By Allison Peck
Listen to Kramer's remarks here
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer publicly criticized County Board Vice Chairman Christopher Bruns during Monday morning's county commissioners meeting, accusing him of threatening and verbally abusing members of the sheriff's office following his arrest Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Kramer addressed the county board during the portion of the meeting reserved for comments from elected officials and department heads. Bruns was not present.
“I wish Commissioner Bruns was here this morning, because he's the reason I'm sitting in front of you,” Kramer told the board. “I'm very upset with him.”
Kramer said Bruns treated members of his staff poorly while he was incarcerated following his arrest.
According to the sheriff, a detention officer was threatened with losing his job, leaving the employee concerned that Bruns, as a county commissioner, could have him fired.
“I've got a detention officer that thinks he's going to get fired because a county commissioner threatened him while he was incarcerated,” Kramer said.
Kramer also alleged that the daughter of one of his deputies, who was at the scene when Bruns was arrested, was called an expletive.
“This is unacceptable by a county official to threaten my employees and to insult the families of my employees,” Kramer said.
Bruns was arrested Friday after authorities received a report of a possible impaired driver outside a restaurant in Sutherland. According to the Nebraska State Patrol, troopers later located the vehicle and arrested Bruns on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The arrest comes as Bruns is already facing a recall effort connected to his vote against a proposed temporary moratorium on data center development in Lincoln County.
The county commissioners earlier considered the temporary moratorium as officials debated how the county should approach future data center projects. The issue drew significant public attention, with concerns raised about the potential impact of large-scale developments on water resources, infrastructure and the county's future growth.
Bruns was among those involved in the vote on the proposed moratorium, and the recall effort was launched following the board's decision on the issue.
During Monday's meeting, Kramer said Bruns' personal problems should not become the problem of county employees.
“Don't treat my family poorly,” Kramer said. “My employees are my family.”
Kramer said he would have had considerably more to say had Bruns been present.
Bruns was not at Monday's meeting and did not have an opportunity to respond to Kramer's comments during the public discussion.