The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Chief is working while DUI case moves ahead




Whitesburg Police Chief Tyrone Fields, who issued a public apology Monday after being arrested over the weekend and charged with drunken driving, is being permitted to stay on the job while his case winds its way through Perry District Court.

Fields was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after police found him asleep at the wheel around 1 a.m. Sunday while waiting for drive-thru service at a Taco Bell restaurant. Hazard Police Chief Minor Allen said a city patrolman who responded to a 911 call made the decision to have Fields taken by ambulance from the restaurant, which is located off Kentucky Highway 80 on Village Lane, to the nearby Hazard ARH hospital instead of to jail.

Fields, 26, was given a blood test while at the hospital, but the results probably won’t be known for several weeks. In the meantime, said Whitesburg Mayor James Wiley Craft, Fields will remain on duty in the chief’s position, which he has held since 2011.

“Just like everyone else, the presumption of innocence follows the police chief until he is proven guilty,” said Craft. “At that point, if in fact he is proven guilty, he will be disciplined here at City Hall.”

Fields, who has held a number of jobs in Whitesburg dating back to his years in high school here, has been regarded as one of the most popular police officers in Letcher County since joining the Whitesburg force in 2008. His popularity became even more evident this week after he wrote a public apology on the social media site Facebook. On Tuesday night, the apology had drawn votes of confidence from 435 people representing a wide range of ages and professions.

“I have known Tyrone since middle school when he walked in as a new student,” a former school principal commented on the Facebook site. “He is a wonderful young man and takes his job very seriously. I traveled with him as an 8th grader and I know his character. He is a special young man and we are lucky to have him.”

“Tyrone, many of us have even made the same mistake,” said a Whitesburg business owner. “If we learn from our mistakes, then they are valuable. Do not let this define you!”

Fields had been in Hazard on Saturday for the birthday party of his son. The party was held at the El Azul Grande Mexican restaurant, which is also located off KY 80.

“I can’t take back what has happened,” Fields said in his apology. “All I can say is I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart — first to my family, and then to my community and my mayor (who have had) the most confidence in me to enforce the law and perform my job. I am a human and I make mistakes daily. Am I in the right? Absolutely not.

“I do not hold myself higher than anyone walking the streets. The same laws that apply to you apply to me as well. I accept full responsibilities for my actions and I will pay for them accordingly.”

Fields also said in the apology that he did not receive any special treatment from the Hazard police.

“For the folks (who) feel like I received special treatment, I did not,” Fields wrote. “The officer that cited me was a great guy. He did what he had to do and I’ll be forever grateful for the way he treated me.”

According to Allen, the Hazard chief, Fields was taken to the ARH instead of jail because officer had a hard time waking him up.

“As soon as it becomes aware to the officer that there’s a medical need, that has to take precedent over any kind of arrest, always,” Allen told WYMT-TV in Hazard. “The preservation of life is our number one concern.”

Allen also told WYMT that it was difficult charging a fellow police officer.

“ Unfortunately we have to do that sometimes,” Allen said. “That’s part of our job. I regret this has happened to a fellow offi cer. I do.”



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