News brief: Lewis County deputy arrested for DUI

Updated at 11:52 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Another Lewis County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested for driving under the influence.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield in a news release this morning says he is extremely embarrassed and disappointed.

Deputy Christopher P. Fulton, 31, of Napavine, was off duty when he was stopped by a trooper just before 1 a.m. on Saturday on Interstate 5 near Centralia’s Mellen Street interchange, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Fulton was driving his own vehicle and was arrested for DUI but not booked into jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

Mansfield said in the news release he does not know why his deputy was not jailed, but he has placed him on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated.

In September, an 11-year-veteran of the the sheriff’s office was stopped by a trooper when he attempted to drive through the closed area of a collision scene just off Interstate 5 south of Chehalis and arrested for driving drunk.

Deputy Jeffrey S. Humphrey was also put on leave, and after an internal investigation, Mansfield imposed a two-week unpaid suspension and Humphrey was removed from his position as a detective.

“I will not tolerate this type of performance from my employees either on or off duty,” Mansfield stated about the latest arrest. “After my internal investigation is complete, I will provide a full account of the incident to the people we serve.”

Fulton is scheduled to go before a judge today in Lewis County District Court.

Driving under the influence is gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and or a $5,000 fine.

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28 Responses to “News brief: Lewis County deputy arrested for DUI”

  1. Dointherightthing says:

    It’s about time some of these deputies have been caught drunk behind the wheel. There is a group of them that likes to get together weekly at a local bar in Napavine. They drive their personal vehicles, drink for hours, and get back behind the wheel and drive home. No one ever says a word since they all live in the area and no one wants retribution. We know which ones you are, so don’t come knocking for an election endorsement.

  2. Free Air says:

    Well, it sure didn’t take long for Dave to try and turn this story from a DUI to all about him.
    I was wondering how long that was going to take.

  3. David Low says:

    I was choked for recording my own traffic stop. Jonathan Meyer told the Centralia Police that it was illegal to record the police. I guess here is Lewis County the rubber judges and prosecutors just make up the rules as they go. This police officer should have been taken to jail for endangering the public he swore to protect. Eventually a law suit will bring the Lewis County Police Department to it’s knees and prove cover ups have been going on for years. As a community we need to ban together and remove the dirty cops and people in position that think there above the law.

  4. Larry Butler Fan says:

    Free Air says:

    Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 2:22 pm:

    “Nevertheless, you posted your points as if they were fact when your points are very false. I just pointed out how wrong your points are.”

    She did not present them as facts. They were obviously presented as opinions. Big difference there einstein. You should seriously learn to distinguish between fact and opinion.

  5. Fill says:

    Who really gives a shit what happens to the guy or how tight Rosemary isn’t. What is blindingly obvious is how this current administration, the same as the past administration, will go down in history as a farce!

  6. Free Air says:

    Rosemary Piccolo says:
    Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 1:46 pm
    @ Free Air….I wrote that in response to several post, not just one. I was making a point. I am not stupid, nor do I need you to “explain things” to me like I am 5.

    Nevertheless, you posted your points as if they were fact when your points are very false. I just pointed out how wrong your points are. My apologizes if you felt my writing was at the level of a 5 year old. That was not my intent. Just trying to clarify the difference between what is real and what you accused.

  7. bahlsdeep says:

    Oh im sure Rosemary is very tight. Tighter than a ……. Nevermind

  8. Rosemary Piccolo says:

    oh, lest I forget….it is LOSE, not loose. Loose implies that something is not tight enough, etc.

  9. Rosemary Piccolo says:

    @ Free Air….I wrote that in response to several post, not just one. I was making a point. I am not stupid, nor do I need you to “explain things” to me like I am 5.

  10. Free Air says:

    Rosemary Piccolo says:
    Monday, January 6, 2014 at 11:11 pm
    1. He should have been jailed, like any other citizen.

    Not every citizen is jailed. Some are given a ride home after the BAC test. I’ve heard that on the scanner quite often.

    2. He should be held accountable for DUI, like any other citizen.

    He is being held accountable. Did you miss the part about being arrested for the DUI?

    3. He should have consequences, like any other citizen.

    His consequences may well be tougher than “any other citizen”. Most of us don’t loose our job over a DUI, let alone end a career.

    4. He works for a law enforcement agency ( Lewis County Sheriffs Office) and should be subject to discipline from said agency.

    Your saying these things like he won’t be. I’m betting he will be subject to discipline. We’ll wait and see.

    5. Because he chose to work in law enforcement, he should be held to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen. He swore to uphold the law. He broke the law. He deserves to receive punishment.

    And I’m betting he will. Let’s see where this is in a month or two.

  11. robert says:

    The LCSD has been using and making bad decisions for years their foullness on duty as well as off duty is starting to filter out into the public’s eye’s and hopefully the feds will investigate and change will come, If not I’m sure that they will continue to be corrupt until somebody is hurt or killed.

  12. robert says:

    I guess if the boss can kidnapp a child and hold her against her will and because he said it was for her safety it was swept under the rug when in reality the sheriffs was only protecting his own. In every response to the corruption in the LCSD our sheriff talks about laws and regulations he has to go bye, However every morning he briefs the foul officers who work under his fullness knowing what they do off duty and on.The people of this county are fed up with having corruption from the judges to the officers on the street.I hope that this gets enough attention to warrent a feds investigation so we can have our livesback

  13. Doomsday says:

    Now that’s laughable! Didn’t Dallas Hogan get convicted of rape on duty? He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.

  14. meh says:

    Enough. is Enough – prophetic words? Time will tell….

  15. Enough. is Enough says:

    Up here at Thurston County we dont tolerate this nonsense. We keep each other in check so as not to embarass the brass.That way they can report results to the press rather than apologies. Its no wonder there are funding issues. Our elected officials are under the microscope and must be sure public funds properly allocated. How can they be confident allocating money to a group of guys that they keep reading about in the Monday papers?

  16. lewiscountyElitesNotbetterthentherest says:

    Skeletons are starting to come out of the back yards of many many corrupt officials. Why should they get paid leave while under investigation? I agree that they should face stiffer punishment for breaking the laws that they are sworn in to protect. If not stiffer punishment, then what does that say to the public, and most of all to the children about law enforcement, and TRUST? Mansfield and the whole lot of them need to be fired and a whole new administration hired. With full back ground checks, vigorous mental eval., and eval. about the constitution. Something really needs to change with in this corrupt county.

  17. Rosemary Piccolo says:

    1. He should have been jailed, like any other citizen.
    2. He should be held accountable for DUI, like any other citizen.
    3. He should have consequences, like any other citizen.
    4. He works for a law enforcement agency ( Lewis County Sheriffs Office) and should be subject to discipline from said agency.
    5. Because he chose to work in law enforcement, he should be held to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen. He swore to uphold the law. He broke the law. He deserves to receive punishment.

  18. BobbyinLC says:

    Police officers and public officials should be held to a higher standard of obeying the law. If they don’t like it don’t run for office or take the job.
    The deputy should face the same consequences as any other citizen for driving under the influence. Should he keep his job?

  19. shawn says:

    So what your saying Gottfried is they should just slap him on his wrist and let it go. Because I’ve seen a lot of duo repeaters out there they usually end up killing someone. They should follow what any normal citizen has to go through plus some.

  20. Larry Butler Fan says:

    Marijuana is safer than alcohol.

    A very avoidable circumstance.

    Do the crime, do the time. Not everybody gets to get drunk and drive.

  21. GoodGrief says:

    Almost any business that requires trained personnel has in place an employee advisory service that provides counseling or treatment recommendations in cases like this. The County (that is US) has a HUGE investment in each of the deputies, just the initial cost of hiring is enormous, not counting ongoing education and training.

    Why throw that all away if this is a one-time mistake? Why not allow him the opportunity to receive treatment? Are we such a disposable society now that we just toss away everything? Even some of our most valued citizens?

    I think the cry for “punishment” is vengeance and nothing else. Some folks here have a real complex with authority and cannot accept that we have human beings in those positions, and that those humans are fallible AND that can be accepted and managed.

    If the Sheriff blows up and acts out of anger, that will send a STRONG message to any potential job seekers in the area… go somewhere else. I know that a Sheriff with a reputation as a hot head who has a knee-jerk reaction to this sort of incident is not the kind of “manager” I would ever work for.

  22. Doomsday says:

    PS what if he had harbored a runaway Sheriff? Would you tolerate that?

  23. Doomsday says:

    I see the typical Lewis County emotional knee jerk reaction mob is out in force! That’s what’s sad!

  24. Lisarae says:

    Making bad decisions, and violating the law, especially those that put the lives of other people at risk, by “law enforcement” officials, should never be tolerated. These people are paid with tax dollars to uphold and defend the law, and protect its citizens. A code of conduct, personal or otherwise should be expected by the people, and upheld by public employees~

  25. shawn says:

    He needs to see what the other side of a cell is really like

  26. Free Air says:

    Just proof that the general public does not have an exclusive on “stupid”.
    A very sad way to betray the public trust.

  27. BobbyinLC says:

    I think it sad when someone in law enforcement makes a bad decision. They are human just like any other citizen.

  28. Ericka says:

    How sad