
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — A former Wrightsville Beach police officer is facing felony charges after allegedly trying to solicit sexual favors and nude photos from a young woman in exchange for ‘free passes’ — effectively, immunity from law enforcement. According to the town’s former police chief, that wasn’t the only issue.
This week, a Grand Jury indicted former WBPD Sergeant Shaun Patrick Appler, 48, on two counts of felony bribery by a public official. According to the indictment, Appler allegedly first offered to keep — or get — the young woman out of trouble in exchange for sex and nude photos in early January 2019. Appler allegedly then repeated a similar offer during a traffic stop in July. In both cases, Appler was on duty.
Several months later, in November 2019, District Attorney Ben David requested an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. The NC Conference of District Attorneys prepared the indictments for presentation for the Grandy Jury and will be handling the prosecution of the case.
According to former Chief Daniel House, who left the department to head up the campus police at NC State in March, the SBI and David kept WBPD almost completely out of the loop on the investigation to ensure it remained independent, a decision House said was appropriate. House was made aware that the SBI was investigating someone at WBPD, but wasn’t given a name or any details.
At the same time, Appler was also under internal investigation for a complaint. According to House, this issue was unrelated to what Appler was ultimately charged with following the SBI investigation. However, Appler resigned on January 2, 2020, before WBPD could act on the complaint against him, according to House.
House said that, following this, David contacted him to ask if there had been any extenuating circumstances involved with Appler’s exit from the force; House said at that point he was reasonably sure Appler was the subject of the SBI investigation. However, House said at that point there was no indication of what the case was about or that indictments would be forthcoming.
House confirmed that the internal investigation was unrelated to the SBI indictments as well as a 2012 incident where House wanted to fire Appler.
Back in 2012, three WBPD officers, including Appler, were faced with disciplinary action. House, who had left the N.C. State University Police to take the WBPD chief position less than a year earlier, recommended termination for Appler but then-town manager Bob Simpson overruled him after hearing an appeal, deciding instead to demote two of the officers and put them on probation (a third quit).
Then a 12-year veteran, Appler received a $1.11/hour pay cut (from $22.11/hour to $21/hour) and a year of probation. It’s not clear what mitigated the infraction and made the difference between being fired and a one-dollar pay cut. Some reports, including in Lumina News, noted that the town was struggling with officer retention, which may have played a role. (Three years later, the town would be hit with resignations from over a third of its force).
“I can’t say I agreed with that,” House said. “But it was the decision of the town manager.”
Citing personnel laws, House declined to describe what the 2012 demotion for “unsatisfactory conduct” was actually about — and other accounts vary. In 2012, Simpson said there was a single incident behind Appler’s demotion. At the time, StarNews reported that Appler had been involved in an arrest outside of WBPD jurisdiction. WWAY reported a 2009 incident involving the allegedly overaggressive use of a Taser by Appler. Lumina News suggested there had been multiple complaints against Appler and other WBPD officers.
Attorney and New Hanvoer County Commissioner Woody White, who is representing Appler, said his client had no comment at this time regarding the current indictment or past issues at WBPD.
In a statement, White wrote “At an appropriate time, Shaun may decide to tell his side of the story. The founding fathers gave him the right to decide this in the 5th amendment to the US Constitution. But now is not the time. This United States and the State of North Carolina convey to Shaun — and promise us all — the right to a fair trial. We ask that this community give him that opportunity as well.”
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