ROWAN COUNTY, Ky.
(WKYT) - He’s supposed to
enforce the law but investigators say a central Kentucky police officer broke
the law instead.
They say he vandalized
a neighborhood and caused hundreds of dollars in damage.
WKYT’s Jordan Vilines
spoke with folks living in that neighborhood who say they were shocked when
they heard that the “vandal” was a cop:
Tucked away among
Rowan County's rolling mountains sits a neighborhood considered quiet--until
the other night. That's when residents had a run in with an unwelcome and
unexpected visitor.
“My neighbor has a
mailbox over there and I guess he ripped that apart and took the plastic thing
and started beating stuff with it. I said ‘hey I’m going to call the cops’ and
he said ‘call the cops, call the cops,’” said Skylar Lakin, who lives nearby.
Little did Lakin know,
he was a cop. A few minutes later, Morehead Police showed up and arrested
Flemingsburg Police Sergeant Lionel Aaron Workman. He was charged with alcohol
intoxication and criminal mischief.
Some folks living in
Roger’s Village Mobile Home Park near Morehead say they actually witnessed
Workman tearing up the mailboxes in the middle of the night.
"This mailbox was
pushed over on the side out of the hole which has concrete on the bottom of it
and has a still pole running down into the concrete,” said Eva Hutchinson,
whose mailbox was damaged.
According to the
arrest citation, Workman broke eight mailboxes, a handicap ramp and several
lights-- causing $801 in damages.
After his arrest,
neighbors say Workman apologized but they're still on the fence about forgiving
a man who they thought would protect them but instead, ending up damaging their
property.
“Cops are supposed to
be held to a higher standard than that,” Lakin said.
Workman is scheduled
to be arraigned on Monday in Rowan County District Court.
The Flemingsburg
Police Chief told the Morehead News that Workman has been suspended without pay
and has been reduced in rank.