UNION COUNTY, Tenn. — Union County Sheriff Billy Breeding and a chief deputy will keep their badges after a state commission voted Friday to not revoke their state certifications.
The Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission voted to dismiss a case against the two after state investigators argued they broke the terms of a probation agreement made with the state after Union County deputies were caught cheating on state-mandated certification tests.
The state struck a deal last year to put Breeding and Chief Deputy Brian Smith on two years of probation, suspending Smith's ability to act as a law enforcement officer for six months outside administrative duties and instructing Breeding to establish a training program with the assistance of another county.
In May 2022, state investigators with the POST commission argued the two should lose their badges, saying they broke the terms of that deal.
For Breeding, investigators said he did not move the department's training to in-person to prevent further cheating on online tests. Lawyers for Breeding and Smith argued the order did not specifically require the department to move training to in-person.
For Smith, investigators said he disobeyed the terms of his six-month suspension by going to the scene of a crash. Smith testified he only did so to take photos for insurance, which he said was part of his administrative duties and was not done in a law enforcement role.
POST dismissed its case against the two, but said the two-year probation agreement remains in place. Smith was allowed to return to his law enforcement duties on December 1, 2021.
The complaint that led state investigators to look into Union County's compliance with the order came from Blaine Police Chief Tim Wyrick, who has filed to run against Breeding for sheriff this summer.
The deal with POST dates to June 2021, when Breeding and Smith acknowledged deputies within the department received taxpayer money after cheating on a state-mandated in-service training test.
POST found Breeding knew officers used an "answer key" to complete the test. Chief Deputy Brian Smith admitted to resetting the test when deputies did not get questions right, a 2020 report from the Tennessee Comptroller's Office said.
When initially questioned by POST, Breeding and Smith denied providing an answer key to officers. However, they did share that a "study guide" was used for the Virtual Academy training course.
The study guide consisted of the Virtual Academy assessment questions and related multiple-choice answers. They agreed that the study guide is likely how the answer key was developed," the comptroller report said.
After continued questioning during the comptroller's review, Breeding admitted he knew about the answer key, the comptroller said.
The online video training provider said most officers take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete an assessment after watching a training video. Analysis of 2017 and 2018 training showed Sheriff Billy Breeding and most of his deputies finished the test in less than 60 seconds.