Complaint Filed Over Edna Murder Investigation
By John Meng Publisher/Editor In October 2019, Amber Sorensen of Edna was convicted of Enhanced Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon for killing her boyfriend, Jarrett Parker, in February 2017. She was sentenced to 25 years confinement in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility, after a jury deliberated for about 90 minutes.
Today, 10 months later, Parker’s mother and stepfather – Debra and Daryl Taylor – have filed a formal complaint with the City of Edna alleging misconduct and bias by the Edna Police Department during the murder investigation.
In the complaint, the Taylors described the alleged conduct of several Edna police officers, including Chief Clinton Wooldridge and officers Bruce McConathy and Mike Yaws, who was the first to arrive at the scene.
“This is a serious issue and this need not happen again,” wrote the Taylors in their complaint. “When law enforcement try to impede the law, poison the well in the town and fail to serve and protect, then it is our duty to let you know.”
According to the complaint, the Taylors contend that Wooldridge, McConathy and Yaws decided prematurely that the shooting was an act of self-defense by Sorensen, and made the decision not to arrest her (Sorensen) that night.
The Taylors wrote: “We need these officers investigated. Intentional favor towards the murderer was shown, my son’s civil rights were violated that day, not only by the assailant, but also by the officers of the law, lying and victim blaming. Our family has suffered tremendously due to their neglect; the community has been led to believe my son was the aggressor.
“We do not take the mistreatment and discrimination against our son lightly. We will not apologize for our anger and frustration with the Enda Police Department employees we have mentioned and for pursuing the action that is necessary and needed for our family to heal. Those in authority took advantage of our son’s death and his voice being silenced, but we will speak for him.”
Edna City Manager Gary Broz received the complaint in his office.
“It was a surprise to me,” he said. “They (Taylors) are upset because of the way the police department handled the investigation of the murder case. My communication with them was very brief.”
Broz stated that he is consulting with the city attorney regarding the complaint process and he has placed a call to the Texas Rangers, the investigative branch of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“We’re taking the complaint seriously. It’s going to take us some time to work our way through it. I can’t fix what happened during the investigation but we will look into it,” said Broz. The Herald-Tribune reached out to Debra and Daryl Taylor several times, but they declined to comment until the city officially responds to the complaint.
In an email to the Herald-Tribune, Debra Taylor wrote: “We will allow the city do their job at this point in answering your questions. This information should come from them as we have done our part in submitting the complaint to the appropriate offices and is now out of our hands.”