Post by WaTcHeR on Oct 19, 2006 10:12:02 GMT -5
10.19.2006 - CHEHALIS - A scandal involving sexually explicit text messaging ends the career of one Lewis County Sheriff's deputy and tarnishes another.
One has resigned, another faces harsh discipline.
The story broke last month of an attractive department head, flirting with on-duty Lewis County deputies via text messaging, and it's all recorded.
She's now on paid administrative leave.
But the deputies are becoming causalities of the scandal.
"Two employees were found to have grossly violated our policies, ethics and our mission to the point where disciplinary action was required," said Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.
He says those two deputies, Eric Weinreich and Dan Riordan, engaged in sometimes sexually-charged text messaging with Patti Prouty, the County Central Services director and head of the county's technology department.
Weinreich wrote of the difficulty of writing and driving 100 miles per hour at the same time. No one knows if he was serious, but their conversations were all captured on DVD.
"We expected some stupid things to come out of this," Mansfield said, "but I was not expecting to see it at this level."
Prouty's flirtations reached several officers, lasted for months, and sometimes consumed hours each night.
In just two of those conversations, she writes:
"I'll just have to put on something sexy - and straddle u." To which one of the officers answers: "Ya...that would do it alright."
In another, she writes: "anything for you." And an deputy answers: "anything" She says: "yes."
Mansfield says the controversy hurt everyone who wears the badge.
"Did we lose some public trust as a result of this? I believe we did," he said. "But we're working real hard to regain that, and we put the things in place to make sure this does not happen again."
One of the deputies was highly decorated, serving with the county for years. As for Patti Prouty, her attorney told KOMO 4 News when we talked with him last month that Prouty did nothing wrong and she should get her job back.
www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=46027
One has resigned, another faces harsh discipline.
The story broke last month of an attractive department head, flirting with on-duty Lewis County deputies via text messaging, and it's all recorded.
She's now on paid administrative leave.
But the deputies are becoming causalities of the scandal.
"Two employees were found to have grossly violated our policies, ethics and our mission to the point where disciplinary action was required," said Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.
He says those two deputies, Eric Weinreich and Dan Riordan, engaged in sometimes sexually-charged text messaging with Patti Prouty, the County Central Services director and head of the county's technology department.
Weinreich wrote of the difficulty of writing and driving 100 miles per hour at the same time. No one knows if he was serious, but their conversations were all captured on DVD.
"We expected some stupid things to come out of this," Mansfield said, "but I was not expecting to see it at this level."
Prouty's flirtations reached several officers, lasted for months, and sometimes consumed hours each night.
In just two of those conversations, she writes:
"I'll just have to put on something sexy - and straddle u." To which one of the officers answers: "Ya...that would do it alright."
In another, she writes: "anything for you." And an deputy answers: "anything" She says: "yes."
Mansfield says the controversy hurt everyone who wears the badge.
"Did we lose some public trust as a result of this? I believe we did," he said. "But we're working real hard to regain that, and we put the things in place to make sure this does not happen again."
One of the deputies was highly decorated, serving with the county for years. As for Patti Prouty, her attorney told KOMO 4 News when we talked with him last month that Prouty did nothing wrong and she should get her job back.
www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=46027