Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 5, 1993 TAG: 9310050097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
But deputies privately say tension in the department is intense, and several veterans are concerned for their jobs.
Speculation abounded about a state police investigation, but none has been requested, according to Jim Rulan, assistant special agent in charge with the state police.
An investigation could be requested by the attorney general's office, the governor or a grand jury. Citizens also have the right to ask the sheriff to conduct an internal investigation.
More than 20 law-enforcement officials testified Sept. 20 in a hearing to determine whether convicted murderer Beattie Ervin Coe will get another trial.
Coe was found guilty of second-degree murder in the June 1990 shooting of Clayton Fore. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Coe alleges that Lt. Steve Rush was drunk at the crime scene and missed important evidence.
Several deputies - and Rush himself - told the court Rush drank beer at Smith Mountain Lake State Park before they responded to the call, on a gravel road near Coe's Jordantown home.
The judge is expected to hand down a decision within several weeks.
No discussion of the matter has occurred in the Board of Supervisors' chambers, and officials remain steadfast in their defense of the sheriff. "That's for Carl Wells to deal with and not the Board of Supervisors," said Supervisor Henry Creasy.
Supervisor Gus Saarnijoki said an investigation could last several years, and Bedford County residents could choose to vote Wells out of office in the 1995 election. "It'd be just as fast as an investigation with a grand jury," he said.
Investigation or not, both supervisors said a written policy is needed to define and prohibit drinking on duty. "I support a policy of no drinking on duty unless undercover, and then a two-drink maximum," Creasy said. "I'd hate to see any deputy go more than two drinks."
Board Chairman Anthony Ware would not comment on the matter.
Wells is keeping quiet about the situation, too, deeming it an internal personnel issue.
But others in the department are anxiously waiting for any repercussions their testimony may generate. "It's tearing the department apart," said one veteran deputy who requested his name not be used. "Everyone's running scared."
Talk around the station is speculating that Rush will not be punished. "We don't feel anything's going to happen at the top," the deputy said. "[Wells] is very hard to figure - and probably if it had been someone else, something would have already been done. That's the general feeling in the office."
But lower-ranking deputies are fearful for their jobs. "I'm concerned about mine," one said, but admitted he had no idea of Wells' intentions.
Another deputy who insisted on anonymity said he's simply been avoiding spending much time at headquarters. "It's in our best interest to keep our heads low," he said. "Everyone's just coming in and doing their jobs."
A third deputy who testified at the Coe hearing said appearing on the witness stand was difficult. "A lot of those officers didn't want to be there," he said. "They were subpoenaed, and once you're on the stand, what can you do? Once you lose your credibility on the stand, you're sunk."
But he's using the truth as his defense. "They can't do anything to me for telling the truth," he said.
The deputy also supports a no-drinking-while-on-duty policy and said he's never seen an official policy book.
by CNB