Editor’s Note: The original story has been updated to clarify the Teton County Prosecuting Attorney’s involvement.
TETON COUNTY, Idaho — The Teton County Sheriff’s Office (Idaho) announced on Monday that two of its deputies have been charged for misdemeanor crimes for acts perpetrated while on duty this year.
According to the announcement, Troy Lester Dameron was charged with indecent exposure after allegedly exposing himself to a dispatcher while on duty in August. Fred Robert Hale was charged with theft and alteration or concealment of evidence for allegedly taking property from the scene of an unattended death investigation in September. A statement by Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal clarified that Hale allegedly took “personal items of a decedant” and then “[altered] his bodycam video to conceal it.”
The officers were each placed on administrative leave, and Teton County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) reported them to the Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Internal investigations are being conducted in addition to the criminal investigations.
Both officers were charged by Neal on Friday, Oct. 27, and arrest warrants were issued for both officers by Magistrate Judge Brendon Taylor. Taylor set bond at $15,000 for Dameron and $10,000 for Hale. Both men surrendered themselves to deputies and have since posted bond.
Both cases were unsealed on Monday, Oct. 30.
“Teton County Prosecuting Attorney Bailey Smith filed for appointment of a special prosecutor and recused herself in both cases, as contemplated by Idaho law, due
to the close working relationship between her Office and the Sheriff’s Office,” Neal’s statement said.
TCSO says the internal investigations are expected to be completed within the next two weeks.
