CLAY, W.Va. — A State Police sergeant previously injured in the line of duty may now be in hot water over an alleged incident from last week in Clay County.
State police announced Tuesday Sgt. A.D Nichols was placed on administrative leave Nov. 23 over a hunting-related incident in Clay County.
“In accordance with established policy and procedure, the West Virginia State Police has begun an internal investigation. Internal investigations are conducted completely independent of other potential or pending investigations,” the agency’s statement said.
The incident appears to involve allegations Nichols and another individual allegedly shot the DNR’s “Robo Deer” during an undercover road hunting and spotlighting investigation conducted by the Natural Resources Police on a rural road in Clay County on Nov. 23. Division of Natural Resources Police were there to follow up on a number of complaints about illegal hunting activity in the area.
“We are investigating an incident in Clay County,” Colonel Jerry Jenkins, head of the Division of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Section, told MetroNews Wednesday.
The incident reportedly came to public attention when Nichols himself allegedly bragged on Facebook in a post about shooting the Robo deer and getting away with it. The post, if it existed, has since been removed and his Facebook page disabled, but is believed to be the source which sparked the internal investigation.
Nichols suffered multiple injuries on New Year’s Eve 2012 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a suspected shoplifter in the parking lot of the Kmart in St. Albans. Nichols was off-duty when he noticed store security chasing the woman from the store and attempted to stop her when he was struck.
Nichols is currently assigned to the State Police Planning and Research Section. State Police had no further comment on the case beyond their initial release.