August 26, 2010; A Harrisburg officer was suspended Wednesday without pay after he allowed Mayor Donnie "Buzzy" Faulkner drive away drunk on a traffic stop.
Police Chief Butch Davis advised that he suspended Officer Robert Wright after he allowed the town's mayor to drive away in a city car intoxicated and after he nearly collided with a patrol car on August 18th.
Chief Davis advised that Officer Wright was suspended after he had learned the circumstances around Faulkner's arrest.
According to Poinsett County Deputy Eric Moore; he observed Officer Wright on a traffic stop with a vehicle pulled over on the shoulder. After the vehicle left the stop, Deputy Moore approached Officer Wright and asked what had happened. Officer Wright stated that the vehicle almost hit his patrol car head on. Deputy Moore asked if the driver had been drinking, which Officer Wright stated that he did not smell any alcohol on the driver.
After the incident, Deputy Moore stopped Mayor Faulkner down the road on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Faulkner was arrested at the scene for DWI and other offenses related to the traffic stop.
Earlier this week, Harrisburg city council members discussed the arrest of Mayor Faulkner and decided to take away his keys to his city vehicle.
Let me know your opinion on this story…
Comments
I certainly think that the Harrisburg officer ought to be suspended. I don't care who someone is, Mayor or otherwise. People shouldn't drive drunk. Officer Robert Wright's behavior is a black eye on the city – as are the actions of Mayor Donnie "Buzzy" Faulkner. Especially since Wright let Faulkner go, then arrested him. Such behavior smacks of corruption, favoritism and dirty politics. (The least that should happen is Faulkner's keys to the town car be taken away.) That said, good for Police Chief Butch Davis for doing the right thing.
I agree with your post. I personally am not much for "selective enforcement". With that being said, we are not sure what exactly took place on the stop. The mayor could have tried to used his position to get out of a jam, who knows. If the officer had any worries about who he was stopping, he should have contacted a supervisor to make that call. Kudos to Chief Davis. Thanks for your post...
Luckily Officer Faulkner's supervisor (?) came upon things; who knows what damage 'ole Buzzy might have otherwise caused to families in the community.
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