Former Hazard, Kentucky Police Chief Darren Williams was the subject of three lawsuits alleging retaliation against a whistleblower, wrongful arrest of a citizen filing an open records request, and excessive force during a home encounter. The Hazard City Commission voted unanimously to fire him on December 16, 2024. One suit has since settled; two remained active as of the most recent reporting.
Retaliation Suit by Former Deputy Chief Jessica Cornett
Jessica Cornett, the department’s former deputy chief, filed a federal lawsuit on November 25, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky against Williams, City Manager Tony Eversole, and the City of Hazard. The complaint brings claims under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983, the Kentucky Whistleblower Act, the Fourteenth Amendment, the Police Bill of Rights, and the Family Medical Leave Act.1Justia Dockets. Cornett v. Hazard, Kentucky, et al
Cornett says she witnessed Williams use a neck restraint on a man during a road-rage incident in April 2024 and reported it in a written memo to Eversole dated April 17, 2024. When she asked Williams to complete a use-of-force report, he refused, told her to “mind her business,” and said he would “choke (the man) harder” next time, according to the complaint.2Lexington Herald-Leader. Former Hazard Police Deputy Chief Sues City, Chief Over Alleged Retaliation
Two days after submitting the memo, Cornett was demoted from deputy chief to captain, with insubordination and failure to follow orders cited as reasons. The suit alleges that Williams then pinned her complaint to a wall at headquarters with a note criticizing her, took her patrol vehicle from her home, reassigned her to nights, issued six reprimands over roughly three months, and encouraged other officers to file complaints against her.3WYMT. Former Hazard Police Dept. Deputy Sues City, Police Chief, City Manager
Williams fired Cornett by email on August 27, 2024, writing that he had not heard from her and that she “no longer work(ed) here.” When she came to collect her belongings, she found them in trash bags outside her office, according to the complaint.2Lexington Herald-Leader. Former Hazard Police Deputy Chief Sues City, Chief Over Alleged Retaliation She is seeking punitive damages, expenses, and restoration of her rank and seniority. Eversole remains a defendant and, as of the most recent reporting, continued to serve as city manager.4LEX 18. Hazard Police Chief at Center of Two Lawsuits Fired
Dallas Campbell’s Arrest During an Open Records Request
Dallas Campbell, a Perry County resident who runs the YouTube channel Appalachian News First, went to the Hazard Police Department on July 29, 2024 to submit an open records request for the names, hire dates, and salaries of department employees. He recorded the interaction on his phone. Front-desk clerk Amber Hensley told him the salary information could not be released, and the exchange escalated after Campbell insisted the records were public.5Lexington Herald-Leader. Hazard Police Chief Sued Over Arrest of Man Filing Open Records Request
Williams arrived, told Campbell that recording inside the station was illegal because the building was a “secure government building,” and arrested him on charges of menacing and second-degree disorderly conduct.6LEX 18. Man Sues Hazard Police Chief, City After Arrest While Filing Open Records Request Campbell’s suit alleges that Hensley seized his phone and deleted the recording in Williams’s presence, though he later recovered the footage from a deleted-files folder. When his attorneys asked for the lobby’s own security camera footage, the county attorney reported that it had been “purged and recorded over.”5Lexington Herald-Leader. Hazard Police Chief Sued Over Arrest of Man Filing Open Records Request
The Perry County Attorney dismissed the criminal charges on November 4, 2024 after reviewing the recovered video.7WYMT. Man Files Lawsuit Against City of Hazard, Police Chief Campbell filed a civil suit in circuit court in September 2024 against Williams and the City of Hazard, alleging malicious prosecution, false arrest, battery, and violations of the Kentucky Open Records Act. He is seeking the requested records, statutory penalties of $25 per day for withheld records, punitive damages, and a jury trial. The City of Hazard answered with a request for dismissal for failure to state a claim.8Lexington Herald-Leader. Hazard Police Chief Fired Amid Lawsuits
Excessive Force Suit by Sizemore and Fugate
Martha Sizemore and Billy Gavin Fugate sued the Hazard Police Department, Williams, and Officer Tyler Pigman in federal court over a March 2024 incident at a private residence. According to the complaint, after Fugate said he would not answer further questions, Williams grabbed him by the throat and forced him onto a couch, and Pigman joined in applying force against Fugate and family members and aimed his taser at Fugate’s face.9WYMT. Excessive Force Lawsuit Against Hazard PD, Former Chief Dismissed
A federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice on January 2, 2026 after the parties reached a settlement. The terms were not disclosed, and each side bore its own costs and fees.9WYMT. Excessive Force Lawsuit Against Hazard PD, Former Chief Dismissed
The Firing and What Officials Said
The Hazard City Commission voted unanimously on December 16, 2024 to terminate Williams, following a recommendation from Eversole. The vote took place during an executive session, and no commissioner offered a public explanation. Eversole told reporters the commission “wanted to go in a different direction” and said he would oversee the department during the search for a new chief.10WYMT. Hazard Police Chief Fired11WAVE 3. Hazard Police Chief Fired
The firing came about three weeks after Cornett filed her federal retaliation suit and roughly ten days after coverage of Campbell’s lawsuit intensified.12WEKU. Hazard Police Chief Fired Amid Lawsuits