PONCE INLET -- A Ponce Inlet police officer was suspended for two weeks without pay after an internal affairs investigation concluded he showed favoritism by not charging an off-duty Volusia County Sheriff's sergeant with driving under the influence in early November when he reported he had probable cause to make an arrest.
Ponce Inlet police supervisors admonished officer Chris Selander, noting had the person being pulled over was a civilian in the Nov. 2 stop on South Atlantic Avenue, he would have been arrested under the same circumstances. This was the second time Selander came in contact with Sgt. Kenneth Vickery, whom he described as smelling of alcohol when he came across him earlier at a beach ramp approach when he was with his girlfriend. Selander allowed Vickery to go home, even though he failed a field-sobriety test, but not before giving the alleged drunken off-duty cop a mini-lecture.
The audiotape of the DUI stop captured the terse conversation the two officers had: "Do you feel you're intoxicated?" Selander asked. "No," Vickery responded. Selander retorted," "I think you are. We both know the game here. I'm asking you to perform the field-sobriety (test), sergeant. Based upon my training and what Ive seen so far and heard, I have enough probable cause to place you under arrest... I'm trying to work with you, sergeant. I've never arrested a cop in my life, and I've never given a ticket to a cop in my life. I've been a cop for 10 years, just shy of 10 years. I'm trying to work with you, dude. I would like you to perform a field-sobriety exercise so I can determine if you should drive or whether you need a ride home... You are intoxicated, OK. You know as well as I, you've had way too much to drink, judging by the way you're driving and by what I saw in your eyes. You had too much, but I'm going to let you go home. You just got to call somebody. That's all I wanted -- that you do the (field) exercise. You've had too much to drink, sergeant. So get your cell phone, call a friend to get you and your girlfriend and your truck, and you can go home." Vickery answered back, "I'm not in the mood to put my job on the line for 13 years of law enforcement." Selander then responded, "But you're doing that now. You're doing that now."
Even though he avoided criminal charges and possible criminal prosecution, Vickery was disciplined for his actions that night. An internal affairs investigation was conducted and the findings given to Sheriff Ben Johnson and his executive staff Nov. 25. The conclusion: "Pursuant to the findings of the IA investigation, a violation against Sergeant Vickery was sustained related to County merit rules prohibiting any conduct, whether on-duty or off, that reflects unfavorably on the County as an employer. As a result of the violation, Sheriff Johnson has decided to suspend Sergeant Vickery for 40 hours."