SUTTONS BAY -- Leelanau County sheriff's Deputy Bruce Beeker quit.
Beeker unexpectedly resigned Feb. 20, Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf said, a few hours before a scheduled disciplinary hearing. Oltersdorf wouldn't provide specifics, but said the hearing involved alleged "severe misconduct" on Beeker's part.
Oltersdorf fired Beeker in April 2006 after he repeatedly made inappropriate contacts with a woman who assaulted her ex-boyfriend. Beeker, who responded to the assault, asked the woman to go four-wheeling with him and later called her dozens of times and visited her at home.
An arbitrator eventually ordered the department to re-hire Beeker, but Oltersdorf didn't give him patrol duties after the re-hire. He was given a desk job and remained there until his resignation.
Last year, Beeker and the police union unsuccessfully sued the department in an attempt to force Oltersdorf to give Beeker patrol work.
