BENTONVILLE -- A Benton County Sheriff's Office detective recently was in an accident in a county vehicle while coming from a private job in another county.
Bill Sadler, spokesman for Arkansas State Police, confirmed the detective was involved in a single-vehicle crash at 3:15 p.m. June 5. The detective's name isn't being used because he works undercover to investigate drug crimes.
At A Glance
Holly’s Memo
Rob Holly, chief deputy of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, sent out a memo to Sheriff’s Office employees after learning a detective was in an accident in a county vehicle while coming from a private job in another county earlier this month.
The memo reads:
We will have a revised policy out very soon. But, in the meantime all staff issued a county vehicle will adhere to the following in regards to the use of county vehicle to working part time jobs, security work, etc.
If you are working inside the county, you may drive your vehicle.
You may drive your county vehicle outside the county for a specific approved law enforcement function (for example: Razorback football game security, training, meetings)
Any other travel with your county vehicle outside the county will require the express written consent from the Divisional Majors or Chief Deputy.
If you are currently out of the county now or travelling out of the county in your issued vehicle and you are in violation of the above directive, the vehicle will need to be back in the county immediately.
Source: Benton County Sheriff’s Office
At A Glance
Benton County Vehicle Policy
No county official or employee may use the county vehicle for his or her own personal use. This excludes vehicles assigned to elected officials as a benefit of their office. The use of a county vehicle by county employees to be driven to their home at the end of their work shift will be allowed by the elected official only. The use of this vehicle after hours will be if an employee could be called out for an emergency or county business. The use of vehicle after hours must log time used and nature of call out or business trip. County vehicles are for county business use only; no non-county employee may use or be a passenger in vehicle without permission from elected official.
Source: Benton County Human Resources Department
The detective was westbound on Arkansas 16 near the Crosses community when he lost control of a 2007 Jeep Rubicon, Sadler said.
The vehicle proceeded along a parallel ditch after leaving the roadway, re-entered the highway and began to spin across both lanes then overturned against an embankment in the ditch parallel to the eastbound lane of traffic, Sadler said.
The detective wasn't injured and wasn't issued a citation, Sadler said.
Rob Holly, chief deputy for the Sheriff's Office, said the detective shouldn't have used his county vehicle while he worked at a private job. The detective worked security at the Wakarusa Music Festival. Other deputies who worked at the festival also took their county vehicles there, Holly said.
Wakarusa is a four-day concert held on Mulberry Mountain in Franklin County, according to the festival's website. The concert was held June 5-8.
Holly believes a communication error was to blame. Some deputies drove their county vehicles to the festival last year, and there was an assumption there were no problems doing so again this year.
Holly said he was unaware deputies took their county vehicles to the festival last year, and he wasn't aware they did the same this year until he learned about the accident.
"I will fall on a sword for this one," Holly said.
County vehicles should only be used for law enforcement functions, Holly said
"I don't consider working Wakarusa on your own time as a law enforcement function," Holly said. "It's a private security function."
The detective admitted to falling asleep, which resulted in the accident, Holly said.
"He could have said a deer ran in front of his vehicle, but he took responsibility and told the truth," Holly said.
The detective probably will not face any punishment since he believed he had permission, Holly said.
"Some supervisors said 'yes' and they did the same thing last year," Holly said.
The damaged vehicle was an older model and one the Sheriff's Office had considered selling at auction, Holly said.
Holly sent out a memo instructing deputies to return their county vehicles if the deputies weren't in the county.
NW News on 06/21/2014