Ex-chief's state-level hearing is postponed
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 2, 2008 1:47 PM
APEX -- A hearing to consider the suspension/revocation of the law enforcement officer certification of former Mount Olive Chief of Police Emmett Ballree has been postponed until August.
The hearing, originally scheduled for this past Thursday before the Probable Cause Committee of the N.C. Criminal Justice Training and Standards Commission, was postponed by committee Chairwoman Elizabeth Bunting.
Ms. Bunting told investigators that she wanted some issues involving the case to be resolved before continuing, said Noelle Talley, public information officer for the N.C. Dept. of Justice.
Ms. Talley said she was not privy to the issues in question.
The hearing was called to determine the validity of a complaint that followed Ballree, who is now the chief of police at Boiling Springs Lake near Wilmington, from his former job in Mount Olive.
Ballree resigned as chief of police last year after he allegedly used a town gas card to purchase gas for his private vehicles.
Ballree said he did so because he was using his personal vehicle for police work. The town did not investigate the complaint after Ballree left.
The hearing will held Aug. 28 at 9 a.m. at the N.C. Dept. of Correction Staff Develop-ment and Training Office in Apex.