Officer cites lack of support by Mayor, police chief in resignation letter

Williamsburg Police Officer Brad Nighbert, who was found to have had cocaine and Oxycodone in his system following an April 12 accident, resigned from the department Friday afternoon minutes before a hearing, which could have resulted in his termination as a police officer.
“As of today, he is no longer a police officer in the City of Williamsburg,” Mayor Roddy Harrison said Friday.
“It is not a good day for anybody. I am glad the matter is behind us now, and the city can move on. We’re just happy that the case is actually closed for us now.”
While on duty, Nighbert was involved in a serious automobile crash about 10:33 p.m. on April 12, and a toxicology test taken about three hours after the accident showed Nighbert had 0.001 milligrams of cocaine in his system, and 0.007 milligrams of Oxycodone.
Williamsburg Police Chief Denny Shelley said Nighbert had been suspended without pay about three weeks ago pending the administrative hearing.
He said that state law prohibited the city from commenting on the suspension until final resolution of the administrative matter.
The hearing had been delayed twice due to various reasons, and was scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Friday in Harrison’s office.
“We were going to have the hearing today to determine the employment of the officer. About 15 minutes before time for the hearing to start, we received a letter of resignation that he had resigned today,” Harrison said.

Resignation letter
Nighbert’s resignation letter stated: “Dear Mayor Harrison and City Council Members: Please accept my resignation, effective September 8, 2006 as City Police Officer for the City of Williamsburg, Kentucky.
“I tender this resignation, after having given great thought to the circumstances under which I have been suspended by Mayor Harrison and the lack of support I received from the Mayor and the Department.
“At this time, I feel it is in my best interest to resign, and my resignation should not be interpreted by anyone as an admission that I have acted outside the scope of my employment, nor improperly carried out my duties in any manner. Very truly yours, Kenneth B. Nighbert.”
Harrison admits that he wasn’t surprised by Nighbert’s resignation.
“To be honest with you, I was kind of thinking we might get it. We had to have everything ready on our end to go forward, and we were going to go forward today, but we got the resignation and that’s it,” Harrison said.

Hearing process
Had Friday’s hearing been conducted, Harrison, as mayor of a fourth class city, would have presided over it, and essentially would have served as judge.
“There would have been witnesses called, and essentially it would have been my decision,” Harrison said.
Shelley said he probably would have taken the stand to answer questions during the hearing, as would the toxicologist.
“I would answer questions. Officer Nighbert would have had a chance to answer questions. They would have interviewed the toxicologist, and then the mayor would have made his decision after the evidence were presented,” Shelley said.
Assistant City Attorney Jason Price said the evidence, which would have been presented, would probably be the same or similar evidence that could be presented to a grand jury. He said that because of the potential for grand jury action, city officials won’t discuss the details of that evidence.
Harrison declined to say what action he would have taken if there had been a hearing.
He said the resignation concludes any more administration action by the city against Nighbert.
“As far as the city goes with his resignation, he is no longer a police officer with us, and we go on,” Harrison said.

Speed a factor?
Shelley declined to get into the issue of what role speed may have played in the accident, except to say that it didn’t play a role in the decision to suspend Nighbert nor did the Oxycodone found in Nighbert’s system following the wreck.
“We didn’t use that (speed) in our investigation. Our investigation was based upon the toxicology only,” Shelley said. “The speed of the wreck, we didn’t factor that into what we were doing on this. That is an investigation the state police have. I have been told things, but I really don’t want to hinder their investigation right now.”
Because Shelley said he personally observed Nighbert getting two different shots for pain at the accident scene the night of the wreck, he didn’t attempt to obtain Nighbert’s medical records to see if he had been given Oxycodone.
The decision to suspend Nighbert was based on cocaine being found in Nighbert’s system, which is an illegal substance, Shelley said.

Zero tolerance policy
Shelley said taking illegal drugs is conduct not fitting a police officer, especially in light of the city’s zero tolerance drug and alcohol use policies that passed in February.
“It’s a one strike policy. If you have any type of drugs in your system that are not prescribed to you, or if you are drunk on duty, it is automatic termination,” Shelley said.
He said the drug testing policy currently allows him to conduct a drug test on any officer involved in an accident.
The drug testing policy is being implemented in stages.
“The only part we don’t have, and we are almost there, is walking in and asking for a random drug test,” Shelley said.
While he could ask for one, Shelley said the city’s policy doesn’t mandate that an officer give one yet, but that the city is moving in that direction and taking steps to officially implement this.
He added that there isn’t any officer currently in the department, who would say no.

Criminal charges possible
Shelley said he doesn’t know whether Nighbert would be able to work again as a police officer since he resigned rather than being fired.
He said the biggest issue in determining that would probably be whether Nighbert faces criminal charges.
Harrison said that it’s fair to say Nighbert won’t be working for the City of Williamsburg again as a police officer.
Although Nighbert’s resignation concludes the city’s internal investigation, he still faces a criminal investigation into the matter by Kentucky State Police.
Special prosecutor Thomas Smith said last week that he plans to present the case to the Whitley County Grand Jury, but that a time frame hasn’t been set yet for when it will be presented.
“I’ve looked at the case. There needs to be further investigation. After the completion of the investigation, regardless of what it shows, I am going to present the evidence to a grand jury, and let them make a decision as to what, if anything, should be done,” Smith said.
Trooper Greg Hill, the accident reconstructionist investigating the accident, appeared before the Whitley County Grand Jury in July for 10 minutes to obtain grand jury subpoenas for the medical records of both Nighbert and Connie Jackson, the driver of the other vehicle in the crash.
Harrison said the state police investigation into the case didn’t play into the city’s internal investigation in terms of Nighbert’s actions as a police officer.
Shelley said he hates to see something like this happen to anyone, especially an officer.
“There are only about 12 of us here, so we are pretty tight knit,” Shelley said. “The whole department suffers from something like this. Now it is time for us to try and put it behind us, and move on, earn the trust back, and implement new policies so something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Nighbert worked as a Williamsburg Police Officer for nearly seven years.
Nighbert is the son of Kentucky Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, who is a former Williamsburg Mayor.