This is one of those stories where you can dig forever and never reach the bottom.
For starters, Ben Opelt is a now-former lieutenant with the Camden Police Department in Arkansas. On December 1, 2019 he was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence. Eight days later, Opelt was fired.
Sort of. Because terminating a police officer is often the start, rather than the end of a process.
Despite his having been terminated in December 2019, that firing is only now approaching finality. And it could have easily been reversed. In the wake of his termination, Opelt contested his dismissal in a proceeding before the Camden Civil Service Commission. That hearing concluded on February 22, 2020, resulting in a 500+ page case record, the revelation of signfiicant new information, and ultimately a decision upholding Opelt’s firing.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. On March 20, 2020, Ben Opelt filed a civil lawsuit appealing the determination of the Camden Civil Service Commission. That lawsuit was finally resolved on June 18, 2021, after Opelt requested voluntary dismissal without prejudice. His request was granted and the case was terminated without prejudice — meaning Opelt can refile if he wishes.
Wondering why he voluntarily dismissed his appeal?
Because he finally pleaded guilty to the criminal charges. From 2019.
In early June of this year, Ben Opelt was adjudicated guilty of driving while under the influence and refusal to submit to breath alcohol testing. A separate charge of failure to maintain control of his vehicle was dismissed.
Opelt was sentenced to six months probation and a mandatory DWI class. If he fails to attend the class within 90 days, he could face a ten day jail sentence. Opelt’s drivers license was also (finally) suspended and he was ordered to pay $850 in fines.
The “finally” is because Opelt had originally prevailed at a hearing before the “Office of Driver Control,” where he argued that he had been exhibiting signs of a concussion — not intoxication — at the accident scene, and there was no evidence of intoxication.
At the Civil Service Commission hearing the police department was represented by Chief of Police Boyd Woody. There was no attorney present on behalf of the agency, which makes their having prevailed all the more significant.
Notably, in 2016 Opelt was demoted from sergeant to officer and suspended for an unclear number of days after he failed to complete and submit multiple reports to the prosecutor’s office. One such incident resulted in a person suspected of having raped a young girl being released from jail after he was held for more than 60 days without charges… because Opelt didn’t provide the prosecutor a copy of the case file. In a curious twist, Opelt’s demotion only came out during the Civil Service Commission hearing because his own father brought it up during his testimony as a character witness for his son. (He testified that he had encouraged Opelt to appeal that demotion, but Opelt had not done so.)
A less significant note: the reason Opelt had a beard, per Chief Woody’s testimony, was “no-shave November.”
A more significant note: when Real World Police filed an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request for the State Police dash and in-car camera videos capturing Opelt’s arrest, Arkansas State Police responded that they were unable to locate the videos. Making that all the more odd, records from the Civil Service Commission hearing clearly show that the video existed.
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tl;dr — See the bolded text below.
This is long, but for those of you who are interested, the transcript of Camden Chief of Police Boyd Woody's opening and closing statements before the Civil Service Commission reveals significant information about Opelt's work history and the chief's handling of Opelt's termination. For brevity (if you can believe it), I have excised a fair amount of text that is not specifically relevant.
CHIEF WOODY: One of the most important, crucial parts of this job is honesty and integrity. Without that, we're not gonna have anything as a police officer. If we lie or if we're dishonest to the public, any of our coworkers, any of our supervisors, prosecutors, or judges, we're gonna lose all credibility. In today's society, there is so much scrutiny that the police officers protect their own and they stand behind the blue wall of silence. How will we ever begin to have trust in the public again if we don't hold our officers to that high standard.
I wanted to ensure that this department was transparent in this accident and that we don't do what you see in society today. A few hour a short hour later, Arkansas State Police Trooper Cherry from El Dorado F Troop arrived on the scene and ultimately arrested Officer Opelt for failing to maintain control of his vehicle, refusal to submit to a breath test, and the DWI.
On Sunday morning I began I went to the office and began gathering the evidence that I needed because of this incident. I took it very seriously. On Monday, December the 2nd, Officer Opelt made a phone call to my office. I spoke to him briefly. He said that he had been to the doctor and that he needed a couple of days off because of a concussion. I said, I would see you Friday. Also that same day, his father, Michael Opelt, came to the police station with his doctor's note saying that he would be off for the next two workdays which would put him back to work Friday.
I continued working on gathering evidence, trying to figure out exactly I the decision I was gonna be final with. asked Captain Sanders to make contact with Opelt. He had went out to Michael Opelt's house where Ben Opelt was staying and was refused access to speak with Opelt. On Thursday, I think that's December the 5th, Captain Sanders came to my office with another medical excuse that Michael Opelt gave him saying that Opelt was gonna be off for another 30 days. Opelt never called and told me that. I never spoke to him again after that Monday.
After reviewing all the information I had, without anything from Officer Opelt, any communications, I made the decision to terminate his employment with the Camden Police Department based on the facts of the evidence I had. I have completely lost confidence and trust in Ben Opelt, in his abilities to perform duties as a police officer in Camden.
I feel that his actions were careless. I felt that his actions brought disrespect to this department and also his fellow officers and that he had violated Camden Police Department policies. A single disruptive act committed by a single unprofessional officer can impact the entire profession, and that's what this did. At the end of the day, all police officers look alike; they act alike in the eyes of the average citizen. I received numerous calls in support of Officer Opelt, but I received as equal amount of calls wanting his dismissal.
During the course of this hearing I would like to be able to have the opportunity to present to you the materials that I collected, being the videos from the body cameras, the videos from the VFW club, statements from Chris Taylor who was the bartender at the bar that night, the complaint card, and the memorandums and statements from three officers that were on the scene. All three of those officers I communicated with told me, professional law enforcement officers, that Ben Opelt was intoxicated and that he was drunk.
Chief Woody’s closing statement reveals more details that came out during the course of the hearing:
CHIEF WOODY: I think mine's gonna be just as brief as I can possibly make it. You know, for the ever how many-eth time, I'm not an attorney. I'm not used to this, so all I can do is talk to y'all from the heart.
From what I'm seeing today is a lot of post-accident questions. My decision to terminate his position wasn't post-accident and whether or not he had a concussion. My intentions were on his conduct: that he went to the VFW club; he's on video at the VFW club; he's drinking alcohol; he leaves the VFW club; and he has a single vehicle accident. The body camera video shows him.
It was the conduct and the way that we're trying to run the Camden Police Department. To go out there, consume alcohol and get put into this position really put us in a bad light. Not just with the public, but overall law enforcement. We're supposed to be better than that. When we took that oath that said, we're not gonna we're gonna live our life unsoiled. We're not gonna act like this. We're not gonna go out to the clubs and drink and drive a vehicle. That put us in this position.
Now, listen, these guys have done a great job. I mean, they're paid attorneys, and I'm just the Chief of Police. And they've got me in a bind right now because I'm up here trying to do the best I can. I'm telling you guys as the Civil Service, I just don't tolerate that. I've told Ben Opelt personally, numerous times, to quit doing the life, living the lifestyle he lived. I never charged him with it before, but I have told him to his face, "One day this is gonna come back to get you. If you keep drinking and driving, this is gonna haunt you." And it did.
But now we're here, and they're saying that everything is not right, that all the doctor statements it could be, could not be. Was he drunk; was he not drunk? I guess that's what you guys are here to to figure out. I don't the question earlier about what was between me and Ben, I don't know what that question was. That's why I couldn't answer it. Ben Opelt and I were friends, like friends. He would come to my house. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt Ben Opelt. All I can tell you is I've told him so many times, "Quit living the lifestyle you're living. It's gonna get you in a bind." And it just has.
Whether I collected, on what day, the videos all that's great, I guess. But I'm telling you, the statements from the doctors, could it be, could it not be, I don't know about all that. This is not a DWI trial today. Today, we're talking about Officer Opelt's code of ethics, his ethics, and did he violate policy? Did he lie? Did he lie because he didn't know he was lying when he said, I’m coming from the house? But it's just a lie. He didn't come from the house. He came from the VFW, but he told the officers that [he came from his house]. So it looked – – on the surface, to me, it looked like a lie. I felt that there was more, you know, when he wouldn't make contact with me but that one time, but yet he can go to the doctor several times. He could drive out there and get a statement from the guy at the VFW, but you couldn't come see the Chief of Police.
MR. COLLINS: Madam Chairperson, that's a misstatement of facts. In fact, it was said his mother drove him out there. He never drove.
CHIEF WOODY: I'm sorry. He and his mother drove out to a location by the VFW. I just wonder why he and his mother couldn't come see me, and they just avoided me. I don't know. I can't answer any of those questions. I did not have a conversation with him, so I couldn't get his side of it. All I had was the facts that I gave you today and the videos. Whether or not he had a concussion, I don't know that that's been proven. It could be. The doctor didn't really say, yeah, he had a concussion, but he could have had one. Could that have altered some of the things he says? It could have, but it could not have. She said that. So I don't know.
Whatever his statements he made, I guess it could go either way, and that's why we're here today. My decision to terminate Opelt was not based off of whether or not he had a concussion or whether I followed up with 50 people out at the bar to get their statements that would be in light of him because that's his friends, and they said they're a family. The statements I got was what had from the body camera. I had five police officers that told me five certified police officers that say, he's intoxicated; he's drunk. Thank you.
Why are they all saying good morning to each other when its 8pm? Is the time messed up or is this an Arkansas thing ?
Why all the sighing?…..do your damned job.
When the cop was talking to who ever she was talking to in the beginning you can tell if there was no witnesses or calls they might of swept it under the rug.
Doesn’t matter anyways. He will get away with it anyways. We will pay him to be on leave while they figure it out in the courts. So he gets a vacation on our dollars .
Come on lady he was just living the salt life yo Chill out
Jesus that guy is fecking drunker than a skunk.
bad news, we have witnesses.. i love how cops dont know what to do with a DUI suspect when its a cop.. you do what you to to non cops.. you arrest them, no questions asked!
I feel bad for these great cops. They're doing something that they shouldn't be doing. Always back the badge and don't worry about all these snitches that would lock up their own mama if they could
Unfortunately for these cops, this would be considered as recording body camera footage using “the stinky endâ€. Shameful way to end a career but this wasn’t the only thing causing Mr. Opelts problems.
Salt Life sticker in Arkansas on a bullshit lifted Wrangler.
Jesus, what a douchebag.
Is she saying “fuck†at 27:14?
the man who pulled up in a white truck looked drunk, why did they not investigate him? was he also a cop
â€SIGH†😞🥺
I love how the trooper pulls up and pretty much just says fuck you and does his shit lol
6:27 that post Malone came outta nowhere lol
Just give the man a ride home jfc
"He's highly intoxicated ….sigh ,what do I do" how about follow protocol just like every other DWI stop and take his ass to jail and not give special treatment… Yeah let's start there 🤫ðŸ¤ðŸ˜¬ðŸ¤¬
i like how she makes sure to say "theres damage and witnesses" as to say theres no hiding this one.
FYI a police detective named Samantha Adney from the Visalia, CA police department was arrested earlier this week by the Hanford, CA police department for DUI and domestic battery. She had recently been recognized as her department’s 2020 officer of the year. It just happened a couple days ago though so the bodycam footage might be tied up for awhile
I mean every job is like that and while yes police need to have more maturity and understand that peoples lives depend on their job. People who work together tend to have each other’s back and get passes. But police need to be held at an higher accountability. friends or not, they broke the law. You aren’t some store clerk who can get away with knocking $20 off for their friends. He could have hit a fan with kids then what ?? Tf
How to properly Hysterically laugh at the Police??? ……. Police officers pull over humans and ask them why they smell like alcohol and ask them…… have you been drinking?? ……. Tell them…… I buy alchohol to use as my perfume!! …. Do you like it?? ……. and I have had so much to drink that I lost track!! …… I was NOT aware that drinking was against the law!! …… however…… I dumped the bottle of alcohol all over the outside of my clothes for perfume…… and this Police officer REFUSED to believe that I am innocent!! ….. except….. funny thing is…… I have absolutely NOT drank any alcohol in so many many many years…… It actually…… alcohol was never really my thing…… however……. great laughter is completely hilarious when I get told that I am an alcoholic!! …… How exactly does one set out to be an alcoholic when you absolutely do NOT like alcohol very much at all???
Oh look……. the humans are having great difficulty in figuring out exactly why they are NOT Intelligent….. NOT at all!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I felt every sigh the arresting officer gave.
Whenever a person who is pulled over for a suspected DUI turns out to be a fellow PO, the arresting officer knows that their day/night is fucked as they have to proceed accordingly that includes having to call chiefs and/or supervisors who have to arrive at the scene and follow their processes accordingly, and this whole matter will take at least an hour at the scene prior to the DUI PO being taken to jail and being processed, fingerprinted, etc.
Punishments should be a lot harsher for DUI. With taxi services, Uber, etc. there is no excuse to be drinking and driving. Too many innocent people killed because of idiots driving drunk/intoxicated
Anyone else would have been hammered in the ground. Is he carrying a weapon besides the jeep. Drunk with a firearm. isn’t that against the law.
Seems to me like the trooper was pretty annoyed he had to come out and deal with that.
"What do I need to do" do your job he ain't above the law lady.
First question “was there a witness “ !! Tells ya right there !
He's one of ours and there's witnesses and we can't cover it up so we called you. I really hate these no good coward mf!💯🤬😡🤬😡
They asked what happened and he didn’t answer. Raccoon a big ass raccoon ran out in front of me. It’s not a good excuse but it’s better than saying nothing. 😂
With cámara and people out the hurt a person's life just because they can. You have to lead by example today. Honestly people drink and drive and never get caught. Cops are not immune.
If you want to die do a shot every time she sighs.
Well, I really liked this Sergeant right up to the point she walked away from the Trooper leaving him COMPLETELY alone and uncovered for his arrest! THEN, she did not make it clear to the Trooper that there were in fact TWO SEPERATE EMERGENCY 911 CALLS from other motorists reporting him! when the Trooper mentioned that there were no witnesses…. Two weeks off please
Why are they not treating him as a civilian if he was any ordinary man he would be doing all the dui test they just letting him walk wherever no handcuffs or anything. I guess that's the way it works they cover each other's asses!
If you desire to enforce the law it’s important you must obey the law ..
@26:35 ish…I wonder if he got to keep his personalized plates 😳
RIP beautiful Jeep…he dun f*cked her up!
I know that TONS of photos are taken w/ incidents like this. The male officer said he couldn't get a very clear pic of the damaged area. Having a BWC is great since stills can be taken from videos showing the exact angles.
I KNEW HIM FORM BEOFRES. HE S AGOO MANS BUT HE IS HEAVEYON THE BOTTLESD.
Homegirl’s initial sigh says it all …🤣😂🤣