Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Vansloten responded to a call about a male slumped over in a vehicle on the side of the road. Body camera footage shows Stephenson initially unresponsive as Vansloten opens the door to the driver’s side of the black Ford Fusion.
"I don't understand," Vansloten said in the video, obtained by MLive through a Freedom of Information Act request. "What're you doing? You're on the side of the road, slumped over."
Stephenson doesn’t respond. Vansloten continues to ask if he is OK and how he got to the side. Stephenson responds in slurred, stuttered speech, saying, “You know who I am or not?”
“I don’t know who you are,” Vansloten said. He then asks Stephenson to step out of the vehicle.
“I’m the (expletive) Midland County sheriff,” Stephenson said. “I’m (expletive) good. I had a bad day. I don’t need EMS. I don’t need you.”
Garfield Township Police Chief Nelson “Jerry” Cannon was called to the scene.
In the video, following Stephenson saying he had four beers to drink, a field sobriety test is administered, and after blowing 0.23 percent blood alcohol level, Cannon says he has to take Stephenson to jail.
“Jesus Christ, I’m a sheriff,” Stephenson says. “I’m a constitutional (expletive) officer. You can’t take me to (expletive) jail; I’m a (expletive) sheriff.”
WJRT reported Stephenson was ultimately arrested and taken to the Kalkaska County Jail.
Stephenson pleaded guilty to one count of operating a motor vehicle while visibly impaired in court Dec. 13. WJRT reported he was placed on a year's probation and fined.
Body camera footage of Stephenson's arrest, which contains explicit language, can be seen on YouTube.
About the Author