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The director of the Park County Office of Homeland Security was arrested outside of Casper Sunday night, on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Charging documents allege …
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The director of the Park County Office of Homeland Security was arrested outside of Casper Sunday night, on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Charging documents allege that Jack Tatum — who was driving his government-owned vehicle — had a blood alcohol level that was more than three times the legal limit for driving.
Tatum pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of DWUI at a Monday appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court. The 33-year-old was released on bond pending further proceedings.
Park County Sheriff Scott Steward, who oversees the homeland security office, said Wednesday that Tatum has been placed on administrative leave. The sheriff declined to comment further on the personnel matter.
Tatum had been attending the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas, where he was training to become certified as a peace officer. Steward said having the homeland security director certified as an officer was “a way to enhance our capabilities as a department.”
According to charging documents, a citizen called law enforcement around 8:30 p.m. Sunday to report that someone in a “Park County Homeland Security” pickup truck had cut off another driver, was swerving all over the road and traveling slowly at times on U.S. Highway 20/26 west of Casper.
Trooper Eric Sandstead spotted the county truck driving east at about 44 mph, well under the highway’s speed limit. When Sandstead pulled behind the vehicle, he said Tatum made a U-turn and nearly hit a light pole, drove through the westbound lanes and entered the median. The trooper described Tatum’s driving as “erratic.”
After stopping Tatum, the trooper said he smelled alcohol on his breath; Sandstead later found an open bottle of Smirnoff Vodka between the driver’s seat and center console.
Following a series of standard field sobriety tests, “I determined that Tatum was incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely, due to impairment from alcohol consumption,” Sandstead wrote. Tatum was placed under arrest around 9 p.m.
“Due to Tatum’s level of impairment and unwillingness to follow directions, Tatum was unable to sit in the back of my patrol car,” Sandstead wrote. Tatum instead rode to the Natrona County Detention Center with a sheriff’s deputy, according to the affidavit.
Once at the Casper jail, around 9:45 p.m., Tatum provided two breath samples, which put his blood alcohol level at 0.272% and 0.267%. The affidavit indicates that Sanstead recommended additional misdemeanor charges of having an open container of alcohol in a moving vehicle and careless driving, but they do not appear to have been filed by Natrona County prosecutors.
Tatum has served as Park County’s Homeland Security director since June 2019.
