By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian
A Clark County drug agent is being demoted after finding himself in hot water over a sketchy car wreck.
Effective Friday, June 23, Roy Bethell will no longer be an agent with the Group 6 Narcotics Drug Task Force. Bethell, 50, will instead be assigned to security duties with Clark County’s detention facility/court complex. The demotion comes with a salary decrease of nearly $6,000 per year.
He was notified of this demotion a week ago. Bethell was put in the hot seat after an apparent booze-filled jaunt one Friday night in April, when he took his agency-issued SUV to a collegiate baseball game in Fayetteville. A police report indicates that Bethell crashed the SUV into a tree while negotiating a curve on a dirt road, then drove 1.5 miles before abandoning the vehicle near a federal highway.
After discovering the SUV around midnight, police eventually caught up with Bethell the next day outside his hotel, where he reportedly reeked of “stale” alcohol and had “very bloodshot eyes,” according to the Washington County incident report.
Bethell was initially placed on a five-day suspension immediately upon his return to Clark County.
“I know this incident has garnered much attention and everyone has opinions on how it should be handled and how quickly it’s done.”
— Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson
Authorities in Washington County this week mailed Bethell a citation for the misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage only.
“The final decision was made after an internal investigation was completed,” Sheriff Jason Watson said in a text message Thursday. “There was also a decrease in pay of $5,900.” Watson added that he arrived at his decision after reviewing “all information made available” to him. Asked if he felt his decision was fair, he replied that it was.
Bethell’s charge is a Class C misdemeanor, the lowest classification of violations, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500. Bethell will have the option of paying the fine by mail or online although the citation lists a court appearance of July 13 in Washington County District Court.
As for the towing bills — $1,400 from a NWA wrecking service in addition to any outstanding invoices from Beene’s Towing & Recovery — the sheriff said that, once the insurance claim is complete, “any money paid out by Clark County will be compensated.”
Asked if the incident would affect personnel policies at the sheriff’s office, Watson said he didn’t expect changes within his agency; “however, I will be visiting with other Group 6 board members to review policy procedures.”
Who owns the SUV?
Sheriff’s deputies were at first confused because the license plate on Bethell’s vehicle returned Tanner’s Truck & Equipment of Malvern. The actual owner was identified during the first hours of the initial investigation when the unlocked vehicle yielded police weapons and Bethell’s credentials, leading to Group 6.
Contacted last week with questions regarding who owned the vehicle, a representative at Tanner’s said that the company at one time owned the vehicle and sold it to the task force. Vehicle registration apparently had not been changed to reflect Group 6 ownership.
About that protection order
Washington County deputies were led to the vehicle when a woman called the sheriff’s office to inquire how to file a protection order. According to West Fork Officer Brandon Williamson, the first policeman on the scene, Bethell’s police vehicle matched the description of another suspect vehicle. “The original caller thought the vehicle belonged to someone she wanted a protection order against,” Williamson told The Arkadelphian this week in a telephone interview.
Bethell vying for top spot at Caddo Valley
Bethell is one of six applicants for an open position as police chief in Caddo Valley, according to information The Arkadelphian obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request to that city’s administrative office.
Bethell worked as a patrolman with that department for five years prior to joining the Group 6 Task Force in 2018. His resume also includes a 17-year stint at the Arkadelphia Police Department, where he worked his way up the ranks from patrolman to a sergeant in the department’s criminal investigation division.
Sheriff: “Every incident isn’t the same”
The “Hog Wild” saga attracted countless social media comments, many of them targeting the integrity of local law enforcement agencies. Many questioned how Bethell had not yet been terminated from the high ranks of a DTF agent.
Watson defended his ultimate decision: “I know this incident has garnered much attention and everyone has opinions on how it should be handled and how quickly it’s done. However, every incident isn’t the same and this involved another agency and jurisdiction. I took all information and once everything was completed I made my decision and am ready to move forward with our duties.”
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It’s pretty obvious that he was driving while intoxicated, left the scene of an accident, and tried to cover it up. I, and most people reading this, would lose my job and not simply be reassigned to another department if I wrecked a company-issued vehicle while driving intoxicated. Yes, “every incident isn’t the same,” and it did involve other agencies, but this seems like a very minor punishment.
Let’s hope his upcoming court appearance in Washington County sees the result of jail time and a suspension of his driver’s license for endangering the lives of himself and others, but since a DWI is nowhere on the report, I highly doubt he will have a suspended license.
Caddo Valley, do the right thing and file his application away in a special folder labeled “People to never, under any circumstance, hire.” Don’t shred it or throw it away in case he comes applying again in 5 years when this has faded from memory.
It may be pretty obvious that he has a few to drink, but remember that it would not have been provable in court. He at least got a ticket from it for what was provably obvious like most other folks would have gotten. And don’t discount the fact he went from a cushy task force to dealing with convicts in the city jail. The demotion is basically a $6k+ fine and the county will save the cost of this whole mess in payroll and taxes.
Not what most people wanted to happen or what he probably deserved, but it seems to be what was possible without dragging the union and probably lawsuits into the picture that would have cost the county even more money.
You’re supposed to discipline the act, not the person. I suspect that he was trying to improve his salary by being on this task force which has a few perks such as having a free car and gas. (Interesting that this vehicle had not been registered to the task force) I doubt that Clark County is funded enough to have a decent livable income for Deputies which I don’t feel is the fault of the Sheriff. Bethell screwed up and is suffering the consequences. It’s got to be embarrassing to him, the Sheriff, and Task Force. No use kicking him when he’s down. Sheriff investigated, evaluated, and made his decision. I’m not taking up for or criticizing anyone, but I suspect his prospects getting a better paying job locally are at best limited and being relegated to the jail is pretty much the ultimate demotion. His best bet would probably be to try and move on to a larger Department in need of Officers and try to redeem himself before some Police Administrator gets his certification pulled. He may not need to be in the police business, but don’t know enough to say one way or the other. No one is perfect, but this became quite a spectacle and reflects poorly on Bethell and all supervising agencies.
Good decision Sheriff. How many complainers have helped you carry dead bodies, including kids? How many have stood shoulder to shoulder fighting off a crazed drug addicted meth head or 4 that literally have super human strength! Who on here has risk their life for you and spent 24-7 helping you find the killer before he kills again? ZERO!
It is tough being over lots of employees and you know every single one and what disclipline works!
It would literally take 12-15 newly hired employees to find ONE that would work out!
👏🏻 👏🏻 damn and I said I was done with FB but ima gon do Btr!!
So, how much “bad behavior” should we look past because they do a hard, thankless job? All misdemeanors, maybe a felony or two? I don’t think anyone here is complaining that the officer was doing a bad job, just that they used equipment WE are paying for instead of their own car to go to a game in NWA. And then run from ann accident because they KNEW they screwed up and would blow positive and possibly face a felony charge.
You can support the “boys in blue” and still expect them to follow the law and not drink and drive or defraud tax payers. This is not either/or, this is and/both.