Seriously?!?!?

Times Staff Writer

LARGO — A judge found a St. Petersburg Police officer not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident, putting the department in the awkward position of deciding whether to return him to patrol duty after accusing him of a crime. Pinellas Judge James Pierce said Thursday that Christopher Dixon was not guilty of leaving the scene, or of careless driving, the two things his own department and prosecutors accused him of.

"I look forward to returning" to patrol duty, Dixon said. He said he did not think it would be difficult to resume working as a patrol officer with the same department that accused him of breaking the law. But it's not a sure thing. The department's Internal Affairs Division will now complete its report and send it to Dixon's supervisors, including Chief Chuck Harmon. Harmon said he would keep an open mind. But he did say Dixon's truthfulness would be a key consideration. "We have some during my administration where we determined they didn't tell the truth,'' Harmon said. "They are no longer employed here."

The misdemeanor crime of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail, but this attracted more attention because it involved an officer on the job. The trial also took an interesting sideline as both sides attempted to explain why the GPS device in Dixon's car did not place him at the scene of the accident. Both sides acknowledged the devices are easy to disable, and said it's well-known that officers sometimes do so if they don't want headquarters to be able to track their speed or location. One officer said others sometimes disable the devices while getting a quick bite to eat. Dixon, taking the stand in his own defense, acknowledged he previously had disabled his device so he could drive to an urgent call for service, going faster than he was supposed to. But he flatly denied disabling his GPS the night of the accident.

The case dates to July 29, 2009, after a Rays game. A Riverview man approached an officer and said his minivan had been rear-ended by a police cruiser — which then sped away. Police interviewed two officers who said they had heard what sounded like a crash and then looked up to see a van and police car close to each other. One officer ultimately identified Dixon as the driver. Investigators also found a cruiser with damage they said was fresh. The cruiser with scuff marks on its right front fender led police to the man who had been driving it that night: Dixon.

During the trial, one officer testified that the car had little or no damage the day before Dixon drove it; and another reported finding damage to the car the day after Dixon drove it. Dixon said the damage occurred during an accident several months earlier, which was documented in the vehicle's damage log. Defense attorney Joseph Ciarciaglino, who has a reputation for vigorously defending police officers, vigorously cross-examined the officers in this trial, attempting to poke holes in the state's case.

In closing arguments, he pointed out that the officer who identified Dixon as the driver had initially failed to do so. He pointed to a lack of incriminating GPS data, said estimates of the timing of the accident were off, and that it was too dark to get a clear view. He said investigators did not inspect more than 100 take-home cruisers to see if one of them had been in the accident.

Assistant State Attorney Timothy Sullivan said there was plenty of evidence pointing to Dixon, and that you would have to believe in a huge coincidence to conclude he was innocent. If the damage to Dixon's cruiser happened several months ago, as Dixon did, why did no one report it until the day after the accident?
olice officers had said Dixon showed a guilty conscience when they interviewed him, by putting his face in his hands and getting teary-eyed. Dixon said there was a reason for that: "I was upset because I was being wrongfully accused."



CHRIS DIXON: You are the reason police officers do not have a good name with the public. You are one of the 1-3% of the police population who lie, cheat, and abuse the powers the city has given you. I hope you get terminated, the state pulls your certification, and you never have a chance to taint our brothers and sisters again. I hope you rot in hell with the criminals you belong with.

The state won't pull his certificate, I doubt they will fire him, they couldn't prove the case in court and so you can't claim he lied about it. He was found not guilty. Just learn from it and x65 a call, i hear there is a homeless guy who needs a ride to the shelter at CJ.

Anyone can beat a traffic charge...IA board is a whole new ballgame. He's a liar and will be fired,

The way I see it if you can prove your not guilty in court and a judge rules in your favor that should be the end of it. The problem with this department is not only do we seek to find the criminals in society but there are also some of us who seek to stab our fellow coworkers in the back just as well. Maybe Dixon was guilty,, maybe he was not but he has proven himself innocent in court. By the way the traffic guys on the news looked real professional on the news in court, slouching in the chair, arms crossed. Judging by their demenor just as the stated about Dixon, maybe they are the ones who are not being truthful, better luck next time for the F**** a budy organization.

Really you turn on this officer because he is white? How many Felonies have been committed by black in this department? From tipping off of raids to owning bars where drugs are sold to Foster and Cedric and I could go on an on and on. Dixion I think you should file a law suit if they fire you on racial discrimination

Really you turn on this officer because he is white? How many Felonies have been committed by black in this department? From tipping off of raids to owning bars where drugs are sold to Foster and Cedric and I could go on an on and on. Dixion I think you should file a law suit if they fire you on racial discrimination

LOL you sound drunk even when you type. Who said anything about this being a racial thing except for you? Sometimes it scares me how stupid some of the people I work with are.

Really you turn on this officer because he is white? How many Felonies have been committed by black in this department? From tipping off of raids to owning bars where drugs are sold to Foster and Cedric and I could go on an on and on. Dixion I think you should file a law suit if they fire you on racial discrimination

LOL you sound drunk even when you type. Who said anything about this being a racial thing except for you? Sometimes it scares me how stupid some of the people I work with are.
Maybe you'd feel better about it if someone kicked your head in? Be careful a real man doesn't come along and slap the thick glasses off your face, sissy.

Really you turn on this officer because he is white? How many Felonies have been committed by black in this department? From tipping off of raids to owning bars where drugs are sold to Foster and Cedric and I could go on an on and on. Dixion I think you should file a law suit if they fire you on racial discrimination

LOL you sound drunk even when you type. Who said anything about this being a racial thing except for you? Sometimes it scares me how stupid some of the people I work with are.
Maybe you'd feel better about it if someone kicked your head in? Be careful a real man doesn't come along and slap the thick glasses off your face, sissy.

Point proven.....what an idiot!!

The way I see it if you can prove your not guilty in court and a judge rules in your favor that should be the end of it. The problem with this department is not only do we seek to find the criminals in society but there are also some of us who seek to stab our fellow coworkers in the back just as well. Maybe Dixon was guilty,, maybe he was not but he has proven himself innocent in court. By the way the traffic guys on the news looked real professional on the news in court, slouching in the chair, arms crossed. Judging by their demenor just as the stated about Dixon, maybe they are the ones who are not being truthful, better luck next time for the F**** a budy organization.

He did not prove his innocence. They just could not prove him guilty. There is a big difference. In criminal court all you need is a bit of doubt and he was able to get it.
In IA or civil, its a whole different story.

Really you turn on this officer because he is white? How many Felonies have been committed by black in this department? From tipping off of raids to owning bars where drugs are sold to Foster and Cedric and I could go on an on and on. Dixion I think you should file a law suit if they fire you on racial discrimination

LOL you sound drunk even when you type. Who said anything about this being a racial thing except for you? Sometimes it scares me how stupid some of the people I work with are.
Maybe you'd feel better about it if someone kicked your head in? Be careful a real man doesn't come along and slap the thick glasses off your face, sissy.

If you would like the chance I would be willing to meet up. I have a feeling you are a blowhard who rarely is called on your BS. Let me know. You are certainly a keyboard hero.

This was definitely not a race motivated issue, but some moron has turned it into one. Bottom line, NO ONE should ever trust Dixon. He was a lazy officer when he was on the street, and he is a liar. He turned off his GPS so he could dodge calls. He didnt shut his GPS off to run x18 to emergency calls, because he never went to them. I have run x18 to emergency calls all the time, and I have violated the "only 25 mph over the speed limit" on most, if not all of them. I never got jammed up, nor did anyone I know. He is a liar, and he will take other officers down with him. Even HCSO, where his father works, turned him down for a job for failing a psychological exam (but he claims it's because he drank 6 beers a week). LIAR!!! LOSER!!!

Dixon, you need to quit! Do yourself a favor and walk away. There is nobody out here that wants to work with you and you will never make it to any of my calls. I will cancel you before you get there and if I'm your back, I will take the call and cancel you also. I do police work, I drive fast even when I'm not heading to a call or running X18 as you say. I don't unplug my GPS for any reason, never have, never will. I don't care if they find me doing something in the grey area or sneeking off to grab a quick bite to eat on a busy night. I don't lie, always have told the truth and this is why my supervisors and fellow co-workers both hate me and respect me. Go cut lawns or do whatever it is you have been doing on the side since sitting on your ass in TRU. Your a black mark on this department and should be fired! We need change, lets start new with you. Happy Holidays!!

Dixon, you need to quit! Do yourself a favor and walk away. There is nobody out here that wants to work with you and you will never make it to any of my calls. I will cancel you before you get there and if I'm your back, I will take the call and cancel you also. I do police work, I drive fast even when I'm not heading to a call or running X18 as you say. I don't unplug my GPS for any reason, never have, never will. I don't care if they find me doing something in the grey area or sneeking off to grab a quick bite to eat on a busy night. I don't lie, always have told the truth and this is why my supervisors and fellow co-workers both hate me and respect me. Go cut lawns or do whatever it is you have been doing on the side since sitting on your ass in TRU. Your a black mark on this department and should be fired! We need change, lets start new with you. Happy Holidays!!

I concur.

Maybe you'd feel better about it if someone kicked your head in? Be careful a real man doesn't come along and slap the thick glasses off your face, sissy.Guest

Oh Lord. Keyboard tuff guy again. One week you're gonna kick someones teeth in, then it's ground and pound and now the ol kick your head in. Grow up azzhole. Maybe you're the one with the thick glasses that gets that queezy feeling in your gut (less) everytime you get called south of central. Punk

Maybe you'd feel better about it if someone kicked your head in? Be careful a real man doesn't come along and slap the thick glasses off your face, sissy.Guest

Oh Lord. Keyboard tuff guy again. One week you're gonna kick someones teeth in, then it's ground and pound and now the ol kick your head in. Grow up azzhole. Maybe you're the one with the thick glasses that gets that queezy feeling in your gut (less) everytime you get called south of central. Punk

I concur.

Maybe you're the one with the thick glasses that gets that queezy feeling in your gut (less) everytime you get called south of central

If this is Dixon replying to all the positive feedback his fellow employees have posted, you never drove south of central (unless you were driving from the Trop to meet with a lady, or "gimmick" as you call them, downtown with your GPS off). If it's not Dixon, you are a sleaze just like him. We have a right to complain. Dixon is no good, and he gave the department another black eye. I can't wait until you do 5th phase. The traffic van is waiting for you...

A police officer hit this mans van, blacked the lights out and fled the scene MORE then likely because his GPS was disabled and was going somewhere where he shouldn't. It's one thing to have a preventable but its another having a preventable somewhere where you're not supposed to be at that time. This guy in the minivan has no reason to lie. I'm sure he doesn't have some deep seeded hatred for law enforcement that when he was hit he decided right then and there he woudl fabricate a story about a police cruiser from St. Pete hitting his mini-van and taking off. And when you call EVERY single officer off the street to have their cruiser inspected theres ONE officer who doesn't initially respond to calls over the radio and is the absolute last to show up. Then you find some damage on that officers cruiser that would appear to be consistent with the damage that was caused to the van but BEHOLD! The damage log appears and is shown to notate the damage from a previous date! Its a mirracle! But yet again....and as far as I know (since this hasn't actually been stated as fact) a closer look at the sergeant's name on the damage log verifying the damage is found to have been a sgt. who has been on FMLA for an ankle injury and was not even working the day the damage was supposedly discovered. Now what do you do St. Pete Pd? Why, you take that officer with the many questions surrounding his involvement, bring in the Traffic Van to investigate and then apparently issue him the citations for a crash and leaving the scene. Well this officer apparently has someone whispering in his ear because as we all know, there isn''t a SINGLE person who can sit in a court room and positively identify him as the one behind the wheel of that particular cruiser so TAKE IT TO COURT! In the meantime, just for spite, stay at the department sitting in TRU doing what he probably should have signed up for in the first place and collect a paycheck and when he's found NOT GUILTY it appears that all the lying in IA and maintaining he was not the one who hit the van has paid off. So now what???? Apparently there is still an officer out there on the loose who hits citizens vehicles and takes off from the scene! This is an abomination and the culprit needs to be caught! The fact is that the culprit was caught...properly charged....was found innocent in court because of reasonable doubt and now will have to walk the halls at the department knowing that every single officer knows that he will lie,lie, lie and lie some more just to stay out of trouble. So stick him in the 60's on mids and be done with it. I'd like to say that there haev been officers who have done the same thing (i.e. lied to a neighboring county about how his equipment was stolen to cover up the fact he was meeting girls at the grove, or another who lied about where and when his gun was stolen, and yet another who claims she didn't smell weed and didn't hear about a raid being done at a POS strip club her husband is co-owner of) and just get away with it but then again those are officers who are "protected".

why put hin in the 60's on midnights.

If he had been a citizen not an officer he would never have been charged. There case was crap and the Judge saw it for what it was. If they don’t want to embarrass the department make sure they have a case before they charge one of their own officers criminally.

Has anyone thought of giving him a polygraph? Duh....

Traffic had a very good case, a case that would have won had another officer not committed perjury on the stand. This officer cast doubt upon the judge and jury, who ultimately found this POS not guilty. Now this officer is answering to his IA Investigation and will possibly face stronger discipline than Dixon. Let me ask you, why would you want to defend a POS like Dixon? He lied, lied, and lied again. This is not someone you want to defend or have stand next to you. I hope in the end Chief Harmon you stick with your orignal statement to the media and fire Dixon. You have enough evidence to prove that he was the person behind the wheel of the cruiser that night, he is the one that continually lied to you and your agency, and he is one who as once again cast a black label over all those who still believe in Integrity.

Traffic had a very good case, a case that would have won had another officer not committed perjury on the stand. This officer cast doubt upon the judge and jury, who ultimately found this POS not guilty.

There was NO JURY

"Then he put Dixon's fate in the hands of the judge who would decide his guilt or innocence instead of a jury. A legal move Ciarciaglino certainly didn't regret."

"It's my finding that the defendant is not guilty." said County Judge James Pierce.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/pinellas/cop-found-not-guilty-of-cover-up-121610

Dizson....quit posting your bs. Anyone can get cleared at a trial, your gonna pay the [iper at your board. You lied!!!! There's no excuse and you should be fired! "I shut my GPS off to drive fast to a call?????? what a FN liar...we all drive fast to calls...he!! we should drive fast to calls. You should be fired!~!!!!!!!

Traffic had a very good case, a case that would have won had another officer not committed perjury on the stand. This officer cast doubt upon the judge and jury, who ultimately found this POS not guilty. Now this officer is answering to his IA Investigation and will possibly face stronger discipline than Dixon.

This officer did not commit perjury. This officer misunderstood the question, and his answer was blown out of proportion. There will be no IA Board regarding this. The officer is an excellent officer and great person. I know him very well, and he would never lie on the stand, or to your face. Traffic's case was not as strong as you may think. There is plenty of doubt, and Joe C. did a good job of casting this doubt. Paint results: Inconclusive. Over 100 cruisers not checked that night. Plus many more. Although, in my mind, Dixon is still guilty. He is a liar and a loser. I will never back him up, and if he is my back up, I'll call him x8 and handle it myself.

Run and Tell That, Homeboy!