Houston County corrections officer disciplined
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By Matt Elofson
Published: September 2, 2008
Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes recently suspended a corrections officer for his involvement in a traffic crash that left a county inmate dead.
Hughes reprimanded Michael Brian Shelley, 25, for misuse of a department vehicle during the fatal crash on July 22, which happened near Kilby Prison close to Montgomery.
Terry Irvin, 39, died after the Houston County Sheriff’s van he was traveling in collided with what authorities have called a dump truck. Hughes previously released copies of the accident report prepared by Alabama State Troopers, which indicated the corrections officer ran a red light and was talking on his cellular phone at the time of the crash. The report said Shelley used the phone to call the Houston County Jail.
Hughes suspended Shelley for one day without pay, which he will serve Friday. He cited running the red light and using a cell phone as the misuses of the vehicle.
“It’s important to understand we’re not punishing him because there was a death,” Hughes said. “We’re punishing him because of his actions which caused the accident to begin to with.”
Hughes said the decision was made after Alabama state troopers found Shelley to be the primary contributing or at fault vehicle in the crash. He also called it reckless disregard for safety and careless use of a department vehicle.
Hughes said the suspension came as a result of a disciplinary hearing Friday held in front of Houston County Jail Commander Keith Reed. Hughes also took into account the fact Shelley had no prior accidents or write-ups on his record as a corrections officer. He has worked as a corrections officer for Houston County for about 10 months.
No one has been charged in the crash, but Montgomery County District Attorney Ellen Brooks previously said it would likely be presented to a grand jury.
Shelley had picked up Irvin to bring him back to Houston County for a court hearing the next day on a pending robbery charge. Hughes said Shelley was on his way to Ventress Correctional facility to pick up another inmate at the time of the crash.
The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. One of the traffic lights at the intersection had apparently not been working. The remaining light was clearly visible, according to the report.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( seriously ) on September 06, 2008 at 8:31 am
You have to be kidding me! He only got one day’s suspension for KILLING another human being. Yeah, it may not have been on purpose, but his actions took the life of another person. My husband got a 3 day suspension for using an inappropriate word at work loud enough for customers to hear, and this guy only gets 1 day for taking another persons life. This is a sad world we live in. Thank God this guy has to one day meet his maker and justify why his actions caused the death of one of God’s children.
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Posted by ( Mike Keevert ) on September 05, 2008 at 5:08 pm
What a joke. I just lost the little respect I still had for the Houston County Sheriffs Office.
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Posted by ( C.A. Layton ) on September 05, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Let me begin by saying that I was a State Trooper in North Carolina from 1997 to 2005 before moving back home to this area. I have to say, the standards law enforcement officers were held to there far exceed those here. Had any officer, deputy, jailer, trooper, or whatever violated a law that resulted in a crash which further resulted in a death, they would not get one day off with out pay, they would get terminated, drug/alcohol tested, charged for the violation that caused the wreck, and charged with at least manslaughter! This is insane to say a man dies because of negligence so we give the responsible person a day off without pay for “misuse of the vehicle.“
I also want to know where is Mr. Doug “Lock em up for a thousand years” Valeska is at on this one? Im not quoting him there it just seems to be his policy on everything. I know it didn’t happen in his jurisdiction but he is the District Attorney and most places refer to their D.A. as the “head law enforcement official” in that area. No comments? Scroll through articles on here about crashes and see where folks get charged with all kinds of things for killing others in crashes. Not this guy though, he wears a badge, he is special. Had this been me or the average John and Jane Doe running a red light, crashing, and killing another person we would have been charged on the spot or at least as soon as the crash investigation was over. Someone please contact an attorney for this family and sue the ___ out of the Houston County Sheriff’s Department. It wont bring that man back but maybe it will open some eyes that the law applies to the cops as well as us. There is alot more I could say but I think the terms of agreement made me promise not to be vulgar. This story needs to go beyond local media (no offense) because only when something gets national attention does anything ever seem to be done. I hope justice will someday come back to this area, I dont know that it ever was, but it sure isn’t here now.
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Posted by ( RALT ) on September 05, 2008 at 9:29 am
THE MANS LIFE IS WORTH 1 DAY OFF. I WONDER WHERE THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TEST RESULTS AT . EVERYONE THAT WAS A VICTIM IN THIS WILL SUFFER THE REST OF THEIR LIFE,WHILE HE GETS OFF WITH I DAY.HE SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH FAILRE TO CONTROL VEHICLE,SPEEDING , VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER, AND ATTEMPTED VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER , PLUS RUNNING A RED LIGHT.MR IRVINS FAMILY HAS THE PUBLIC BEHIND THEM 100% TO MAKE SURE SOMETHING IS DONE ABOUT THIS. I DONT KNOW WHAT HUGHES PROBLEM IS BUT SHELLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN TERMINATED. IF THE TRUCK DRIVER CAUSED THE ACCIDENT HE WOULD HAVE BEEN. WHY WE HAVE LAWS THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE EXEMPT FROM IN THIS STATE IS BEYOND ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN . THE VICTIMS SHOULD BE CONTACTING STATE OFFICIALS TO GET SOMETHING DONE OR REMEMBER THE FAILURE TO DO SOMETHING ONE
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Posted by ( rst1968 ) on September 04, 2008 at 9:36 pm
First of all, I would like to send my prayers to everyone that was involve in the accident. Now I have been reading and trying to take in everything that has been posted. I feel sorry for all the people that was hurt and killed. Im sorry to the truck driver that was hurt because now he himself and his family is having a hard time making a living. My cousin happened to be the wife of the young man that was killed. Now I’ve been knowing Terry for as long as him and Michelle been together and he will b TRULY MISS!...My cousin is in so much pain and her and their daughter is having to live on without him. I agree that our kids should have to be in seatbelts and yes so should people that are being transported! EVERYONE IS VALUABLE!! Now Im not saying that the person thats at fault shouldn’t be held responsible! But all I know is that my cousin husband is DEAD and if it was any other person that had cause this accident they would be charged and dealt with accordingly. ALL I WANT IS JUSTICE FOR MY FAMILY AND AS WELL AS ALL THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT!...NAACP NEED TO BE CONTACTED AND ACTION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN!!
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Posted by ( davwis ) on September 04, 2008 at 10:00 am
I agree with Linda. I was behind the 17 year old girl, and saw it all. Misuse of county property? Give me a break! How about willful neglect and disregard for safety. Police officers are sworn to up hold the law. They should conduct themselves better than civilians, acting as examples. If I, as a civilian, had caused this. wreck, i would be in jail and up for some form of murder. What a joke. Did anyone even apologize to any of the victims or their families?
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Posted by ( LINDA RICE ) on September 03, 2008 at 5:58 pm
A young man, raised in a law enforsement family, went to work for the sheriff’s department. After having worked ten months, he runs a red light while speeding (approx 65 miles per hour in a 40 MPH zone) and talking on a cell phone. He hits a tractor trailer truck just behind the fuel tank (could have blown up), pushing the truck off the road into a bull dozier, bounces off and hits another vehicle driven by a 17 year old girl. He totals out his vehicle and his truck and does damage to the young girls vehicle. In the process, he kills the inmate he was transporting and sworn to protect.He puts the truck driver in the hospital with broken ribs and a damaged sholder who, due to the strain and stress, has a heart attack in the hospital. This young deputy, because of his NEGLECT. CARELESSNESS and WILLFUL DISREGARD FOR THE LAW AND HUMAN LIFE, has caused the death of one person, tramatized another and turned one persons life upside down. The driver of the truck could very well have been killed, as could the deputy himself. Now, the deputy gets one day off without pay for “MISS USE OF COUNTY PROPERTY” and the truck driver, who will never drive a truck again, has to find a way to to survive without a job. No, he was not fired. He has been on disability and will be for some time. He is unable to sit, sleep or walk with any comfort. He is uneasy even driving a personal vehicle.
I am the truck drivers wife. We had our life together, a comfortable home, with a sizable mortgage. We were making ends meet. Now…...do you think that a day off without pay is justice.
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Posted by ( davwis ) on September 03, 2008 at 4:39 pm
This is sad….one day without pay?!!! I was at this wreck, and it was not raining, and di not start until 20 or so minutes after the wreck. I watched this person speeding, and then running the light. Another witness at the scene said they followed the van from the prison and that he was driving crazy then. It was even said that he pulled out in front of two people at the prison almost hitting another car. What a sad day it is when a human life is worth one days pay. A civilian would be up on charges now over this. If he had been drinking, he would be in jail and on manslaughter charges. Cell phones also divert attention and cause wrecks, but I guess the punishment for that is not jail, but a few hundred dollars. The truck driver sufferd a heart attack over this. Where is the justice? Really very sad. How about Houston County teach its officers how to drive. Two days after this wreck, I was passed by a speeding HC sheriffs car on the same road, hauling a prisoner, and in a curve where it could not see on coming traffic. Wake up Houston County. Officers are not above the law, they are to enforce the law. But then again, how can you enforce something you do not follow yourselves? Why not break it, when there are no consequences.
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Posted by ( frog ) on September 03, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Let’s tell all, that night it was also raining, at times bad. Also, it’s not against the law in Alabama to talk or text on a cell phone while you are driving. Most everyone does this and until our state government takes a stand we will have to put up with it. The next time you are driving around Dothan start counting the people on the phone and what’s so bad is, most of them couldn’t drive to begin with.
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Posted by ( anonymous ) on September 03, 2008 at 10:36 am
I’m sure this man suffers a personal struggle with taking someone else’s life but perhaps the judicial system should take note of the “punishment” in this particular case. Because the victim had a criminal background shouldn’t minimize his worth as a human being. Our jails are full of people who ran red lights while talking on cellphones, resulting in deaths…they were charged with manslaughter or in some instances murder. Losing a day’s pay doesn’t seem like much of a penalty for killing a person.
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