By Beacon Staff
Recently fired Des Moines County Sheriff's deputy Al Waterman wouldn’t give up the names of the three Mediapolis students who informed him that a fellow deputy had run stop signs by Mediapolis High School.
Not to his supervisor, not to Des Moines County Sheriff Mike Johnstone, and not to the attorney he faced down in a courtroom Wednesday morning.
The Des Moines County Sheriff's Office contends the three students don't exist, pointing to Waterman's constantly changing story as proof that he fabricated the entire thing.
Waterman, who was fired from his deputy position on April 8, didn’t deny breaking the chain of command during the Wednesday hearing, and he admits to not following orders.
Waterman, who is running for the job of Des Moines County sheriff, requested Wednesday’s public hearing in front of the Civil Service Commission to dispute his termination. It’s the first hearing of its kind in at least 18 years, Johnstone said.
Waterman was the school resource officer for Mediapolis School District until his termination. He testified on Wednesday that his termination stemmed from a text message he sent to sheriff's deputy Cory Whitaker — the school resource officer for the Danville Community School District.
In the text message sent Feb. 12, Waterman told Whitaker that three anonymous sources claimed he had run three temporary stop signs at the Mediapolis school. Waterman said he texted Whitaker to warn him to watch the stop signs.
Waterman admits the text he sent to Whitaker was not entirely accurate. Though Waterman claimed in the text that he had recently been approached by the sources (who happened to be Mediapolis students), he now claims he was informed two to three weeks earlier than the date of the text.
Waterman said he was too busy to review surveillance footage after receiving the complaints, and forgot to go back to the tapes until two or three weeks later. He looked at the footage, observed that Whitaker had run the stop signs, and sent him the text.
“Please pay better attention in a school zone,” Waterman said on the stand as he summarized the text.
Waterman said he immediately got a phone call from Whitaker asking for the names of the three sources mentioned in his text. Whitaker thought Waterman was being condescending in his text, Waterman said. Whitaker contends he doesn’t remember running any stop signs.
“He (Whitaker) was being adamant that he wanted the names. I was concerned he would confront the individuals,” Waterman said.
Waterman reviewed surveillance footage from the school and said they showed Whitaker had run the stop signs. He said he wanted to advise Whitaker to drive more cautiously, particularly since he had been teaching classes about traffic safety at the school.
Waterman said he thought the issue was resolved until he was confronted by his supervisor, Lt. Chad McCune. The lieutenant mediated the issue between Whitaker and Waterman informally, and though the tension was low, McCune said Waterman’s story was changing.
“There were red flags. More red flags than I’ve seen in 26 years,” McCune said about the conversation.
When McCune ordered Waterman to provide the names of the students, he still refused. Waterman and Whitaker agreed to let it go and ended the meeting shaking hands.
Waterman said the students did not want to self-identify, so he kept their identities anonymous. McCune said Waterman never tried to get the students to self-identify, even though he had asked him to do so.
“He didn’t have to tell (him) Whitaker, but he should have told me (the names),” McCune said on the stand.
McCune said Waterman’s story changed from Whitaker running three stop signs to two stop signs and claims Waterman told him he witnessed Whitaker roll past one of the stop signs. Waterman said on the stand that he only saw the traffic infraction on the school video.
“I found it suspicious that his story had changed,” McCune said. “I started to believe he fabricated these individuals.”
McCune then officially ordered Waterman to divulge the names of the students. Waterman refused, noting the students never lodged a formal complaint. He was sent home and put on administrative leave, which he stayed on until his termination.
McCune, a 26-year-law enforcement veteran, said he needed the names because he had to determine if Whitaker had run the stop signs.
“I have a responsibility that I need to check into this. I told him that he was roadblocking my investigation,” he said.
Waterman declined to tell Johnstone the names in a follow-up interview after he was put on leave, and the sheriff subsequently fired him on April 8, 2020.
Waterman was asked again for the names of the students during Wednesday’s public hearing, which was aired on YouTube due to COVID-19 restrictions at the Des Moines County Courthouse in Burlington. Waterman again refused to identify the students.
“They (the students) confided in me. They put their trust in me,” Waterman said.
During testimony on Wednesday, Whitaker recounted his version of events. He said he had left the Mediapolis school after teaching a D.A.R.E program a few minutes before he received Waterman’s text on Feb. 12. He said he was sure he hadn’t run any stop signs, but Waterman said in the text that three people had seen him do so.
Whitaker said Waterman later told him it was two sources that saw the traffic violations and he had seen the third himself. Later, Waterman allegedly said he did not see any of the traffic infractions in person, according to Whitaker.
"I think the whole thing is made up, and I think he is digging himself deeper,” McCune testified. He reiterated that Waterman's version of events kept changing.
Waterman has been a deputy for almost 18 years and said he has built trust with the students. He said he didn’t want to betray that trust and added he has never been disciplined.
“This was important enough for you to risk your job over?” Waterman’s attorney Curt Dial asked him.
“Yes,” Waterman said. “They confided in me. They put their trust in me.”
The Des Moines County Civil Service Commission will reconvene at 8 a.m. ]Thursday, April 30.