Prosecutor's Office To Sheriff: Remove Special Deputy

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County prosecutor's office has told Boone County's sheriff that a man's appointment as special deputy should be revoked, saying convictions of sexual battery and impersonation of a public servant disqualify him.

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Prosecutor's Office: Convictions Mean Man Can't Be Special Deputy

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The inter-county communication about Michael S. Sherfick came Monday, less than a week after an Indianapolis police officer stopped him for allegedly disregarding a stop sign. Police said Sherfick, 33, of Westfield, used his Boone County Sheriff's Department credentials in an attempt to get himself out of a citation.

In a letter, the prosecutor's office informed Boone County Sheriff Dennis Brannon that according to state law, a special deputy must never have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor repugnant to accepted moral standards. Sherfick's convictions, therefore, disqualify him, the letter said.

The letter, which also was given to Boone County's prosecutor, expressed confidence that Brannon would revoke Sherfick's appointment and confiscate Sherfick's credentials "and any other law enforcement identifiers" from the sheriff's department.

Brannon told RTV6 Monday that he would comment about the issue Tuesday, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported.

Sherfick is a registered sex offender, having pleaded guilty in 1994 to Class D felony sexual battery in a case involving an Indianapolis woman. After serving three years of probation, a court amended the conviction to a Class A misdemeanor.

Sherfick also was convicted in Marion County of impersonating a public servant, a Class A misdemanor.

In December 2001, after Sherfick allegedly got into a verbal altercation with hotel security personnel in Atlanta, Brannon said he would pull Sherfick's credentials. Sherfick, however, kept the credentials, Rinehart reported.

Sherfick was appointed a special deputy more than five years ago, Rinehart reported.