the time of this writing, a grand jury will decide if Brian Earls will face criminal charges.

But wait. there's more.

•  Before joining the Stinnett police force, Corisa Denise Earls was known as Corisa Denise Tosh and employed by the Borger Police Department.
• She was arrested by Texas Rangers in April 2015 on charges of sexual assault of a child.
• The Texas Rangers found the report to be credible. However, the investigation showed that the incident had occurred in 2009, prior to her joining the force.
• The victim was unwilling to assist in prosecution at the time and no further charges were  pursued. These factors together created a loophole that allowed for Corisa Earls to continue her career in law enforcement.

With these details laid out, I have to ask my self how these people came to hold the positions they held. There may be many other factors that come in to play, and I freely admit that it is impossible for me to know all of the details.

But I want you to ask yourself this simple question: Are these the type of people who you want to serve the needs of you and your neighbors?

Human beings are capable of learning from mistakes, and Life tends to be a series of mistakes that we must learn from. But vague TikToks about feelings of persecution and self-pity when the reality is that anther person was seriously assaulted while under your supervision--that is not a mistake.

Stinnett is a good place. Will the next Police Chief be one who endures in their duties? Or will they fall from grace within a short year--with Texas Rangers in hot pursuit?