Daggett out as town marshall

By: 
Ron Burtz

Former Custer County Sheriff Jim Daggett is no longer serving as Hermosa town marshal following recent actions by the South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission and the Hermosa Town Board.
At a meeting held on Nov. 10, the commission acted to revoke the certifications of both Spearfish police officer Justin Mowry and Daggett.
According to an article published by South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) both officers “engaged in conduct unbecoming of a law enforcement officer.” The action means the men can no longer serve as law enforcement officers anywhere within the state.
Telling SDPB he had “retired” on Nov. 12, Daggett declined to comment on the revocation of his certification.
The complaint against Daggett said he had been “untruthful” with a professional standards investigator who was looking into allegations made against him last summer.
Commission member Steve Allender, a former Rapid City police chief and current mayor of Rapid City, told SDPB that the investigation had to do with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with a store clerk. He said store surveillance video had captured the officer making inappropriate statements and attempting to grab the woman.
Allender also said Daggett was not honest with the investigator and also presented “different stories” to the commission. He said the testimony against Daggett was also backed up by other witnesses. According to Allender, the certification was revoked because of both the initial incident and Daggett’s misleading statements to the commission and the investigator.
Subsequent to the commission’s action, it appears the Hermosa Town Board took action to terminate Daggett as town marshal. According to published minutes, the board went into executive session on a personnel matter at its Nov. 21 meeting after which a motion was approved to hire the Custer County Sheriff’s Office for a six month contract to provide law enforcement for the community. A motion was also approved to “work with Custer County Sheriff’s Office to see what equipment needs removed from the law enforcement vehicles.”
According to an article in the Rapid City Journal, the town board has been discussing complaints against Daggett over the past couple of months and moved to remove the remainder of his salary.  
Custer County Sheriff Marty Mechaley confirmed that report and did not mince words in commenting on Daggett’s ouster.
“What he did was wrong and the decision of the board was correct,” said Mechaley. “I agree with it.”
Mechaley said he began discussions with the town board in August because “we were getting complaints about his handling of various cases in Hermosa.” He said cases were not being investigated correctly and noted he had a long list of cases where Daggett had “dropped the ball” on important matters over the last couple of years.
The sheriff said he had attended a meeting of the town board prior to the revocation of Daggett’s certification and also met with the board Nov. 16 following the commission’s action.
Regarding the yet to be completed contract with the town to provide law enforcement over the next half year, Mechaley said “I didn’t want to leave them without law enforcement. I won’t leave them without coverage.”
Under the town marshal arrangement, Daggett and his deputy Brad Westergard were responsible for law enforcement within the Hermosa town limits and a one mile area around the town. Mechaley said his office always stood ready to step in to help in time of need.
With Daggett’s departure, Westergard’s future as deputy is unclear; however, he is not a certified law enforcement officer.
The sheriff said Hermosa currently has a $42,000 budget for law enforcement and he anticipates the sheriff’s office would get half of that for its six months of service. He also said, however, that would only begin to cover the salary for one full-time deputy.
Daggett previously served as Custer County sheriff and later as sheriff of Oglala Lakota County which at that time was called Shannon County. He was fired from that position for alleged misconduct.

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