The St. Albans Police Department knows about their newest officer's past and the controversy surrounding it, but the department maintains Brandon Tagayun is the best man for the job.

"His circumstances could have happened to any police officer out on the beat," Chief Joe Crawford said. "Over my twenty-two year career it could have very easily been me or someone else that has been in this profession for a long time."

Tagayun was sworn into the department early Tuesday afternoon. His first day on the job will be tomorrow.

In 2006, Tagayun was a Charleston police officer when he was involved in a fatal car accident while responding to a call in Kanawha City.

Tagayun plead guilty in March 2007 to speeding and failure to use his emergency lights causing a the death of 69 year old Patsy Sizemore. A misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide was dropped.

The victim's family won a 1.8 million dollar settlement from the City of Charleston.

Tagayun left the force and moved to California but recently moved back to West Virginia. St. Albans mayor, Dick Callaway, argues the accident does not mean Tagayun isn't a good police officer.

"He was in an automobile accident," Callaway said. "He was following procedure that was laid out by his department."

But some people living in the city are not so sure about the decision to hire him. Others feel since he was cleared of wrongdoing there is no reason why he can't work in St. Albans.

Tagayun's new boss supports the newest member of his department.

"He brings a lot of qualities to the table," Crawford said. "We have high expectations here and hopefully he'll live up to those expectations.