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<span class="">Elberta Police officer fired for offensive language, breach of policy</span>
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<p class="">Town Council takes action after allegations of offensive language and other municipal policy violations</p><br><dl id="story-font-size" class=""><dd>
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<p class="">CATHY HIGGINS/Staff Photo</p>
<h3>Town of Elberta</h3>
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Posted: <span class="" title="2013-08-02T15:03:00-05:00">Friday, August 2, 2013 3:03 pm</span>
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<span class="" title="2013-08-03T03:32:51-05:00">
Updated: 8:32 am, Sat Aug 3, 2013.
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<span class=""><span class="">By CATHY HIGGINS
Onlooker Editor
<a href="mailto:onlooker@gulfcoastnewspapers.com">onlooker@gulfcoastnewspapers.com</a></span></span>
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<p>ELBERTA, Ala. — The town of Elberta terminated Police Officer Ric Rouse this week.Following a special executive session Wednesday evening, the Town
Council unanimously voted to dismiss Ric Rouse from the Elberta Police
Department.</p></span><span class="">
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<p>“We had several assertions that people had made,” Elberta Mayor Marvin Williams said in an interview.</p>
<p>Among them was Rouse’s use of racially offensive language, an issue that had been addressed previously in 2012.</p>
<p>“There was an incident in his record,” Williams said.</p>
<p>Therefore, when Elberta Police Chief Stan DeVane
took office in the spring of 2012 he conducted sensitivity training for
Elberta staff and municipal leaders.</p>
<p>Williams stressed the importance of not using racially offensive language.</p>
<p>“In today’s society, you can’t do that,” he said.</p>
<p>The mayor also said action was taken because town
policies were broken. One policy involved Rouse’s failure to follow
procedures after a vehicular accident.</p>
<p>“If you get into an accident, you’re supposed to
contact your supervisor immediately and submit to a drug test within two
hours,” Williams said.</p>
<p>Rouse had worked as a full-time officer with the
Elberta Police Department for the past three years and part time for at
least two years before that. His dismissal means the second recent loss
of an officer.</p>
<p>“We had already lost one of our officers to Orange Beach,” Williams said.</p>
<p>Including DeVane, the Elberta Police Department
has six law-enforcement officers. Williams said efforts are under way to
fill the two vacancies.</p>
<p>“We’re interviewing anybody whom is APOSCT (Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission) certified,” he said. </p>
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