Sledgehammer Chief Fakes a Felony... Then Loses Career PERMANENTLY

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]You're all AT MY WINDOW, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL GO YOURSELF.

[00:00:05]GET OUT of the car.

[00:00:18]>> [screaming] >> A $125,000 bond, five nights in county jail, and a felony charge for fleeing with reckless indifference.

[00:00:29]All because a woman with no criminal history asked an unbadged man to prove he was a police officer before she pulled over for him.

[00:00:37]This is the story of former police chief Nathan Lanham.

[00:00:42]Today, we look at the unsealed files to see how a serial problem officer bounced around from police station to police station before this final incident ended his career.

[00:00:53]Welcome to Rights By River Beast.

[00:00:55]Let's get into it.

[00:01:02]>> [music] >> So, in case you're wondering, you cannot use a sledgehammer to bash a civilian's window in just because she asks for your identification.

[00:01:22]Welcome back to Rights By River Beast.

[00:01:25]Today, we break it all down.

[00:01:27]The body cam, the paperwork, the legal documents to show you exactly how the Fourth Amendment is supposed to work when a police officer goes rogue. So, quick background. This incident occurred on Thursday, August 1st, 2024.

[00:01:42]49-year-old Sarah Beth Deloma was driving with an expired registration when she was noticed by an unmarked police car driven by at the time police chief Lanham.

[00:01:51]When he approaches Ms. Deloma, he's dressed in khaki pants, a regular shirt, and most importantly, no badge or official police insignia anywhere. And he has a firearm strapped to the holster against his thigh.

[00:02:04]So, Delomba rolls down her window a little bit, but repeatedly asks him to prove that he's a police officer. Again, remember, there's no badge. And it's important to note that at the time, there had been widespread stories going on about police impersonators targeting women.

[00:02:19]But even if that had not been going on at the time, there is nothing illegal or frankly wrong with asking someone who's claiming to be a police officer to prove that they're a police officer before you pull over for them and engage with them in a one-on-one situation.

[00:02:32]Instead of simply identifying himself, the man immediately refuses, becomes hostile, and immediately threatens to tow her car.

[00:02:39]Now, understandably fearing for her life, Delomba puts on her hazard lights and starts very slowly driving away.

[00:02:48]Where does she go? Does she go on a big run or take the police on a chase?

[00:02:52]No.

[00:02:53]She drove approximately 30 yd to her mother's guard, presumably to be in a more public area.

[00:03:00]Because again, this man had not proven he was a police officer.

[00:03:04]But Officer Lanham cuts her off on a grassy area near a church, draws his weapon, and immediately threatens to use it on her. Now, there were bystanders around. A local pastor caught this on his phone. The pastor tells him to watch his profanity, and how does Officer Lanham respond? He turns and tells him to go f himself.

[00:03:23]>> Go yourself. Go yourself.

[00:03:28]>> Now, he didn't just draw his weapon, he aimed it at Ms. Delomba's head and lap area three separate times.

[00:03:34]When she doesn't comply fast enough, he then retrieves a sledgehammer, and as you saw, smashes her window in, shattering glass all over her.

[00:03:43]She then jumps out of the car on the passenger side, presumably fearing for for her life. Again, he has not proven he is a police officer.

[00:03:51]So, he then runs around the car, tackles her violently to the ground to shield himself from the potential fallout of drawing a weapon and smashing someone's car window in over an expired registration sticker when you weren't in police insignia to begin with. Officer Lanham signed a sworn criminal complaint under penalty of perjury fabricating a high-level felony charge of fleeing with reckless indifference.

[00:04:17]So, why did a municipal chief escalate to such violence? Because the system, as currently constructed, allows bad actors to hop from department to department.

[00:04:27]Lanham's career shows a fragmented and frankly disturbing pattern of bouncing from West Virginia town to West Virginia town.

[00:04:35]First, he resigned from Reedsville after personal internal conflicts. He resigned from Stonewood in what's known as resignation in lieu of disciplinary termination.

[00:04:45]Basically, he got caught doing something bad, but wink wink, if you resign, we don't have to fire you.

[00:04:51]Isn't the system great?

[00:04:53]He was even working part-time for Anmoore while working as the chief of Monongah.

[00:04:57]And at first, it looked like nothing different was going to happen here.

[00:05:01]Lanham was allowed to resign 5 days later under the same resignation in lieu of disciplinary termination.

[00:05:07]Fortunately, this caught the attention of Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Freeman.

[00:05:13]He immediately dismissed the charges against Ms. Deloma stating flatly that the facts and the evidence did not support the elements of the alleged felony. Then, the state licensing board stepped in.

[00:05:23]>> Oh, no!

[00:05:24]>> On November 21st, 2024, the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee voted unanimously to completely decertify Nathan Lanham under State Regulation 149-2-16.

[00:05:38]This is what's called conduct that's unbecoming an officer that destroys public trust.

[00:05:44]I would say what we saw in the body cam footage here pretty much destroyed any public trust they might have had.

[00:05:50]So, did Lanham give up?

[00:05:52]Of course not.

[00:05:54]He spent the next year filing as many administrative appeals as he could.

[00:05:58]He stated publicly that he was going to get his job back.

[00:06:01]On May 30th, 2025, the Office of Administrative Hearings officially shot him down. Going so far as to call his actions arbitrary and capricious.

[00:06:10]So, then he gave up.

[00:06:12]No.

[00:06:13]He escalated the case to the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

[00:06:18]But, on February 3rd, 2026, his last appeal ran out. The Appellate Court officially dismissed his petition, leaving his decertification fully intact. He was now former Police Chief and former Police Officer Lanham. His badge is permanently gone, and his law enforcement career, at least in the state of West Virginia, is permanently over.

[00:06:41]So, what happened with Ms. Deloma?

[00:06:43]After spending the five nights in jail because she couldn't or wouldn't post the $125,000 bond, she filed a massive civil rights lawsuit, alleging things such as assault, battery, false imprisonment. That case is currently pending.

[00:06:57]Too often, we see footage like this, and the officer's actions are always swept under the rug or explained away with the most infuriating justification.

[00:07:06]So, while it's always terrible to see incidents like this, it is good to see that when they are caught on camera, and someone such as Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Freeman steps up and does the right thing, justice can be served.

[00:07:19]If you like this video and you want to see more, please like this video, share it with a friend, and hit that subscribe button.

[00:07:26]Until next time, know your rights.

[00:07:30]Hold the line.

[00:07:38]>> [music] >> Know the rules. Hold the line. Silence isn't guilt, it's a design. From the trunk to the back, they need [music] probable cause. Rights by River Beast.

[00:07:51]Brush up on your laws.

[00:07:58]>> [music]