Somerset deputy who lost job feels 'robbed' (update)

Board found officer guilty of leaking info;

Former Somerset Sheriff's deputy James "Troy" Durham knew he wanted to be a cop since he was 5 years old.

When the Pocomoke City native's parents would take him to fairs and carnivals, he didn't spend a lot of time playing games and riding rides like the other children. He would spend his time talking to police officers, and playing with the lights and sirens in their cruisers, he said.

"I think God planted that seed in my heart all my life," he said.

Durham, 41, said he spent most of his adult life working toward his dream job, which materialized when he joined the Princess Anne Police Department in 1992. Six years later, he made his way to the Somerset County Sheriff's Office -- the same place where his dream career came to an abrupt end.

"I want to go back because I feel like I was robbed and it was taken from me," Durham said referring to his job. "I want to go back and serve my community."

Durham alleges that he was fired from the Sheriff's Office out of retaliation after he refused to omit information from an incident report, one in which he indicated he used force to subdue a suspect who resisted arrest.

However, according to Somerset County Sheriff Bobby Jones, Durham was terminated because he released information regarding the report.

"Our policy is not to disseminate information, and he did," Jones said. "And he's still doing it."

Durham filed a civil lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office and Somerset County Commissioners in April. The six-page complaint details the incident of the changed report and alleges misconduct within his former place of employment, stating the commissioners and Sheriff's Office violated state laws, including the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. Copies of the complaint and other documents were faxed to public officials, government agencies and other law enforcement departments across the state.

The grievance

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