Fire Chief with history of alcohol problems resigns after DUI arrest

Garden Valley Fire Chief William Dekker resigned today after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

On December 18, at about 1:50 p.m., El Dorado County sheriff's deputies responded to a call of a neighbor dispute in the town of Greenwood, 17 miles north of Placerville. The person who called 911 said his neighbor, Dekker, had threatened to shoot him during a dispute over a loose dog, according to a statement released by the Sheriff's department.

Dekker was driving by deputies as they went to contact him about the incident so they flagged him down. As they were talking, deputies thought Dekker might have been drinking and conducted several field sobriety tests. After the tests, deputies arrested the 60 year-old Dekker for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and booked him into the El Dorado County Jail. He was later released on a $5,000.00 bond.

Since Dekker gave a 60-day notice of his resignation he will be paid for the two months until the end of his contract, according to the Garden Valley fire board, even though he has been relieved of his duties.

This was the second alcohol related arrest, and resignation, of a public official in El Dorado County in the last two months. It follows the arrest and resignation of the county's school chief Jeremy Meyers.

This isn’t Dekker’s first arrest. Dekker was arrested for a DUI in Lyon County, Nevada where he was working as a fire chief. He paid a $750 fine and completed a DUI workshop after admitting to drinking and hitting a victim with a fire truck while driving.

Dekker was cited in May 2007 for disorderly conduct while he was serving as the fire chief of the Pine-Strawberry Fire District in Arizona.

Court records also show Dekker pled no contest to disorderly conduct charges in Arizona after confronting an illegal camper. Sheriff's deputies on the scene said Dekker had the smell of alcohol on his breath and was stumbling around. Dekker resigned as fire chief shortly after, according to newspaper reports. He was hired by the Garden Valley Fire Board two months later.

El Dorado County Auditor Joe Harn had issues with Dekker in 2012, calling his 10-year, $1 million contract an outrage. Harn also said Dekker was illegally overpaying assistant fire chief Linda Szczepanik $12,000 of fire district funds. She has been named the replacement for Dekker.