Private eye whose firm did city work has history of run-ins with the law

Private eye whose firm did city work has history of run-ins with the law

3:30 p.m. update

Darnell, who joined TPD in 1996, has a history of crashes and run-ins with the law.

In 2009, he was charged with DUI, but prosecutors later dropped the charge because they said police didn’t properly follow a roadblock operational plan.

In March 2005, Darnell was suspended from TPD with pay after he crashed his personal vehicle into Lake Iamonia. He resigned that same year; English said he did so to avoid being fired.

In January 2005, he totaled his police car on the way home and was verbally reprimanded for not wearing a seat belt. Investigators couldn’t determine what caused the crash, and Darnell couldn’t remember what happened.

In April 2003, Darnell was pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol after being clocked going 88 mph in a 45-mph zone. The trooper noted Darnell had alcohol on his breath but showed no physical signs of being drunk. Darnell was charged with reckless driving, though that was later amended down to an infraction.

Jeff Burlew | The Tallahassee Democrat