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Van Buren deputy suspended, assigned to court duty

Posted at 2:15 PM, Aug 03, 2015
and last updated 2015-08-03 14:15:56-04

VAN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. – A Van Buren County Sheriff’s Deputy has been suspended for five days without pay and reassigned to court duty after being in a crash during a pursuit on March 28.

Deputy Todd Oliver was absolved in May of any criminal actions in the crash that injured a teen, but Sheriff Dale Gribler determined that Oliver did violate department policy.  Oliver joined the pursuit believing that another sergeant needed immediate back up.  While in pursuit, Oliver said he believed a vehicle in front of him would move over to the shoulder, but it did not, causing him to hit it from behind.

Oliver expressed regret for the incident and said in the hearing that he became a police officer to help people, not to cause pain to anyone.

Oliver has been suspended for five days without pay and assigned as the court officer in Paw Paw.