UNION COUNTY, Tenn. — State investigators with the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission presented their case against the Union County Sheriff Friday, arguing he should lose his badge for breaking the terms of a deal he struck after his deputies were caught cheating on a state-mandated training test.
As part of the agreed order, first reported by WBIR last summer, POST put Sheriff Billy Breeding and Chief Deputy Brian Smith on probation, suspended Smith's ability to act as a law enforcement officer and instructed Breeding to establish a training program with the assistance of another county.
"We are here today because that didn't happen. At all. They have completely failed to live up to their responsibilities to you," a POST staffer told the commission.
POST said Breeding did not move the department's training in-person, away from the online platform on which deputies cheated. Lawyers for Breeding and Smith noted the agreed order does not require in-person training.
Representatives from POST also called witnesses to suggest Smith continued working in law enforcement while his certification was suspended. A former Union County Deputy, who now works for the Plainview Police Department, said he did not know Smith was on probation -- and asked him for instruction on a law enforcement call.
Smith's lawyers said their client didn't wear a badge or gun during his time on probation and only worked on administrative duties. "He in no way acted as a law enforcement officer," the lawyer said.
The meeting in Nashville ended around 1:45 central time Friday because the number of commissioners who could not continue to work on the matter through the afternoon would mean the body lost a required quorum. They agreed to hear the sheriff's side of the case at a meeting on June 16.
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 last June, 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.
Breeding remains on probation for the cheating scandal. His chief deputy was eligible to return to work on December 1.
"I think we’re going to see a pretty harsh ruling from POST," said T. Scott Jones, a defense attorney. If the commission revoked Breeding's certification, he would not be eligible to continue as sheriff. In that scenario, "we would be looking at an interim sheriff and we would be looking at the great taxpayer expense of a special election."
Breeding is running for re-election in August, according to the county election commission.
He also faces an inquiry by the Fourth District Attorney General into an alleged tryst with a female deputy. The investigation follows inquiries by WBIR in late February about whether a Maynardville police officer saw Breeding having sex with a female subordinate earlier this year in his car.