Expert: Philip Sweeting - 11/8/2004

Question
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Followup To
Question -
In my book, a small town sheriff(in Larimer County, CO) is accused of murder by a citizen.  What other law enforcemnt agencies(state, county?) would be called in to investigate and would said sheriff be removed from office?
Thanks.   
Answer -
The state more than likely would do the investigation but the prosecutor's office could also do the investigation. The governor could remove the sheriff from office since he is an elected official.

When you say the "state" would most likely do the investigation, in general, what would be the procedure and titles of those doing the investigation?  Do governors very often get involved in cases like this?
Thanks.  

Answer
The Governor would remove the sheriff from office if he was charged with a crime and name a replacement either temporary or if the sheriff was convicted, then the governor would name a permanet replacement until the next election. The state police do report to the Governor so even though it would be a technicality, they could not assist in the investigation without his approval.

In Florida as all states have the state police.In FL they are called the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).They are like the FBI but only have powers in their state. There is another division of state police called the Highway Patrol but they are in uniform and are responsible for traffic enforcement.

If this was a case in FL the prosecutors office in the county where the crime took place would have the responsibility of prosecuting the crime and they would more than likely ask the state police (FDLE)to investigate the case since having the sheriff's department do it would be a conflict.

If you do a search on the internet for CO state police you should be able to locate their web page and find out what they call themselves. But like the FBI, the state police/investigators have their own crime lab and investigators. The state police have powers throughout the state so they can investigate and arrest anyone at anyplace in the state. Just like the FBI can for a federal crime anyplace in the country.

Hope this helps.