FDLE Arrests Sheriff

Eight (8) days ago, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested the Liberty County Sheriff, Nicholas Finch, a Republican, who was elected in 2012 with no party affilliation, opposing alleged local corruption.  FDLE has charged Finch with intentional destruction of evidence concerning the detention of a man found to have a concealed weapon. In interviews with right-leaning segregationists and John Birch Society bloggers on the internet, Sheriff Nicholas Finch has claimed the right to destroy evidence because he supports "the Second Amendment."  That dog won't hunt.
Upon his arrest, Sheriff Finch allegedly destroyed government records at the Liberty County Jail.  Spoliation of evidence is a serious crime.
Sheriff Finch was rightly suspended from office by Florida Governor Richard Scott pendente lite (pending litigation).  The Florida Governor has the power to remove elected officials from office when they are charged with crimes, and to remove them permanently upon conviction. 
Here's Gannett's Tallahassee Democrat article about the arrest of Sheriff Nicholas Finch (which was evidently not considered newsy enough for more than a single sentence -- only one unilluminating sentence from AP -- by the conservative-Republican-leaning St. Augustine Record, whose credo is definitely not "All the News That's Fit to Print").

Liberty County Sheriff Finch arrested in alleged jail coverup
Written by Jeff Burlew Democrat senior writer
 4, 2013 Tallahassee.com

Liberty County Sheriff Nick Finch was arrested earlier today on charges he released a man from the county jail and tried to cover up his arrest by altering or destroying official documents.
Gov. Rick Scott suspended Finch from office and appointed Carl Causey, assistant special agent in charge of FDLE's Pensacola Region, as interim sheriff.
Finch, 50, of Bristol, was booked into the Liberty County Jail on a charge of official misconduct, a third-degree felony, and released on his own recognizance, said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for FDLE.
According to court records, Finch's arrest stems from the March 8 arrest of another man, Floyd Eugene Parrish, on a charge of carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
Sgt. James Joseph Hoagland of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office arrested Parrish after stopping his car and finding a loaded semi-automatic pistol hidden in his pocket. Parrish was taken to jail and placed into a holding cell while jail workers began documenting his arrest and processing him, according to court records.
One jail worker told investigators that after Hoagland left the jail, Finch arrived with one of Parrish's family members and spoke with Floyd Parrish inside the holding cell. Finch then went into the jail control room, took possession of the arrest file and said Parrish would be released and no charges would be filed, according to court records.
Hoagland told investigators that several days later, he talked with Finch about Parrish's release, and Finch told him he "believed in Second Amendment rights."
Investigators said in court records that Parrish's name was whited-out from the county jail log. While Hoagland was able to provide a copy of Parrish's arrest affidavit, the original arrest record has not been found.
Liberty County Sheriff's Office workers also told investigators that Finch ordered the release of the confiscated pistol and another gun found in Parrish's vehicle from the evidence room.
Finch was elected sheriff last year. In a written statement, Gov. Scott said he's confident that Causey "will serve the families of Liberty County well during this interim term.” In addition to various FDLE posts, Causey, 53, of Gulf Breeze, also served 11 years with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

The late Birmingham, Alabama Police Commissioner Bull Connor