Bullitt County Chief Sheriff's Deputy John Cottrell, second in command of the department, was fired on Wednesday for a policy violation.
Cottrell was fired for being "absent without leave," according to a termination letter written by Sheriff David Greenwell.
Greenwell did not return phone calls seeking comment. Cottrell indicated to a WDRB reporter that he would comment but had not as of late Wednesday afternoon.
The termination letter does not specify how much time Cottrell missed. It alleges Cottrell violated the department's conduct standards - "absence from duty."
"Any member who fails to appear for duty at the date, time and place for so doing without consent of competent authority is 'absent without leave,'" Greenwell wrote.
Capt. Mike Murdoch, the spokesman for the department, is on vacation this week and said in a text message that he did not know why Cottrell had been fired.
According to Cottrell's LinkedIn page, he had been with the sheriff's department since January 2011. Before that, Cottrell worked for the Pioneer Village Police Department, according to LinkedIn.
Among other high profile cases, Cottrell investigated former Shepherdsville Mayor Scott Ellis for allegedly using his elected position to get sexual favors from a woman on parole. That case was eventually dismissed.