Director of VA Caribbean Arrested in Florida

High ranking VA official faced drug charge after DUI arrest
The Washington Times
By Jim McElhatton
September 7, 2014

A high-ranking Veterans Affairs official who oversees nearly a dozen medical facilities was charged with drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance on a Florida roadside at nearly 2 a.m. one night in April, repeatedly refusing a Breathalyzer before he was taken to jail, records show.

Though prosecutors later cited “concerns about the stop” and dropped the case, the arrest still raises questions about off-duty conduct standards and whether DeWayne Hamlin, who oversees a medical center and 10 outpatient clinics in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, notified the VA to explain the source of an oxycodone pill found on him during the stop, according to records and interviews.

Mr. Hamlin, a member of the Senior Executive Service, an elite cadre of federal managers, was arrested just before 2 a.m. on April 26 after an officer saw him parked on a roadside in Pasco County with the car engine running, according to a police report obtained through an open records request.

“While speaking to DeWayne I observed his eyes were bloodshot, glassy and I could detect the strong odor of alcohol,” the arresting officer wrote. During a pat-down, the officer said he found an oxycodone pill in Mr. Hamlin’s front pocket.

Mr. Hamlin “advised he did not have a valid prescription for this medication and would not say anything else,” the officer stated in the police report.
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From the VA
Director Caribbean Healthcare System DeWayne Hamlin was appointed Director of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 14, 2012. As VACHS Director, Mr. Hamlin is responsible for a highly complex healthcare system consisting of a main medical center in San Juan and 10 outpatient clinics located throughout PR and the U.S. Virgin Islands serving a population of more than 110,000 Veterans.

Director Lexington KY Mr. Hamlin served as Associate Director at the James, A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida. Prior to the Associate Director assignment, Mr. Hamlin was the Chief, Facilities Management Service at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics. The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics are affiliated with the University of South Florida College of Medicine and has a large, active research and education mission. Prior to Tampa, he was appointed Chief, Engineer at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia and Chief, Facilities Management Service at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Seattle. Mr. Hamlin started his VA career in 1990, at the Portland, Oregon VAMC.