By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Lewis County sheriff’s deputy arrested for drunken driving two weeks ago quit today, rather than continue through the internal process that likely would have ended with him getting fired.
Sheriff Steve Mansfield said he was notified this morning Chris Fulton was resigning, effective today.
Fulton 31, was pulled over by a trooper on Jan. 4 just before 1 a.m. for speeding southbound on Interstate 5 through Centralia. He said he’d had a few drinks at the casino and thought he was okay to drive, but found himself in the back of a patrol car even before blowing a blood alcohol content reading of .172.
He was placed on paid administrative leave from his job. He has pleaded not guilty in Lewis County District Court.
Mansfield said the nearly six-year veteran of his office was a top performer and a valued employee, but drinking and driving among his employees is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.
It was just four months earlier when another deputy was arrested for driving under the influence. Deputy Jeffrey S. Humphrey received some serious sanctions, but didn’t lose his job.
Mansfield said the internal review for Fulton was not yet finished, but in looking at the entire situation, the most likely outcome was going to be termination. And Fulton probably realized that, he said.
A significant difference in the two cases was how Fulton appeared to attempt to use his position as a deputy to influence the trooper who stopped him, according to Mansfield.
“If you look at the report, one of the things that stood out was his conversation with the trooper about who he was, there was an indication he was a police officer,” Mansfield said. “That’s substantially different from Humphrey’s case. Humphrey did not do that.”
Mansfield in a news release today attempted to share the philosophy behind the balance he tries to strike regarding his responsibilities to the public and to his employees.
“Your sheriff’s office is committed to serving the public and achieving our mission in a way that promotes trust, is responsible, respectful, fair and caring,” he wrote. “Employees who are unable or unwilling to uphold this commitment cannot work for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.”
In an interview, he spoke of the high priority society has placed – and for good reasons – on keeping impaired drivers off the roads and the procedures he has in place for getting assistance for substance abuse issues to employees who might need it.
Mansfield has admitted from the beginning what an embarrassing position he finds himself in.
“It is what it is,” he said. “It’s sad and tragic for a number of reasons. We’re going to work real hard to make sure the public doesn’t lose trust with us in doing our job.”
There is very high bar for a deputy to be able to continue working for him should they get arrested for something like this, according to Mansfield.
In Humphrey’s case, the sheriff imposed a two-week unpaid suspension, demoted the deputy and tied his continued employment to the conditions imposed by the court.
“A DUI is huge,” Mansfield said. “But if someone is hurt, or you try to use your influence, that’s basically a nail in the coffin.”
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For background, read “Report: Off-duty deputy seemed to want favorable treatment during DUI stop” from Wednesday January 8, 2014, here
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