Ex-Central Texas police chief indicted for tampering with evidence

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Ex-Crawford police Chief Clay Bruton, who’s accused of deleting “porn videos and pictures of his girlfriend” from his cellphone, was named in an indictment Thursday charging tampering with physical evidence.

A Rangers investigation started on July 24, 2020 the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit on Aug. 19, 2020, during an interview with Burton at his office in Crawford, “Bruton corroborated several key details about having sexual encounters” with two individuals identified in the document as Victim 1.1 and Victim 1.3.

Bruton, the affidavit says, told the investigator he had text messages from the two individuals on his personal cellphone “corroborating his defense that the encounters were consensual.”

He also admitted having text messages to a third individual, identified as Victim 1.2, “corroborating the account of her story as well,” the affidavit says.

The investigator, the affidavit says, told Bruton he was seizing the cellphone and would then write a warrant for the phone’s contents, but Bruton said the investigator “could write the warrant first.”

The investigator replied he needed the phone immediately to ensure the integrity of the investigation, so Burton went to his patrol car to get the phone, the affidavit says.

Bruton took the phone inside while the investigator stayed outside to make a call and then agreed to provide the phone and password.

“Chief Bruton then admitted openly and confessed that he deleted porn videos and pictures of his girlfriend for the phone in question when I was outside,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit.

Bruton was arrested a month later on a warrant charging sexual assault.

He’s accused of sexually assaulting a woman in August at his home in Bell County, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The victim told an investigator “Bruton grabbed her and choked her until she blacked out,” the affidavit says.

She awoke to find Bruton on top of her pulling down her pants down and her shirt and bra up, the affidavit says.

After the assault, according to the affidavit, “Bruton then threatened people known to (the victim) if (she) told anyone what took place,” the affidavit says.