While under investigation for alleged misconduct, the first drug recognition expert hired by the Montezuma County\u2019 Sheriff\u2019s Office was officially relieved of his duties Saturday, according to Sheriff Dennis Spruell.<\/p>\n
Spruell said he launched an internal review of Sgt. Darrin Harper\u2019s personnel file about six months ago, and he decided last week that changes were needed within the county\u2019s top law enforcement organization. Upon returning from a personal 30-day vacation on Saturday, Harper was informed that he is no longer employed with the sheriff\u2019s department, Spruell said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to clean up my agency,\u201d Spruell said during a near 40-minute interview with the Cortez Journal last week. \u201cI\u2019m trying to do things right. If we get a bad egg, then I want to get rid of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
District Attorney Will Furse sent a letter to Spruell and other local and state authorities on July 29, stating his office would no longer use Harper\u2019s testimony in criminal proceedings. Furse confirmed that allegations of Harper\u2019s misconduct are under current investigation by the district attorney\u2019s office, but he declined to comment further.<\/p>\n
Spruell also declined to comment about whether Harper had been disciplined under his command, stating the matter was a personnel issue, but he said Harper\u2019s actions as a deputy have not been illegal, immoral or unethical. He did, however, describe Harper as \u201ccocky.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like cocky,\u201d the sheriff said.<\/p>\n
According to Spruell, Harper was repeatedly instructed that he had to file better written reports. For example, written reports must include the probable cause that leads to an arrest, a procedure that Harper continuously failed to perform, Spruell explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not breaking the law,\u201d Spruell said. \u201cHe\u2019s just writing horrible reports. It\u2019s poor performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to court records, questions regarding Harper\u2019s police work date back to at least June 2012, when a defense attorney requested that Harper\u2019s personnel file be admitted in a drug distribution case that originated in October 2011. The defense claimed that Harper broke the suspect\u2019s driver-side window and delivered palm heel strikes to the defendant\u2019s jaw to forcibly remove the citizen from a vehicle, court records reveal.<\/p>\n
Although Spruell admitted that a judge once admonished Harper to \u201cstop his witch hunts,\u201d the sheriff claims the drug case dating back to the fall of 2011 was the first time that Harper\u2019s conduct in the line of duty was brought to his attention. The 2011 case, however, was not the first time Harper had been questioned about his conduct.<\/p>\n
According to media reports discovered during a Google search, Harper was forced to resign just a year earlier from the Cottonwood Police Department in Arizona in order to avoid termination for misconduct. During that previous employment, September 2010 media reports show Harper was the subject of nine internal affairs investigations, four of which were determined to warrant disciplinary action. Those infractions included violating Fourth Amendment privacy rights while conducting an illegal search and improperly monitoring telephone calls between a suspect and a lawyer.<\/p>\n
Spruell claims he was unaware of Harper\u2019s misconduct with the Cottonwood Police Department prior to his hiring date as a deputy with the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office in July 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cI review everything, but if it\u2019s not given to me, then I don\u2019t see it,\u201d he said. \u201cHad I had that information previously, I don\u2019t know if I would have hired him or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Spruell, former Undersheriff Robin Cronk made the decision to hire Harper. Spruell said last week the selection was made with a \u201cwink and nod\u201d between the two former employees.<\/p>\n
Cronk, who was forced to resign in June due to an ongoing credit card scandal, also chose to promote Harper to sergeant in February 2012, Spruell said. At the time of the promotion, Spruell maintains he was still unaware of any misconduct by Harper.<\/p>\n
Despite the agency\u2019s hiring procedures, Spruell said Harper\u2019s release is in no way connected to fallout from the credit card scandal, which resulted in felony embezzlement and misdemeanor misconduct charges filed against Cronk last month.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Harper] did some stupid bonehead things by not filing his reports correctly,\u201d Spruell maintained.<\/p>\n
According to Spruell, no other deputies have the proper training to serve as the agency\u2019s next drug recognition expert. The sheriff said he hopes to fill the position, but no decisions have been made.<\/p>\n