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Generally speaking a county will defend an employee if a lawsuit alleging liability is filed, and if the employee was accused of an activity causing harm while in the course of performing official employee duties.

The County Board last week, however, declined any aid in defending former sheriff, Rick Duncan. In a case a few years ago, a county employee was harassed and stalked and Duncan was convicted of offenses that happened while she worked as a crime analyst in the county.  Duncan left office and the County Board also rejected a request then to help in his defense. 

In this second vote to reject Duncan’s lawyer’s request for defense and indemnification for his client the commissioners  felt the alleged offending behavior had no relevance to doing the sheriff’s job.  

Duncan and his lawyer had the right to appear before the County Board but they were not present last week.

Duncan was acting in bad faith, said Board Chair Ben Montzka and certainly the activity he is accused of was not related to doing his job.  The rest of the commissioners concurred.

There is also an unresolved criminal case against the former sheriff in which he is charged with felony level sexual indecencies against a relative, he initiated in 2017. 

The sister-in-law also filed the civil suit in U.S District Court which commissioners did not get involved in on Duncan’s behalf. (This civil suit includes the county  because he was using the authority of his position, his squad car and uniform.)

The criminal case was filed in 2022 and this civil suit was filed in March 2023.

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