Clark County sergeant unanimously reinstated after sheriff tried to fire him

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- One of the Clark County Sheriff' Department's most veteran sergeants will keep his job after a merit board unanimously voted Wednesday to reinstate him.

Tom Higdon was on administrative leave after Sheriff Scottie Maples announced his recommendation to terminate him last year in a social media post. But Higdon believed he was being punished for not supporting his boss Maples for re-election.

In a hearing last month, Mickey Weber, Higdon's attorney, said Maples is "willing to put people at risk in order to further his own personal interests and to silence criticism and opposition."

Maples' legal team argued he had "no other choice" than to fire Higdon because he's "not a reliable backup."

"It is common knowledge that he slow rolls to calls," said Cynthia Forbes, with the sheriff's legal team. "He does not respond to calls and is never first on scene when it's obvious he's the closest to the scene."

The courtroom erupted in applause Wednesday when the decision of his reinstatement was announced.

"It's overwhelming, because this is a drop in the bucket of the support that I've had over all this time," he said afterward.

The main incident happened Aug. 24, when Higdon was one of three officers responding to a call regarding Devon Lyons. The 26-year-old's mother called 911, claiming Lyons was mentally ill and wandered off into the woods near his home.

"That subject was schizophrenic, off his medicine and known to resist officers," Forbes said.

Higdon was called in for extra support as the two other deputies found Lyons and tased him. While Lyons was down, body camera video reveals they tased him again.

It took roughly 4 minutes for Higdon to catch up to his fellow officers. Afterward, those two deputies filed a complaint against Higdon, and the sheriff's legal team claims Higdon should've provided backup when he heard the taser go off.

The actions — or rather inactions — are incompetence, plain and simple," Forbes said. "And they cannot be tolerated."

Weber called it an "inconsistent enforcement of the rules."

Higdon got emotional talking about the dozens of people who cheered him on from the gallery Wednesday. His family said there's no officer on the planet who likes wearing their uniform and badge more than Higdon.

"The worst thing for me was not being able to help anybody," he said Wednesday. "Being able to get back to that — it means a lot."

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