Ex-Scottsbluff police captain gives up credentials over drugs

A former Scottsbluff police captain has given up his law enforcement credentials after admitting to stealing and using drugs.

Former Scottsbluff Police Captain Brian Wasson resigned from his position in September. At a meeting of the state’s Police Standards Advisory Council Wednesday, members heard an explanation. Crime Commission lawyer David Stolz described what Wasson told Scottsbluff Police Chief Kevin Spencer at the time.

“The respondent admitted that he had an opioid addiction, and he admitted taking fentanyl from the department’s evidence room. It was further acknowledged that this theft had been occurring for a little less than a year," Stolz said.

The council voted unanimously to accept Wasson’s voluntary surrender of his law enforcement certificates, and to recommend that they be revoked by the Crime Commission, which has the final say.

In another matter, the council voted unanimously to uphold a fine against Dundy County Sheriff C.J. Smith for failing to obtain a Nebraska certification within 8 months of taking office. Smith was elected sheriff last November. He submitted an application to be certified based on having been certified in Colorado, but Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Gau said the Colorado certification expired in 2017.

Smith has been fined the equivalent of his monthly salary since August, and now faces a recall election in November.