INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County prosecutor's office has told Boone County's sheriff that a man's appointment as special deputy should be revoked, saying convictions of sexual battery and impersonation of a public servant disqualify him.

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The inter-county communication about Michael S. Sherfick came Monday, less than a week after an Indianapolis police officer stopped him for allegedly disregarding a stop sign. Police said Sherfick, 33, of Westfield, used his Boone County Sheriff's Department credentials in an attempt to get himself out of a citation.

 

In a letter, the prosecutor's office informed Boone County Sheriff Dennis Brannon that according to state law, a special deputy must never have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor repugnant to accepted moral standards. Sherfick's convictions, therefore, disqualify him, the letter said.

The letter, which also was given to Boone County's prosecutor, expressed confidence that Brannon would revoke Sherfick's appointment and confiscate Sherfick's credentials "and any other law enforcement identifiers" from the sheriff's department.

Brannon told RTV6 Monday that he would comment about the issue Tuesday, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported.

Sherfick is a registered sex offender, having pleaded guilty in 1994 to Class D felony sexual battery in a case involving an Indianapolis woman. After serving three years of probation, a court amended the conviction to a Class A misdemeanor.

Sherfick also was convicted in Marion County of impersonating a public servant, a Class A misdemanor.

In December 2001, after Sherfick allegedly got into a verbal altercation with hotel security personnel in Atlanta, Brannon said he would pull Sherfick's credentials. Sherfick, however, kept the credentials, Rinehart reported.

Sherfick was appointed a special deputy more than five years ago, Rinehart reported.

 

LEBANON, Ind. -- A Boone County special deputy who is a registered sex offender and has been accused of showing badges to try to get out of traffic tickets has been stripped of his sheriff's department credentials, Sheriff Dennis Brannon said Tuesday.

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This is the second time in less than four years that Brannon said he would pull the credentials of Michael S. Sherfick, 33, of Westfield, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported.

 

Earlier this week, the Marion County prosecutor's office told Brannon in a letter that Sherfick's appointment as special deputy should be revoked, saying convictions of sexual battery and impersonation of a public servant disqualify him.

The letter came Monday, less than a week after an Indianapolis police officer stopped Sherfick for allegedly disregarding a stop sign. Police said Sherfick used his Boone County Sheriff's Department credentials then -- and two other times in the past month -- in an attempt to get himself out of a citation.

"I can tell you right now (the credentials) have been revoked," Brannon said. "(After) the traffic stop, I told IPD that they could put them in the property room. We talked, and (the credentials) have been revoked, and it will stay that way."

Brannon also said in 2001 that he would confiscate Sherfick's credentials, after Sherfick allegedly got into a verbal altercation with hotel security personnel in Georgia.

Sherfick, however, kept the credentials, Rinehart reported. Also, Brannon recommended Sherfick for law enforcement jobs in Brooklyn and Westport -- jobs he quickly lost amid controversy about his past.

In Brooklyn, Sherfick served as assistant town marshal for six months before being fired when authorities there learned of his sexual battery conviction, Rinehart reported.

"I put in my letter of recommendation (that) what he has done for me has been satisfactory (and) that I was aware of his past," Brannon said. "At that point, it was up to them to decide whether or not they wanted to hire him."