Florida Governor Has Sheriff Arrested, Removed From Office for Allowing Concealed Carry

Tallahassee – Inspectors with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations obtained a warrant for the arrest of Nicholas Lee Finch, 50, of Bristol, Fla., earlier today on one count of official misconduct, a violation of section 838.022, Florida Statutes.

Investigators allege that Finch destroyed or removed official arrest documents from the Liberty County Jail, making it appear as though an arrest never occurred. The investigation revealed that a Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrested a Liberty County resident on March 8, 2013 for carrying a concealed firearm, a third degree felony. Shortly after the suspect was booked into the Liberty County Jail, Finch allegedly released the suspect and altered or destroyed documents associated with his arrest.
Finch was arrested just after 5 p.m. today and was booked into the Liberty County Jail. He was released on his own recognizance. Finch was elected Liberty County Sheriff in 2012.
The State Attorney’s Office, 2nd Judicial Circuit will prosecute this case.

According to WCTV, the sheriff was just trying to uphold the Second Amendment rights of his constituents,

Sheriff Nick Finch has declined to comment on his arrest. His attorney, Jimmy Judkins, released the following statement:
“The records at the jail show exactly what happened in this case and the records speak the truth. The sheriff looked at the facts and said ‘I believe in the second ammendment and we’re not going to charge him.’ That is not misconduct at all. That is within the Sheriff’s perogative whether to charge someone or not.”

We’ll have to wait to see how this one plays out. If the sheriff truly was trying to look out for interests of his constituents then we have an issue. If he got caught trying to get a friend off a gun charge then that’s another thing entirely. I guess we’ll have to wait for more details.