By C1 Staff
MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. – A Muskegon County Sheriff’s deputy has been terminated following an incident involving another deputy who was jailed earlier this month for drunk driving.
MLive reports that Ottwa County Sheriff’s Office Dennis Robert Smith was arrested for drunk driving on May 1 and placed in the Muskegon County Jail. Suspects are held in the jail until their blood-alcohol level drops below 0.08. Smith had a BAC of 0.17 or higher and was charged with “super drunk driving.”
But Smith was reportedly given a ride home earlier than he was supposed to by another deputy who was working in the jail that day.
The officer who gave Smith the ride has been terminated, even though he was a 15-year veteran of the department. The officer has filed a grievance over his firing, which is being handled by Ed Fox, a business agent for the Police Labor Council.
“He has been with the office for over 15 years. He was a longtime employee with an excellent work record and no past disciplines, which are all part of that grievance,” Fox said. “He has been discharged unfairly, but the allegations are that he was negligent in his duties that night and we are contesting that.”
The officer’s name hasn’t been released, and he is the only person disciplined at this time in connection to Smith’s jail release.
Smith has been charged with operating with a high BAC, a misdemeanor.