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Cover-Up Claims Unfounded, Sheriff Says

By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: July 23, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The public's perception that a cover-up had a part in the delayed arrest of a sheriff's administrator is understandable.
Sheriff Richard Nugent acknowledges that.
But in a short interview on Tuesday, Nugent defended his deputies' actions and gave several reasons to dismiss any conspiracy theories.
"The deputies made independent decisions," the sheriff said. "They're not concerned with public perception."
Nugent's remarks come the day after his finance director, Emily Vernon, 39, was arrested on a charge of DUI with property damage. It's alleged that she ran several vehicles off the road with her erratic driving the night of July 11 before crashing into a road sign on Lake Lindsey Road.
No one could place her behind the wheel at the time, so no arrest was made. Several witnesses to the crash came forward later and their testimony contributed to the charge against Vernon.
Claims that investigating deputies were trying to protect one of their own though are unfounded, Nugent said.
Chief among his reasons is the initial documentation. A full-length crash report is rarely completed for such a minor, single-vehicle crash. The same goes for the thorough incident report that accompanied the incident, Nugent said
The press was notified of what had occurred, which hardly seems like a good way to keep an incident under wraps, the sheriff said.
Nugent stands by the traffic deputy's decision to put off an arrest because there were no witnesses at the time. It's a principle he learned as a rookie cop: "If you can't put anyone behind the wheel, you got a problem."
From a personal standpoint, the sheriff feels some sympathy for his employee. She's recently battled a second bout with cancer and is now dealing with the "humiliation" of arrest.
But that doesn't excuse what happened.
"That's a decision she made and people have to take responsibility for their actions," he said.