EAGLE, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado sheriff says he will fight a charge of misconduct related to the use of funds.
Vail Daily reports Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek was indicted for second-degree official misconduct for expenditures from a reserve fund.
Van Beek says in a statement released Tuesday that the allegation is a "misinterpretation" by Fifth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown about whether a committee needs to approve expenditures.
The charge involves 14 previously approved expenditures from the fund this year.
Van Beek and Brown are two of the three committee members who oversee the fund.
Van Beek says no state-confiscated money was involved and committee approval was not needed.
The expenditures include paying a writer and crisis management specialist for columns written for the Vail Daily under van Beek's name.