Amarillo Police Officer Suspended Indefinitely

Following an Internal Affairs investigation of an Amarillo police office, he has been placed on suspension indefinitely.

The investigation looking into allegations that Earnest Tillman McDonald III, 39-years-old possessed child pornography was completed on September 9, 2016.  McDonald is no longer considered an employee of the city and he was previously placed on administrative leave pending the Department's review of the case.

The Amarillo Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on August 15, 2016.  The social media platform Twitter had detected images that could be child pornography.  Investigators later found that McDonald, who was an Amarillo Police officer at the time, was linked to the account which was found to contain child pornography.

McDonald was arrested the next day on August 16, 2016 after a warrant for his arrest was issued.  He was charged with two counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

The Amarillo Police Department says McDonald had been with the department since 2008, assigned to the Uniform Division.