By Allison Peck
Listen to Commissioner Bruns' full statement on our Kubota Podcast
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Lincoln County Commissioner Christopher Bruns publicly addressed his recent DUI arrest and allegations made against him involving county jail staff during Monday morning's Lincoln County Commissioners meeting.
Bruns opened the meeting by saying he wanted the community to hear directly from him, despite his attorney advising him not to make a statement.
“Recently, I made a serious mistake, one that I regret with every ounce of who I am,” Bruns said. “I put myself in circumstances to have contact with law enforcement in which they ultimately arrested me.”
Bruns said he takes full responsibility for his actions and is cooperating with the legal process. He said he would not discuss details of the case further because of the ongoing legal process.
“I know the community is disgusted with me, but no one is more disgusted and ashamed with my actions than me,” Bruns said.
Bruns apologized to his family, particularly his children, and to the community.
“You put your trust in me and I let you down,” he said.
Bruns also addressed the circumstances surrounding the past year, saying he has experienced a divorce, a job change, a cancer scare and several weeks of what he described as a recall effort filled with “vitriol and threats” directed toward him and his children.
He emphasized that he was not offering those circumstances as an excuse for his actions.
“I'm not telling you that to excuse what I did or its seriousness. It absolutely does not excuse it,” Bruns said. “I'm telling you because you deserve the full picture and because I think it's fair that you know the person behind the headline, not just the headline.”
Bruns then addressed allegations made during last week's commissioners meeting by Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer.
Kramer told commissioners Aug. 24 that Bruns had treated sheriff's office employees poorly following his arrest, including allegedly threatening a detention officer's job and verbally insulting the daughter of a deputy. Kramer called the alleged conduct unacceptable and said his employees are like family.
Bruns disputed those allegations Monday.
“I've made a lot of mistakes in life and this incident is near the top of the list,” Bruns said. “However, the unprecedented false and politically convenient accusations that were made to this board in the community last week, accusations that I was abusive and threatening to staff at the jail are not part of that list.”
Bruns said that while he was at the jail, he witnessed what he believed were required safety checks of inmates being skipped.
“Did I witness important safety checks of visually inspecting inmates and ensuring that they were alive and breathing being skipped? The kind of checks that matter enormously given how many deaths that facility has seen recently? Yes, I did,” Bruns said.
He said he asked questions about what he observed but denied raising his voice, demeaning anyone or threatening anyone's job.
“I'm not going to comment any further on that issue either, as it will play out along with the audio visual evidence that exists in a separate legal process,” Bruns said.
Bruns' comments come as he faces a recall effort connected to his vote on a proposed temporary moratorium on data center development in Lincoln County. The issue has generated significant public debate, with the recall effort adding another layer of controversy surrounding the commissioner.
Bruns said he intends to continue serving the community for however long he remains in office.
“I will keep doing work that this community deserves to the best of my ability,” he said.
He closed by again apologizing to his family and the community.
“Again, I am truly sorry to my family and to all of you.”