MIDLOTHIAN – The Midlothian Police Department was in the news last week when it was revealed a sergeant in the department told the arresting and backup officers to unarrest the 21-year-old woman already in the back seat of the police car and handcuffed.
The girl who was released after being arrested was the daughter of a commander in the Midlothian Police Department, however not the direct boss over the officers and sergeant who released the girl.
The incident happened on March 12 when the Mansfield Police Department contacted the Midlothian Police Department about a reckless driver heading that way.
Midlothian Officer Philip Evitt stopped the woman on FM 663.
Evitt had the driver get out of the car after telling her she seemed to be driving all over the road.
A field sobriety test was conducted and caught on both the dash and body cameras – she did not pass the sobriety test and acknowledged she had drank a couple of shots of whiskey that night.
Evitt arrested the 21-year-old for driving while intoxicated, and she was handcuffed and put in the backseat of his patrol car.
Midlothian Officer Nicklaus Vanderkar – also on the scene as backup – had dispatch do a background check on the impaired driver, and he was the one to realize the woman in the police car was the daughter of Midlothian Police Commander Clay Regan.
Evitt and VanDerkar also took off their cameras during the investigation, and the cameras were left in the seat of one of the patrol cars.
The sergeant – Stephanie Hanson – was called to the scene as well.
She asked the officers the condition of the Commander’s daughter and made the decision to call Regan to come get her.
The daughter was taken out of the backseat of the police car, out of the handcuffs – and left with her father from the scene.
Midlothian Criminal Investigations Department Sergeant Cody McKinney found out about the incident and from there he requested it be looked at by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs.
After the internal affairs investigation, the officers were given a written reprimand according to Midlothian Police Chief Carl Smith, and Sergeant Hanson was merely given a paid day off and a directive to attend ethics training.
Chief Smith said this is an excellent situation for officer training and he added, “Commander Regan did not know at the time of his arrival that his daughter had failed any field sobriety tests and took his daughter home.”
“Officers later spoke with Sergeant Hanson who indicated she would accept any and all responsibility for the decision,” Smith said.
“As with most organizations, there are very few controversial decisions that remain off the grid very long. The situation was brought to Commander Dooley’s attention on March 30, 2021 by Sergeant Cody McKinney.
“Sergeant McKinney had done significant investigative work prior to notifying staff verifying that the incident did indeed occur.”
It was noted by the chief that the body worn camera policy does not speak to removing the cameras – it does indicate that the cameras will not be turned off until officers are no longer involved in the investigative effort.
“There is no law violation at this point – however, the policy is clear. Officers determined the identity of the driver and felt that they needed to alert their supervisor,” Smith said.
Regarding his disciplinary measures with the officer’s who took part in the arrest he concluded, “As stated my discipline decisions have always been designed to redirect and education.
“Life threatening mistake and intentional violations of policy of law always carry stiff discipline.
“In this situation the Sergeant has just about two years of experience and both officers have been on the street on their own less than one year. Educating them to set the stage for a long and productive career is far better than adding discipline for just a punitive measure.”
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