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Sheriff's Deputy Involved in Fatal Traffic Crash Loses His Job

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Release Date: July 15, 2008

Sheriff’s Deputy Involved in Fatal Traffic Crash Loses His Job

Alvin Dortch

A Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy was fired today for violating several Sheriff’s Office policies in connection with a traffic crash last month on Interstate 240 at Jackson Avenue.  The crash killed a Memphis man.

“Within hours of the traffic crash, we realized Deputy Dortch was not truthful about what happened.  He refused to cooperate with our investigators.  As a result, he was charged with violating several policies and was terminated from the Sheriff’s Office,” said Shelby County Sheriff Mark H. Luttrell, Jr.

The administrative action taken today against Deputy Alvin Dortch is separate from a criminal investigation about the fatal crash.  Results of the criminal probe by Sheriff’s Office detectives and agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been forwarded to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Professional Standards and Integrity charged Dortch today with several department violations:

•  SOR 101: Compliance With Regulations

Disciplinary action may be taken for, but not limited to, violations of the stated policy, rules, regulations, orders, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the SCSO Policy # 106 Code of Ethics, directives of the SCSO, and all federal, state and local laws, and Shelby County Government policies. To Wit: SCSO Policy & Procedure # 455 – Deadly Force, Section 15 – Commissioned Officer Cooperation, Subsection A: All commissioned officers must cooperate fully with the General Investigation Bureau (GIB) / Homicide Unit and the Bureau of Professional Standards and Integrity (BOPSI) during the course of a firearms discharge investigation.  

• Dortch refused to cooperate in the administrative investigation.

 Deputy Dortch
July 15, 2008

• SOR 108: Truthfulness

An employee will not give any information, either oral or written, in connection with any assignment, investigation, or give testimony knowingly incorrect, false, or deceitful except in the lawful performance of assigned duties such as lawful, documented, authorized undercover activity. This includes a prohibition against deliberate or intentional omissions or misrepresentations of material fact.  Employees will not make false reports either verbally or in writing.

• Dortch omitted the information regarding the discharging of his firearm in his written memo.

• SOR 111: Disobedience of an Order

No employee will willfully disobey a lawful order or directive, either written or oral. This regulation prohibits disobedience by an employee of any lawful oral or written order or directive of a superior officer, or employee or another employee of any rank or position who is relaying the order of a superior.

• After given a “Garrity Notice” and ordered by Lieutenant Oscar Harris to give a statement, Dortch refused.

• SOR 404: Discharging a Firearm

An employee will immediately report to a supervisory officer in the prescribed manner whenever his/her firearm is discharged in accordance with SCSO orders and directives.

• Dortch did not notify anyone that he discharged his duty weapon. It was only discovered when Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Investigators viewed Dortch’s patrol car video while gathering facts about the crash.

Deputy Alvin Dortch, 47, was a member of the Metro D.U.I. Squad and had been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1982. 

The events surrounding his termination began just after midnight on the morning of June 28. Dortch said he was parked on the east-bound lane of Interstate 240 North near Warford and had just concluded a traffic stop on a suspected impaired driver.  That’s when Dortch said a pick up truck driven by Ignacio Arcos, 23, of Memphis, sped past his squad car. 

Dortch said he attempted to follow the truck but lost sight of it.  Moments later, Dortch said he saw the pick up truck upside down on the Interstate 240 Exit Ramp to go south on Jackson Avenue.  Arcos was dead at the scene.  No one else was inside the truck.

After investigators reviewed a video from Dortch’s squad car dash camera, it was determined Dortch gave an inaccurate account of what happened.

The video taken from Dortch’s patrol car dash camera won’t be released since it is part of the criminal investigation.  

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