Two from HCSO reprimanded for drinking

Hernando Sheriff's Office official Emily Vernon is reprimanded in DUI case

BROOKSVILLE — A top official at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office has received a written reprimand after an internal investigation sustained allegations that she had been driving drunk.

Emily Vernon, the agency's finance director, pleaded no contest to a DUI charge in February. She must now continue with counseling sessions and keep the Sheriff's Office apprised of her progress at three- and six-month intervals.

In the reprimand, Sheriff Richard Nugent praised Vernon's decision to seek counseling, saying in a letter that the move "leads me to believe that you have taken steps in the right direction."

Vernon, 40, received one year of probation, was ordered to pay nearly $1,000 in fines and had her driver's license suspended for six months after she pleaded no contest to the DUI charge.

But her case caused a stir locally because she wasn't arrested until 10 days after witnesses say she wrecked her truck and acted intoxicated at the crash scene.

Witnesses said that just before midnight on July 12, a motorist swerved across Lake Lindsey Road and hit a road sign before the truck skidded to a stop near the intersection at Daly Road near Istachatta.

Several drivers had followed the vehicle and called 911 to report a reckless driver who they said had forced several vehicles off the road before hitting the sign.

Evidence at the scene — including Vernon's erratic behavior, witness statements and alcohol found inside her truck — indicated that Vernon was inebriated, but deputies determined they could not make an arrest because no witnesses saw her behind the wheel.

The State Attorney's Office decided to press charges after four witnesses came forward July 15 saying they had seen her driving. Nugent and prosecutors later acknowledged that the deputies on the scene could have made an arrest that night.

Investigators found an empty wine carafe in the passenger seat of her 2004 Chevy truck and a plastic bottle with a half-inch of a pinkish liquid that smelled like alcohol, arrest reports said.

According to another internal investigation report released this week, a deputy also received a written reprimand after it was found that he had been drinking in the eight hours before coming to work.

Deputy David Feger came to work Dec. 16 smelling of alcohol and was promptly sent home by his supervisors, according to the report. Feger later admitted to drinking from a bottle of whiskey the night before coming in to work and said he had already sought out counseling.

"I encourage you to seek any assistance you feel may be necessary," said Maj. Alan Arick in a letter to Feger.

By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: March 25, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - The sheriff's finance director was given a written reprimand Friday for her drunken driving arrest last summer.

In the reprimand, released Tuesday, Sheriff Richard Nugent tells Emily Vernon her attempts to seek counseling the Monday after the incident "lead me to believe you have taken steps in the right direction."

Vernon was arrested 10 days after she crashed her pickup truck into a road sign on July 11 at the intersection of Lake Lindsey and Daly roads. Deputies smelled alcohol on her breath and found wine bottles in the pickup, but there were no witnesses on scene that could put her behind the wheel.

The sheriff denied allegations of favoritism at the time and defended how deputies handled the matter.

News coverage prompted witnesses to come forward and an arrest warrant was issued. Vernon, 40, pleaded no contest Feb. 12 and received the standard DUI sanctions, including a year of probation and a six-month driver's license suspension.

An in-house investigation resumed after the criminal charges were settled and its contents shed new light in the events leading up to the crash.

Vernon tells what happened in her own words to the investigator and declares it was never her intention to drink and drive. She blames a prescribed sleep aid for her erratic driving.

Vernon admits she is aware of the side effects, which put her into an "amnesia-like trance." Several months prior to this incident, she woke up to find she had rearranged the bedroom furniture.

On that night, Vernon's husband was working and her daughter was out of the house on a trip. She took her medication, then drove to a north Brooksville store and bought two bottles of wine. As she drove home, her driving became more erratic and witnesses began following her.

Her pursuers lost sight of her on Lake Lindsey Road, but pulled up just after she struck the road sign. She was already out of the truck inspecting the damage to the grill. A witness took the keys from the ignition to keep her from driving away.

At one point, Vernon poured the wine into a plastic water bottle. She told the investigator it's because her husband hates alcohol and she wanted to hide the bottle from him.

Deputies responding to the 11:30 p.m. crash found Vernon sitting on the side of the road and struggling to stand. She only gave her name as "Emidy" and couldn't remember her last name.

When they told her to stay seated, she lay face down on the asphalt. Fearing she would walk into traffic, deputies handcuffed Vernon and seated her in a police cruiser.

The deputies consulted with their supervisors for a course of action. With no "wheel witnesses" and no keys in the ignition, it was decided there was no proof of DUI. No sobriety tests were administered, nor was there a blood alcohol test.

Vernon told investigators she doubted her blood alcohol level would have exceeded the .08 limit. She added if the crash hadn't been so publicized she would have fought the charge instead of pleading no contest.

But "she couldn't deal with the matter any longer," the report states.

The internal investigation resumed when the criminal charges were squared away and determined that Vernon violated policy that restricts alcohol use.

As part of the reprimand, Vernon is to continue counseling and send reports on her progress to Human Resources after three and six months.

Her employment at the sheriff's office depends on her continued abstinence and any repeat violations will lead to "immediate termination," the reprimand states.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

Vernons was drugs not drinking. Feger is known to frequent local bars and he shows the cadets how to party! Trust me, been there with him and know this as fact.

Who uses the word "cadets" anymore, anyway? And since when did it matter what we do on our own time? Policy states no alcohol any sooner than 8 hours prior to the start of the shift. No violation.

Who uses the word "cadets" anymore, anyway? And since when did it matter what we do on our own time? Policy states no alcohol any sooner than 8 hours prior to the start of the shift. No violation.

When people see us drinking in bars, after midnight and we have to work the next day........I hope you get the picture, bro!

So we have the drinking police out there watching us if we're out past midnight, assuming that 1. we work the next day and 2. our shift starts at 8am? Hmm. What if I go out at 8pm, drink vodka drinks till 10pm, switch to water then and don't leave until midnight? Who's to say I was drinking 8 hours prior to my shift? Just food for thought.

They know when we work, they know the schedules and there are bartenders who like to tell the truth about what we are drinking. Bartenders like to run their mouths about us, for I have heard quite a few stories about deputies and their actions while in local bars. A few deputies can be found almost daily in two of the bars in Spring Hill. The old tricks of "I'm drinking water or ginger ale" doesn't cut it. After Stegners accident, they are now more aware of some of our tactics with drinking and then coming in to work, less than hours after the last drink. Alot are guilty of this, and it's not just the low people on the totem pole, the suck-ups do it too!! :cop: :cop: We even have one deputy that has his name attached to a bars myspace page, a bar in Spring Hill, a bar that likes the girls 18 but point blank says males have to be 21, as he documented on that page!

Oh, and those who aren't supposed to be smoking in public, they are doing this in the bars too. Not just the bars, but everywhere!!

Ha! As far as the smoking goes you really don't have to be a smoker to be accused of smoking. Just walk into any bar in Spring Hill...you'll walk out feeling and smelling like you're a smoker for years. It's disgusting so I just stopped going. We have get togethers at private houses now...hopefully you can at least trust who shows up.

It's the cigarettes in the mouths that give them away. Bars & cars among other places.

Column: Protecting drunk police officers threatens our safety

We're lucky to have a Sheriff's Office that generally does what it's supposed to do — keep our streets as safe as possible.

Why do I say "generally"?'

Because the department seems to have one blind spot, one stain of old-fashioned cronyism never quite eradicated in this era of DNA testing and laptop-equipped patrol cars.

Deputies just don't seem to like to bust other law-enforcement types for driving drunk.

I'm referring to finance director Emily Vernon — both the 10-day delay in charging her in July and her recent mild internal rebuke.

Though Vernon, 40, has pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol, she received only a written reprimand from Sheriff Richard Nugent. No suspension. No demotion. No loss of pay.

We'll get back to her case, but first a little history. Some of it is ancient, which is partly the point: Excusing drinking and driving among Sheriff's Office employees is an old habit.

In 1991, Kenneth Shields, the son of then-Chief Deputy Don Shields, ran his department-issued pickup truck into a ditch near Istachatta. He wasn't given a field sobriety test until two hours after the crash and even then couldn't recite the alphabet. But deputies never tested his blood-alcohol level and never charged him with DUI.

This wasn't an isolated incident.

In 1999, a Times investigation revealed that no Hernando deputy had received a ticket from a fellow deputy in the previous decade.

Presumably, at least a few had been drinking and driving, and one definitely had been: In 1997, Deputy Marc Lucier crashed his patrol car into a tree and tests later revealed his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. He was fired, but never cited.

More recently, in 2007, a deputy pulled over a Brooksville Police dispatcher and called then-Chief Ed Tincher, who sent an officer to drive him home.

Most people would probably say any driver drunk enough to need a ride home is drunk enough to deserve a blood-alcohol test. The dispatcher never underwent one.

As you can see from this case, law enforcement officers giving one another the benefit of the doubt about drinking and driving is hardly limited to our own Sheriff's Office.

"Guys not giving other guys tickets, that's something I've been fighting since I got into law enforcement in 1972,'' Nugent, who began his career in Illinois, said Friday.

This brings us back to Vernon, who, I must say, it pains me to write about. Not only is she fighting cancer, she is, according to everyone I've talked to, a fine woman and employee. This record of service, and her decision to seek substance-abuse counseling, persuaded Nugent not to fire her, as many members of the public urged him to.

Okay, then how about a suspension without pay for a week or two?

It's certainly justified by the details of the ride that — eventually — led to her DUI charge.

I don't only mean that there seemed to be plenty of evidence to charge her immediately, though I think there was. What I'm mainly talking about is the harrowing image of cars swerving off the road to avoid her vehicle.

Somebody could have easily have been killed. It was just the situation the sheriff and his deputies should never tolerate — a threat to public safety.

what a great article on the cover ups in our departments.When I retire in a few years ,I will break all the stories,and dirt put under the rug to the editor.

what a great article on the cover ups in our departments.When I retire in a few years ,I will break all the stories,and dirt put under the rug to the editor.
It is a great article. One thing I noticed that was not mentioned was the others with Mikey when he killed himself while drinking and driving. Too bad that wasn't brought out, there was a cover-up with that one too. I'm not waiting until retirement........ :cop: The kingdom is falling, no doubt.

This is really a sad day. I never thought I would see a fellow law enforcement person cheer a crap one sided article by a crap newspaper over a fellow deputy or person. At one time we would stand together. You people need to learn what a cover up really is. Because a person doesn't receive the punishment you think they should does not constitute a cover up. I was the patrol commander on the scene of the Shields accident. Trust me, I don't kiss butt, brown nose or cover up for anyone. Never have and never will. Shields was treated the same as I would any other citizen. No better and no worse. He passed the roadside test and if there was a wrong doing on my part it was that I didn't call IA which is now in the SOP. I followed the guidelines of the time . No cover up but some weren't happy with the outcome. If I gave a citizen a roadside and they passed would I have gone further?? Not unless there was other indicators present.
Ref. Lucier, damn the guy was fired. Why didn't we also flog him and tie him to the statue at the court house and throw stones at him to. I assisted in that IA because I had worked IA before and the IA person was new and this was his first case. Mark was found sustained and fired. Case Closed. The punishment was decided by Sheriff Mylander not the IA person.
You all have been critical of other deputies or troopers writing citations to fellow deputies on here. But now you rejoice over this article about things you know nothing about. Were you on the scene of any of these?? I guess you have never given a citizen a break. You always treat everyone the same every time. Cover up, I don't think so.
Some of the people that write on here are so pathetic and a legend in their own mind. Not interested in making things better but quick to be critical about things they know nothing about. They want to drag others down to the hole their in. And use this forum as a way to stir the pot and to try to make something thats not there. Then to hide under the excuse the brass will get you. As if they really waste their time reading this forum. You hide because your afraid of what your peers might do if they knew you. If your going to run your mouth then have the stones to stand up and say " it's me and I don't like this or that." I did and never got fired and went up the ladder. So that excuse doesn't tread water. Come vent to me. I no longer work there and can explain things to you and can't hurt you. Or do like the reporter says and go write some fellow officers tickets because I am sure as the reporter says some are drunk. now go ahead and take your shot at me for awhile and hide because I might hurt you in some mysterous way. Make sure your window is up as your driving your patrol car so your hair looks good and you can't hear anything outside the car like help me or an alrm or a shot. But you will look stylish..

Hey Bob, While I don't always agree with the things you say and write, you are right on target with this one. I couldn't say it any better and couldn't agree with you any more. I am constantly telling these guys to stop whining about everything but they apparently have nothing better to do with their life or their free time. Thanks for being honest Bob, as you always are. These guys that think they have it so bad are absolutely clueless. They scariest part is, they actually believe the crap they are saying because they truly don't know what they don't know.

Bob, did you miss this part?


In 1991, Kenneth Shields, the son of then-Chief Deputy Don Shields, ran his department-issued pickup truck into a ditch near Istachatta. He wasn't given a field sobriety test until two hours after the crash and even then couldn't recite the alphabet. But deputies never tested his blood-alcohol level and never charged him with DUI.

TWO hours later? Yeah, that's standard procedure for someone who in affiliated to someone else at HSO.

Rich should have done something to Emily, but he didn't, and the reason? Out of his own mouth. Deputies don't care about public perception (yes we do, some of us anyway) and Emily knew too much too lose her job. Those who "know too much" need to be fired, they are the problem (with cover ups) we have here and surely not the solution.

Yep, cover ups and a very good article, which exposes the bs that the law abiding deputies hate! Bob, I would like to talk to you, but I'm afraid you'd run right back and talk. Maybe I'm wrong, but hey, I don't know you that well. I need my job.

A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information. The expression is usually applied to people in authority who abuse their power to avoid or silence criticism. Those who cover up may be those responsible for a misdeed or their allies, or simply people with an interest in silencing criticism.

When a scandal breaks, the discovery of an attempt to cover up is often regarded as even more reprehensible than the original deeds.

to Bob,I guess u think you are possibly going back as theres lots of brass openings coming up?Anyway,How about the spokesperson cover up???I suppose u didnt know about that either and you were the commander.That was like around 6-7 months before election time for Nugget.Come on now.Politics as usual Bob

BADDA BING!

to Bob,I guess u think you are possibly going back as theres lots of brass openings coming up?Anyway,How about the spokesperson cover up???I suppose u didnt know about that either and you were the commander.That was like around 6-7 months before election time for Nugget.Come on now.Politics as usual Bob
Notice there has been no response from Bob. We'll give him a little longer, or we know we''ve hit the nail on the head.

I will this one time answer your questions on here but would prefer to do it in person. But I realize when you only have BB's and you run around saying the whole world hates me because I am paranoid, that probably will never happen. So to answer your concerns. No I have no intentions of coming back even if I was ask and they had ten openings. I did 29 yrs here and in Miami and that is enough.. Two- I don't agree with starcom, character first and the micro managing. Three- my health is more important to me and where I really miss the guys, I don't miss the crap or the stress. And last, I miss the days when cops stood by cops as long as they didn't abuse the situation. Now it is everyone for themselves.. As for the spokesperson you speak of. If I was patrol commander as I was before Nugent became sheriff, the only spokesperson I can think of is the PIO which was not under me. If thats who you are talking about, then your right I don't know of a cover up. Hate to burst your bubble. He answered to the Sheriff or Chief Deputy so if there was something going on I have no idea of it. If there was an investigation into something, again I have no idea. I never went to IA to ask or read an investigetion. If your saying Sheriff Mylander covered something up, you can go to the retired employees breakfast the first wednesday of each month at Contry Kitchen and ask Ex- Sheriff Mylander about it. I have never been to one but if you go I will to just to watch. Unlike most on here I try not to run my mouth about things that I don't have all the info about. Probably comes from doing investigations and not assuming things but making decissions based on facts and evidence and documentation rather than speculation, rumors innuendo or fantasy. I also don't think everything is a conspiracy. Now if you want to say I am lieing or was awrae or participated in a cover up, then again come tell me to my face.
As to the person that is concerned I can't read and had to enter in bold print the two hour delay. Gee I am sorry. I didn't realize you or the reporter were there. You all must be very stealthy. The accident happened. Units responded. I got a call from the on scene sgt. I got up, got dressed and drove to the scene. Upon arriving I spoke with the sgt as to what had happened. I then went and looked at the vehicle inside and out. I then walked up the road from the direction the vehicle had traveled and looked for skid marks , scuffs shadowing , the lighting , the signage, the road surface, the sky as to overcast or not etc.. As I was doing this, I was observing dep. Shields mannerism and walking. I then interviewed dep Shields as to what happened. During the interview his speech was not slurred, his eyes were not bloodshot or glassy, he was not weaving and having difficulty standing or walking. I could smell alcohol on his breath. I instructed the sgt to give him a roadside test and if he failed it then arrest him. If not then we would handle it like we would anyone else. If the aforemention took two hours from the time of the accident I couldn't say. As for the alphabet statement, I had never heard that before the article. Knowing the sgt on scene and how honest he is I find that hard to beleave. But I have to believe that the reporter read an accident report and got that info from somewhere. Like I said in my first post, my mistake if one was made was not calling IA as you would do today. But I was not influanced by who he was or his father was because I trusted the Sheriff. As for you having to worry about me going to the sheriff if I knew who you are, I haven't seen Nugent in 3 to 4 yrs. and oviously you don't know me if you think that.But it is sad and pathetic that you think that is a good article and you think all he wrote about were cover ups even though punishment was issued in all. I can't talk for the city dispatcher. Like I said before, at one time cops stood by cops as long as they didn't abuse it. You apparently don't feel that way. And I don't mean to cover up.
In closing I am also glad someone could actually look up cover up. Nobody was trying to hide anything to avoid criticism or punishment. Punishment was issued and criticism was received and thats that. If your not happy with the punishment oh well. Many factors can determine that. Like your record, productivity, acomplisments etc. Like they said at a management class I went to. You want to make alot of deposits or a least more deposits in the bank of good will over your career than withdrawals. The more deposits you make alot of times can cover the withdrawals. But some overdraw. Not everyone that goes to court for the same crime gets the same punishment and sometimes they get off because of a lack of evidence. Doesn't mean they didn't do it just you can't prove it. Same applies at work.

Thank you for your reply, Bob. I really do appreciate it.

I do have to agree that the reporter must have gotten his information from a paper trail. He can't just make that stuff up. And maybe you didn't know of the alphabet not being recited, which may have been done by those under you who were on scene. That would be a cover up by the deputies and that's what's going on and has been going on. Admin doesn't realize this, and this includes Sgts. I have doubt about what I have seen in I.A., for the stories I hear from my brothers and sisters (alcohol makes people speak the truth sometimes) and what I know has happened is being covered up. Those who are ethical like myself are afraid to say anything, for we need our jobs. I never meant to imply that you were covering up. I didn't explain myself well enough. What's sad is those below you have, years later, shed a light on you. It's not fair to you, and I apologize.

I'll stand by LEO's who deserved to be stood by, but I have no other choice but to vent. I need my job!! I have a young family to support.

But I realize when you only have BB's and you run around saying the whole world hates me because I am paranoid

This is simply not true. I'm sure that a few hate me, but I know that many like me. There is no paranoia, we know what happens to those who go against the brass and the corruption that is in our department.

If the economy were better, you can bet that our home would be on the market and I'd move out of Florida. Seasoned LEO's from other parts of our country don't like working in FL (unless they are from corrupt agencies) because of the mentality, lack of investigative skills and the trainings. As soon as we can get out of here, we're gone.......and then the stories off all of the cover-ups will be told. Micro management is a killer, and what does it prove? I would love to give some stories and have some undercover work done on some of my co-workers.......we've got too many criminals carrying badges here, they lie, they cheat and they steal, and many don't have investigative skills worth a darn. What's more troublesome is that some are sent to back us up....and who knows what drugs they are on, or if they have their heads on straight from drinking the night before (and into the morning, resulting in less than 8 hours before their shifts start). Drug abuse is rampant in our department. If people in the department would listen to others and let their ego's go, they'd find out just how right we are. Hey, I've seen deputies show their guns in bars, while drinking. I've seen deputies take drugs from people, and not turn them in (pain pills mainly), I've heard talk of people being told what to say in I.A.'s so that complaints are unfounded, I've heard of records falsified.....and the list continues.

You also made a comment about brass not having time to read this board. That is complete nonsense. You know better, I know better and they know better, Bob!

Bob, matter of fact, I've seen a middle school report a parent for abusing a child in front of them and our deputies let the mother off, because the mothers boyfriend was a RESERVE officer from another agency. The child had bruises and our good ole boys let the abuse continue. I witnessed this one, first hand....and it made me sick! That was when I decided to not follow the brown nosers and suck ups, those who don't have the publics interest at heart.