No punishment sought for DNR officer in restaurant deer case

The conservation officer who delivered a deer carcass to employees at La Charreada last month will not be disciplined for his actions, the officer's supervisor at the Department of Natural Resources said.

Officer Ken Spence delivered a road kill deer to an employee at La Charreada on the afternoon of Oct. 24, according to Board of Health records. After health inspectors received a complaint about employees butchering the bloody carcass on the floor of the restaurant's kitchen, they showed up for an inspection and ordered the restaurant to close its doors for two days while employees discarded all food that could have come into contact with the carcass and thoroughly cleaned the kitchen.

Lt. Kent Hutchins, who is in charge of the DNR's post at the Lieber State Recreation Area, said he conducted an informal investigation because of the media attention and "local concern" about the deer carcass at La Charreada.

However, since he has received no formal misconduct complaints, he said he did not discipline Spence, a 28-year veteran of the DNA's law enforcement wing.

Currently the DNR has no guidelines for giving away deer killed on Indiana roadways, said Capt. Michael Portteus with the DNR.

"Keeping the deer from going to waste and getting it off the road is the primary objective," he said.

Conservation officers have the authority to issue a permit for road kill deer to private citizens, he added.

The employee who received the deer at La Charreada, 1360 Indianapolis Road, has since been fired, along with three other employees who were involved in the incident and the store manager, according to district manager Juan Valery who talked to the BannerGraphic earlier this month.

Sales at the restaurant have fallen off at least 65 percent since the incident, he added.