December 17, 2010 in News, City

Deputy won’t be disciplined for wife’s sex-toy business

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The deputy who shot a Spokane Valley pastor will not face discipline for failing to disclose his co-ownership of a business that sold sex toys online.

Spokane County Deputy Brian Hirzel remains under investigation for the Aug. 25 shooting that killed Pastor Wayne Scott Creach near his home and greenhouse business in Spokane Valley.

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich announced in September that he had assigned investigators to determine whether Hirzel broke department policy when he failed to disclose his co-ownership in a business called Vanessa Allure that was being operated out of his Hayden home.

“It was being run by his wife,” Knezovich said Friday. “Hirzel gave us full information. He didn’t hide anything. He said he helped set up the website but she ran it.”

Department policy requires deputies to alert the sheriff about any outside employment. Additionally, deputies are barred from operating any business that would pose a conflict of interest with their law enforcement duties or bring the office into “disrepute.” And operating an online business selling “lingerie, souvenirs and condoms,” according to a yellowpages.com advertisement, would qualify as bringing the office into disrepute, Knezovich said in an earlier interview.

Idaho business records show Hirzel and his wife own two businesses, Vanessa Allure, which specializes in sex toys, and Bounce Party USA, which is a party-planning business specializing in kids’ events. Hirzel – who properly disclosed the Bounce Party business to the sheriff – told investigators that he helped his wife set up Vanessa Allure in October 2008, but it only operated for a month and a half.

However, the current policy requiring outside employment wasn’t enacted until April 2009, Knezovich said.

“Had those actions taken place under the new policy, it would have been a policy violation,” he said. “It was a very difficult investigation. We didn’t have anything other than the allegation that he ran the business.”

Hirzel remains on administrative desk duty and at one time was listed on a potential layoff list. However, it appears that Hirzel will keep his job unless something changes with the budget, Knezovich said.

As for the internal investigation, most of the information came from Hirzel, Knezovich said.

“We were never able to locate or contact the anonymous source who brought that forward,” he said.

Eight comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  Truthhurts on December 17 at 6:49 p.m.

  The issue with Hirzel is the performance of his PUBLIC duties.

  I don’t care if his wife worked as a stripper. It is ridiculous that somehow a fair and honest sex toy business would be more of a “moral” threat than a factory that pollutes the Spokane River.

  “Oooooh sex” is a very boring form of moral outrage.

  The real issue of possible moral outrage is whether citizens are being needlessly killed.

  Private lives are irrelevant to all public concerns.

• 

  PlanB on December 17 at 7:19 p.m.

  Yeah I could also care less about some insignificant side business “Hitman” Hirzel was involved with. What matters is that he murdered a person who committed no crime and nothing is being done to bring him to justice.

• 

  monkeyman on December 17 at 7:35 p.m.

  ““We were never able to locate or contact the anonymous source who brought that forward,” he said.”

  Good thinking on the snitch’s part, or he/she would have a target painted on the backside.

• 

  PlanB on December 17 at 7:52 p.m.

  I’m sure they are committing ample resources to finding and punishing the snitch. Meanwhile, real crimes are being ignored and Ozzie is complaining that he doesn’t have enough resources to do the job. Whatever the job is.

• 

  bdr on December 17 at 8:02 p.m.

  Thats a great job for Deputy Brian Hirzel!
  He is going to be laid off in January he may need to Huck a few thousand buzz toys to pay the bills!

• 

  misjustice on December 17 at 8:39 p.m.

  Way to go Hirzel! Glad to see you are still on the force & your wife isn’t being punished because she’s working her job.

  Dirty sex toy company? Wow!

• 

  Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on December 17 at 10:43 p.m.

  Excerpt from the article:

  “…he helped his wife set up Vanessa Allure in October 2008, but it only operated for a month and a half. However, the current policy requiring outside employment wasn’t enacted until April 2009.”

  Nothing to see here.

• 

  lewis8457 on December 18 at 8:36 a.m.

  Oh cares about this stuff? what i want to see is the murdering SOB hanging at the end of a rope.