HEBER SPRINGS -- A Cleburne County sheriff's deputy was fired over an ethics violation after an investigation found that he had given conflicting accounts about driving past a stopped school bus as children were deboarding, the sheriff's office said Wednesday.

On Feb. 2, the sheriff's office received a complaint that one of its deputies had driven a patrol car past the stopped bus, according to a news release.

Deputy Todd Maxey was placed on administrative leave while the matter was investigated, the office reported. The office determined that he had committed the traffic violation, and he was cited, a news release said.

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Sheriff Chris Brown said Maxey had been a deputy "on and off" since 2003 and that Maxey was fired Wednesday.

"During the course of the internal investigation, it was discovered that the deputy violated the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics by providing contradicting stories of the above incident," the release said.

"Anytime an ethics violation occurs, it will be investigated, and proper and fair action will be taken," the release said.

State Desk on 02/09/2017