Officers pay price for nickel collection

Three Brevard County sheriff's deputies, schooled in the principle that crime doesn't pay, learned the hard way that collecting nickels doesn't either.

An internal affairs investigation found that three deputies and one communications officer acted improperly when they spent up to 30 minutes gathering 1,415 nickels from the median of Interstate 95 in September.

Deputies Glen Thomas, Samuel Anderson and William Fletcher, along with communications officer Andrew Johnson, were reprimanded.

About 3.7 million nickels littered the road after a U.S. Treasury truck crashed into another truck on Sept. 17. One person was killed, and two people were injured in the wreck just south of Scottsmoor.

Witnesses said they saw three sheriff's vehicles parked on the median with their spotlights illuminating the grassy area and the shiny new nickels.

Despite public warnings at the time from Florida Highway Patrol officials that the coins were the property of the U.S. government, deputies received word that the Secret Service considered the site to be abandoned and would not be coming back for the coins.

Anderson already had submitted his letter of resignation to take a job with another law enforcement agency before the investigation began. Thomas resigned a week after being notified of the inquiry. Fletcher was suspended without pay for two weeks and was reassigned. Johnson was given a written letter of warning.

Johnson was off duty at the time and was riding along with a deputy in hopes of becoming a law enforcement officer.

As part of the reprimand, Sheriff Jack Parker said Johnson's actions prove he "does not have the maturity or judgement necessary to take on this responsibility." Parker said he is not willing to endorse Johnson's attendance at a law enforcement academy.

During the investigation, Fletcher said he was simply mimicking the actions of Thomas and Anderson -- two senior deputies -- and would have never collected the nickels on his own. But Parker said that instead of joining the other men, Fletcher should have been trying to stop them.

In a memorandum, Parker said the sincerity of Fletcher's apology kept him from being fired.

"Your actions have resulted in the loss of the public's trust and brought ridicule upon yourself and the other member's of the sheriff's office," Parker wrote. "Your fellow employees do not deserve to be embarrassed in this manner, but they must suffer through it because the actions of one member affects us all."

The men were spotted by fellow deputies as they scooped up the loose change about 1 a.m. Sept. 20. They collected $70.75.

The report states that even though the Secret Service considered the site to be abandoned, the men acted improperly for personal gain during work time.

Thomas, a 20-year deputy, was notified of the internal affairs investigation on Sept. 30 and turned in a letter of resignation on Oct. 8, effective Oct. 9.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...NTPAGECAROUSEL

[dan1065cf]

buh bye Glen... no more bogas DUI's or hot little nudie dancers in the car for you

Serves you three thieves...wish you had all been fired for making us look bad.

Worse thing in the world is a thieving, dirty cop!

Serves you three thieves...wish you had all been fired for making us look bad.

Worse thing in the world is a thieving, dirty cop!

Hey guys don't be too hard on them, they are only deputies. When the selection process gets better we will have better deputies. Face it, we are the bottom of the barrel as far as LEO's are concerned now. We have lost all our dignity (Thanks Mikey).

Serves you three thieves...wish you had all been fired for making us look bad.

Worse thing in the world is a thieving, dirty cop!

Hey guys don't be too hard on them, they are only deputies. When the selection process gets better we will have better deputies. Face it, we are the bottom of the barrel as far as LEO's are concerned now. We have lost all our dignity (Thanks Mikey).

I can just picture them now with metal detectors scanning over the sod that was laid down...Just remember not to take any wooden nickels .. :lol: :devil:

[dan1065cf]

Prob. end up as rent-a-dousch's at the Port

Prob. end up as rent-a-dousch's at the Port

Hey dingleberry, if you're going to insult someone, at least learn how to spell the insult before you post. It's spelled "douche" ya moron. No wonder you're a cop, you're too stupid to do anything else.

Prob. end up as rent-a-dousch's at the Port

Hey dingleberry, if you're going to insult someone, at least learn how to spell the insult before you post. It's spelled "douche" ya moron. No wonder you're a cop, you're too stupid to do anything else.

Little confused .." no wonder you're a cop " ??? Umm..aren't you one too being here on this website & all ?? Just wondering. :cop:

Not everyone on here is a cop. Some people just like to come on here and see what you guys talk about when you're not on donut patrol. Of course this board is a god send to you guys because you don't have to a mouth full of bear claw in order to put your two cents in.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. —
A Brevard County deputy is back on the job more than five years after he retired in the midst of an internal investigation.

A tractor-trailer taking freshly minted nickels crashed along Interstate 95 in 2008, sending tons of coins onto the road. Deputy Glen Thomas was one of four sheriff's employees accused of picking up some nickels after the crash was cleared, but he left the agency before it decided whether he would be punished.

In March, Thomas was re-hired by the Sheriff's Office, and the sheriff said he has no regrets in the move.

In a written statement, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said, "Work performance since he returned to the agency has been stellar."

Thomas spent 20 years with the Sheriff's Office before he retired in October 2008, while being investigated for violating agency policy under then-Sheriff Jack Parker.

The retirement came less than a month after millions of newly minted nickels spilled onto the roadway. After the scene was cleared, four sheriff's employees, including Thomas, were accused of picking up about $70 worth of coins. Thomas was one of them.

There was no investigation against Thomas at the time which would have prevented him from being re-hired.

"There is no indication that if he had not retired he would have been found guilty of any wrong doing," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.

Two other sheriff's deputies, however, were disciplined. Deputies William Fletcher and Andrew Johnson are still employed with the department.

Deputy Samuel Anderson resigned.

Ivey said Thomas was one of the deputies involved in incident, but added his background review determined that Thomas performed exemplary in subsequent employment.

"I have absolutely no regret in rehiring Deputy Thomas," said Ivey.

"Aren't we innocent until proven guilty? I think we should afford this deputy that same standard," said Sheaffer.

Thomas is currently working as a patrol deputy.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/bre ... ami/ngpzq/