No crime seen in police-car vacation

Sheriff's deputy drove county vehicle to Florida for vacation

BENTONVILLE -- It may have been unethical for a sheriff's deputy to drive a county vehicle to Florida for vacation, but it wasn't a crime, the Benton County prosecutor said.

There was never a formal investigation into Chief Deputy Richie Conner's use of the vehicle, Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith said.

Justice of the Peace Kevin Harrison told Smith that Conner drove the vehicle to Florida.

"Deputy Conner acknowledged taking the county vehicle on vacation and believed it was permissible as long as he paid for the gas," Smith said. "Because Deputy Conner had the general authority to drive a sheriff's office vehicle and because some confusion apparently existed within the sheriff's office over the vehicle-use policy, this incident did not constitute a criminal offense."

The use of a county vehicle to go on vacation may violate an ethical standard, but that is an issue left to Sheriff Kelley Cradduck, Smith said. Smith said he contacted Cradduck to confirm he was aware of the incident, but Smith viewed the matter as a personnel and policy issue for Cradduck to resolve.

Cradduck said in a written statement that the policy regarding the use of take-home vehicles was more lenient under previous administrations.

"Once this issue was discovered, I did take disciplinary action regarding what I considered to be misuse of this policy," Cradduck said. "Under my administration, the expectations and policies have been made clear."

Conner said he has been with the sheriff's office for 20 years, and he previously has used a county vehicle to travel to Florida and Branson. Others also used county vehicles to travel on vacation, he said.

"It was pay for your own gas, and if you damage it then you pay for it," Conner said.

But former Sheriff Keith Ferguson said he never granted permission for anyone to use a county vehicle for vacations. Ferguson did allow deputies to use county vehicles when they were traveling to training programs.

Ferguson served five terms and did not seek re-election in 2012. Cradduck is serving his second term.

"If someone took a car and went on vacation, I was not aware of it," Ferguson said. "I did not have a free blanket policy for people to use county vehicles for vacations."

The sheriff's office has bought 18 vehicles -- six for the jail and 12 for the sheriff's office so far this year. The office has put in a request for 2016 for another six vehicles for the jail and 16 for the sheriff's office.

The vehicle Conner drove to Florida was an older sport utility vehicle, not one of the newer Chevy Tahoes, Harrison said.

Harrison said he was upset by what he believes is the misuse of county property.

"I have an obligation to taxpayers to make sure county property is being used for the purpose it was purchased for," Harrison said. "No taxpayer ever meant for a county vehicle to be used to take a 1,500- to 2,000-mile trip for a vacation."

This is not the first time the use of a county-owned vehicle by a sheriff's office employee has been questioned.

A detective who worked undercover in drug investigations was involved in an accident in his county vehicle while traveling to the Wakarusa Music Festival on Mulberry Mountain last year to work a private security job.

Rob Holly, who was then chief deputy, sent an email to deputies saying a revised policy concerning county vehicles would be issued in response to the accident. He requested deputies stop using the vehicles to travel out of the county for personal reasons.

Keshia Guyll, spokesman for the sheriff's office, provided a copy of the vehicle policy. It does not specifically mention deputies or staff members using county vehicles for personal use.

The county handbook, under the section about ethics and conduct, says county employees shall not use county funds, supplies, equipment or facilities for purposes other than conducting official county business. The handbook is given to each county employee.

County Judge Bob Clinard said the county's elected officials are not bound by the handbook and may have their own vehicle policies, but he said he hopes there are not any that conflict with the handbook.

Harrison wants the Quorum Court to approve an ordinance concerning the use of county vehicles. He said the ordinance would require an employee to return an assigned vehicle to the county if the person is on vacation or off work for an extended period.

"Conner should have known better, and it should not have happened," Harrison said. "It may be an isolated incident, but we need to make sure it never happens again."

Metro on 10/04/2015

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