CARROLL COUNTY, Missouri. — Federal and state records reviewed by KCTV5 Investigates show an unusual gap in drunk driving enforcement by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, fueling allegations from former deputies that Sheriff William Jewell McCoy directed staff to stop making DWI arrests, a claim he denies.
Two former Carroll County deputies, speaking anonymously and identified only as “John” and “Steve,” told KCTV5 they left the agency within the past year after what they described as pressure and job threats tied to DWI enforcement in the rural county of fewer than 8,500 residents, headquartered in Carrollton.
According to the former deputies, the sheriff discouraged impaired-driving arrests and pushed for alternatives. “John” said McCoy’s “big thing” was that if a deputy encountered a drunk driver, they should call the Missouri State Highway Patrol or have the driver call someone for a ride. “Steve” said the sheriff told deputies he would rather deal with a “1050,” a crash, than a DUI, and described a staff meeting in which deputies were allegedly told to stop writing DWI cases and instead issue tickets for careless and imprudent driving before ending their shifts.
Publicly reported numbers show enforcement has fallen off. The sheriff’s office reported 16 DWI arrests in 2024 and said it has made nine this year, but state case-filing records for 2025 show only seven sheriff’s office DWI filings, with other DWI cases in the county attributed to the Highway Patrol and the Carrollton Police Department. Most notably, the Missouri State Judicial Records Committee provided records indicating the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has not had a DWI case in the court system since April 16, 2025.
State records also indicate DWI enforcement did not disappear from Carroll County altogether. Since late April 2025, there have been 19 DWI cases in the county, with seven handled by Carrollton Police and 12 by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to the report.
McCoy rejected the allegation that his office stopped enforcing drunk driving laws. In an earlier interview cited by KCTV5, he said drivers stopped under the influence “get brought in.” When confronted outside the courthouse in November about the absence of sheriff’s office DWI cases since April, he initially declined comment, later saying, “people here, we just ain’t catching no DWI offenders,” and adding, “Well, you don’t stop a vehicle every day.”
The issue also drew attention from Mothers Against Drunk Driving Missouri, whose executive director, Tabitha Perkins, said the organization received multiple anonymous complaints that employees were no longer allowed to make DWI arrests and raised those concerns with the department. Perkins said McCoy assured MADD that deputies were following Missouri policies and had the necessary tools, including breath testing equipment, which McCoy said was available at the office.
Former deputies told KCTV5 they want the Missouri Attorney General to get involved. KCTV5 said it contacted the attorney general’s office and was awaiting a response.
