Fire Chief Arrested For Tampering With Government

BELL COUNTY- Not even a month on the job, and a local fire chief might have to step down.
Central Bell County’s Fire Chief James Potter, 28, was hired about two weeks ago, but was arrested Thursday for driving with a suspended license and tampering with government records.
“For something like this to come along, just the black eye it gives us,” Assistant Fire Chief Jason Worsdale said, “Whether it’s a good arrest on P.D. or a bad arrest on P.D. it doesn’t matter. It makes us look bad.”
A Nolanville officer stopped Potter at the corner of 10th and Avenue H. The fire chief was driving a Fire and Rescue SUV without a valid driver’s license.
Nolanville Police Chief Gary Kent said Potter’s license had been suspended for more than a year. It was suspended for a DWI.
According to the arrest affidavit, when the officer asked Potter for a driver’s license, the fire chief gave the officer what appeared to be a photocopy of a Florida Temporary Driving Permit. The officer checked to see if the permit was valid, but found out it wasn’t. Records say it was only an identification card, not a driver’s license.