Friday, February 29, 2008
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Columbiana County sheriff David Smith
The party chairman said the sheriff ‘did one heck of a fine job.’
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON — Columbiana County Sheriff David Smith has been praised as a fine lawman who made a mistake.
Smith’s lawyer, Bradley J. Koffel of Columbus, said Thursday that the sheriff will plead guilty to a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence.
A hearing is set for 11 a.m. April 18 in Cambridge Municipal Court in Guernsey County.
“It’s regrettable. He regrets it,” said David Johnson, the chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party.
“He served as a peace officer for 30 years and did one heck of a fine job,” Johnson said.
Smith has not spoken publicly about his arrest and still is not commenting, Koffel said.
Smith, a Republican, had filed to run this year for another term. He was stopped by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 11 on Interstate 70.
He had been at an alcohol-free noon luncheon at the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association to discuss response vehicles.
A urine test showed he had a .222 percent alcohol content, slightly more than twice the legal limit of intoxication.
Sheriffs cannot run for office if they have been convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor. Smith withdrew from the race. Smith, through Koffel, withdrew challenges to the evidence earlier this week.
Koffel said after that, Smith had “no compelling reason” to contest the charges.
Koffel said Smith may not have to serve three days in jail — a potentially dangerous situation for a law man — because first-time offenders often receive a suspended jail sentence. Instead, Smith could be sentenced to attend a 72-hour alcohol awareness program. He also faces a charge of speeding and a lane violation.
Johnson said, “The law is the law.”
Several local officials have been arrested for drunken driving without any harm to their careers.
But Smith’s arrest was videotaped. In that video, Smith repeatedly but unsuccessfully asked Trooper S.W. Bayless to let him go. Smith said he would let people go in Columbiana County.
Koffel said the sheriff was not describing policy, but displaying the Stockholm syndrome — in which people may try to curry favor with someone in authority. An example would be a nurse who is stopped by police for drunken driving may offer to provide medical information to authorities in the future.
Two retired deputies who worked under Smith, Daniel MacLean of Wellsville and Jerry Herbert of East Palestine, are seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff in next week’s primary. Republican Raymond Stone, the Perry Township Police chief, is also seeking the nomination. The office has been in Republican hands for 60 years.
The winner will face Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano, a Democrat in the fall.
wilkinson@vindy.com