West Slope fire chief accused of DUI

Updated Dec. 21, 1:36pm:

An El Dorado County fire chief was arrested last week in the middle of the afternoon on charges of driving under the influence.

William Dekker, who is the top guy with Garden Valley fire, has a history with alcohol.

William Dekker

The 60-year-old’s latest arrest came Dec. 17 at 1:49pm in Greenwood.

According to El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies, they were called to a dispute about a loose dog between neighbors in Greenwood. The neighbor told deputies that Dekker threatened to shoot him.

Deputies flagged Dekker down as he was driving by. They suspected he had been drinking, conducted several field sobriety tests and then arrested him for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

In 1996 Dekker was arrested in Dayton with a blood alcohol level of 0.10. A settlement resulted in no jail time even though he hit a firefighter while driving a fire engine.

A no contest plea to disorderly conduct led Dekker to resign as chief of the Pine-Strawberry Fire District in Arizona in September 2007. Three months later he became chief of Garden Valley.

In 2012 the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office began an investigation into Dekker’s credit card use.

In 2011, his current fire district paid for him to get substance abuse treatment.

Dekker has a 10-year contract that expires in 2020. To fire him takes all five board members to agree. He makes nearly $130,000 a year.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report