Clark County deputy permanently re-assigned after drunk driving case

A Clark County deputy charged earlier this year with operating a vehicle while impaired has been permanently taken off road patrol.

Steven Elliott, 44, was a road patrol deputy and has now been re-assigned to the Clark County Jail, said Ben Hunt, human relations manager with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Elliott was stopped on Home Road in the early morning of May 6 by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to a court affidavit, and charged with speeding and OVI.

He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of physical control, according to court records, and was sentenced in August to 90 days in jail, which was suspended. Elliott also completed a three-day alcohol program, court records say.

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At the conclusion of the criminal case, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office began an internal investigation into the matter, Hunt said.

Along with the re-assignment to the jail, which doesn’t require any on-the-job driving, Hunt said Elliott also received a five-day suspension without pay.

The deputy has been with the sheriff’s office since December 2005, Hunt said.

A trooper reportedly clocked Elliott driving over the speed limit and noticed a “strong odor of alcohol,” according to the trooper’s report. Elliott also appeared to have red, glassy eyes and slurred speech, according to the arrest affidavit.

The driver failed two field sobriety tests, court records indicate, and allegedly refused to submit to a chemical test after he was arrested for OVI.

Elliott was first transferred to the jail division after his arrest in May, Hunt said. His county cruiser was re-issued to a deputy taking his place in the Uniform Patrol Division.

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