Sheriff, Commissioner's Statements Conflict

Sebring Police released the statement on Wednesday that Commissioner Barbara Stewart typed and had notarized after she got into an argument Sept. 16 with Sheriff Susan Benton.

According to Stewart, she was in her automobile and backing out when Benton's personal vehicle pulled behind her. "Thus, this auto prevented me from backing out of my space."

The sheriff was interviewed over the phone by Cpl. Ryan Magnuson, who said she "was parked in the far lane away from Stewart's vehicle, leaving an open lane behind Stewart's vehicle, giving her access to leave at any time."

"I turned to see who was in the auto," Stewart's statement continued, "and saw Sheriff Benton walking quickly toward my car."

Benton told the officer she tapped on Stewart's window.

"She immediately began talking very loud (I would say yelling)," Stewart's statement continued. "The first thing (Benton) said was 'I could get a lawyer and throw $1 million at you."

The reference to $1 million was an item in the sheriff's budget, Benton said.

"She was getting more and more agitated," Stewart continued, and Benton was saying how much she did for the board, that Stewart was trying to make Benton look bad, and that (Benton) has been trying to meet so that she can give Stewart good information.

Stewart said she tried to reason with Benton. "I then told her a number of times I did not want to talk and wanted to leave. She kept on yelling/screaming. Finally, I told her I would do or say anything she wanted if she would just let me leave.

"I believed she was out of control and feared for my safety," Stewart wrote. Finally, Commissioner Guy Maxcy left the same Sept.16 budget meeting Stewart and Benton had been attending. Maxcy broke up the argument between the two women.

By Stewart's measurement, the incident took about 15 minutes.

Benton disagreed: "Sheriff Benton said Maxcy came by and she talked to him before leaving the area. Sheriff Benton said the entire incident took place within thirty seconds," Cpl. Magnuson wrote in his report.

"I did not block her in," Benton said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. "I was heading to my car, I parked in the lane across from her, I was simply going to hop out and ask her again, when we could meet and talk about the issues? I tapped on her window, she rolled down her window, and I asked, when can we meet? She immediately said, I'm not meeting with you. I won't need to meet with you. I don't want to talk about it.

"I tapped again," Benton said, and asked Stewart again for time to meet. Instead, Stewart accused Benton of simply wanting her way.

Maxcy pulled up at that moment, and said, "I want to ask you something," Benton said. "I never re-engaged in conversation with Barbara."

"Did our voices get loud? I don't know, I'm pretty animated."

Benton apologized to the community and to her staff for the embarrassment, but suggested that the incident may have been a result "of the political environment," Benton said, "because it took three days for her to make her report."

Sheriff's memo to Board of County Commissioners:
http://media.tbo.com/tbo/pdfs/0923budget.pdf

Commissioner Stewart's statement and police report:
http://media.tbo.com/tbo/pdfs/092408sdoc.pdf