Findings Of Fact Paul Allen Cohen moved to Florida from New York City five years ago. Since he was 13 years old, he was held various jobs in the retail grocery business. At the time of the hearing, he was the principal stockholder in the corporate petitioner that is seeking a license for package sales in these proceedings. The corporation owns a grocery store on North Miami Beach in which Mr. Cohen and his parents were working at the time of the hearing. Mr. Cohen has never been fired from a job. He has had several bank accounts and had three at the time of the hearing, but has never written bad checks. He follows the food stamp rules meticulously and enjoys a good reputation for moral character among his business acquaintances. Aside from traffic arrests, Mr. Cohen has been arrested on a single occasion. Detective Mark Allen Wood, a Hollywood policeman, made the arrest on the night of December 26, 1979, outside Richard's Department Store in Hollywood. As a result of conversations the arresting officer had with Mr. Cohen in the store men's room earlier in the evening, Detective Wood charged Mr. Cohen with "offering to commit a lewd and indecent act." This charge became "lewd and lascivious act," Petitioner's Exhibit No. 3, and Mr. Cohen pleaded nolo contendere on June 25, 1980, at which time adjudication of guilt was withheld, a fine of $240 was levied and court costs of $10 were assessed. Neither the presiding judge nor Mr. Cohen's counsel at the time told Mr. Cohen what effect this disposition would have on his arrest record. His then counsel did advise him that none of his "rights" would be "infringed". Mr. Cohen did, in fact, solicit sexual favors from Detective Wood on the night of December 26, 1979, but declined Detective Wood's invitation to go to a parking lot with him for that purpose. There was no physical contact between the two men until the arrest. Mr. Cohen testified that he did not consider himself a homosexual and that this was an isolated incident. According to Detective Wood, the men's room at Richard's Department Store was a notorious meeting place for homosexuals. In connection with petitioner's application for a beverage license, Mr. Cohen completed a personal data form on which he indicated that he had never been arrested for any offense other than minor traffic offenses. Even though he knew this was false, he swore that the form had been filled out truthfully. At the hearing, Mr. Cohen testified that he did not want his parents to learn of his arrest.
Recommendation Upon consideration of the foregoing, it is RECOMMENDED: That respondent deny petitioner's application. DONE AND ORDERED in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, this 9th day of January, 1981. ROBERT T. BENTON, II Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 9th day of January, 1981. COPIES FURNISHED: Maurice Rosen, Esq. Suite 112 16666 Northeast 19 Avenue North Miami Beach, Florida 33162 Dennis E. LaRosa, Esq. 725 South Bronough Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301
The Issue Whether the Respondent, a licensed Class “D” Security Officer, committed misconduct by abandoning his post as alleged in the administrative complaint and, if so, the penalties that should be imposed.
Findings Of Fact At all times pertinent to this proceeding, Respondent was the holder of Class “D” Security Officer License Number D94- 02827. Kevin Buffington was, at all times pertinent to this proceeding, a vice-president of Elite Guard and Patrol Service, Inc. (Elite). David Fambrini was, at all times pertinent to this proceeding, a supervisor with Elite. On April 3, 1996, Respondent was employed by Elite as a security guard. Respondent was assigned to a post at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach. He was scheduled to be on his post for a nine hour shift beginning at noon and ending at 9:00 p.m. Because it was Respondent’s first day on the job, Mr. Fambrini went to the Fontainbleau Hotel with Respondent, showed him around the facilities, explained to him his duties, and introduced him to the management of the hotel. After spending approximately an hour and a half with Respondent, Mr. Fambrini left the hotel to attend to other matters. Respondent was responsible for providing security for several hundred hotel guests who were part of a large tour group. Between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on April 3, 1996, Respondent abandoned his post at the Fontainbleau Hotel. When Mr. Fambrini returned to the hotel to check on the Respondent, he learned that Respondent had left his post. Elite had to secure the services of another guard to complete Respondent’s shift. Respondent testified that he called Elite and told Mr. Buffington that he was leaving his post because of a family emergency. This testimony lacks credibility and is rejected. Mr. Buffington testified, credibly, that he was available in his office the entire afternoon of April 3, 1996, and that Respondent did not call him or anyone else with Elite. In addition, Respondent told Petitioner’s investigator that he abandoned his post at approximately 3:00 p.m. and quit without notice because April 3, 1996, was his first day on the job and he was not happy with his assignment. The conflicts in the testimony are resolved by finding that Respondent abandoned his post on April 3, 1996, without first advising his employer or the management of the hotel.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that Respondent’s Class “D” Security License be revoked. DONE AND ENTERED this 21st day of March, 1997, in Tallahassee, Florida. CLAUDE B. ARRINGTON Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (904) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (904) 921-6847 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 21st day of March, 1997. COPIES FURNISHED: Douglas D. Sunshine, Esquire Department of State Division of Licensing The Capitol, Mail Station No. 4 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Mr. Samuel Leon Frederick 1420 Northwest 90 Street Miami, Florida 33147 Honorable Sandra Mortham Secretary of State The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Don Bell, General Counsel Department of State The Capitol, Plaza Level 02 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
Findings Of Fact Respondent has been employed by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office for approximately nine years. For the past four years and at all times material to this proceeding, Respondent was employed by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as a property clerk. Respondent's duties as a property clerk included the following: (1) taking physical custody of evidence, (2) assigning physical locations in alpha- numerically numbered "bins"; (3) recording the receipt of evidence and its physical location in the computer; (4) printing and affixing to the evidence, bar codes for identification of the evidence; and (5) placing the items in the appropriate bins. Also, in her role as a property clerk, Respondent was responsible for retrieving evidence from the bins for officials of the Sheriff's Office when such evidence or property was needed for court, analysis, or other purposes. In collecting and logging in items, property clerks follow a specified routine. Each item of evidence has a unique police report number for tracking purposes in the Sheriff's Office computers. Typically, the Property Section will receive an item of evidence from a law enforcement officer with identifying information contained on an adhesive "property and evidence" label. The label includes the police report number, date and place of collection, the officer's name and payroll number, and any special instructions. The collecting officer and the property clerk sign the label when the item of evidence is received by the property clerk. After the property clerk receives the item, the property clerk enters the information into the computer and assigns the item a physical location in the Section. Once the information is entered into the computer, the property clerk will command the computer to print a small adhesive paper label which contains a bar code, location number, and brief item description. The property clerk then affixes the label to the bag containing the item. Except for guns, drugs, and oversized materials, once items are processed, they are stored in cardboard boxes (or bins) in the Property Section's warehouse. The warehouse is located behind a secure door and contains items of property or evidence. The boxes are arranged alpha-numerically. For example, there is a rack in the warehouse containing the "Y" boxes, from Y-001- upwards. The boxes are filled sequentially. The property clerks process the items at a computer terminal located behind the glass partition separating the secure areas of the Property Section from the common lobby area. Typically, there are four boxes of different sizes on the table. Usually, the property clerks place evidence boxes on a table located directly behind them. Once an item of evidence is processed, it is placed in one of the four boxes on the table. The placement of items of evidence in one of these four boxes alleviates the need for the property clerk to shuttle each individually processed item of evidence to the warehouse. Once an evidence box is full, the property clerk takes the box to the warehouse and places it in the appropriate rack. Then the property clerk removes the next consecutively numbered empty box and takes it to the table in the processing area. On or about April 10, 1995, Sgt. Wallace Colcord, Section Commander of the Property and Evidence Section, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, was notified by the supervisor of the midnight shift, Robert Bayer, of inquiries regarding missing pieces of property. Essentially, in looking for an item of evidence, a property clerk had failed to locate an item of evidence for a forensic technician. In this instance, the computer indicated that the item was located in a certain bin in the warehouse, but upon a search of the designated bin, the property could not be located. Based upon his investigation, Supervisor Bayer determined that the original bar codes indicated that the evidence had been initially processed by Property Clerk Betty Chandler. Bayer spoke with Chandler regarding the missing item and directed her to locate the property. After spending the entire weekend looking for the missing item of evidence, Chandler located the initial missing item as well as several others that had been relocated. What Chandler discovered were items that were mislocated and had new bar codes affixed over the original bar codes prepared by Chandler. However, it was determined that the computer entry for the items showed the original location. During the course of this investigation, it was discovered that seven items of evidence had been mislocated in this manner. The bar code printing machine maintains a continuous ribbon which was able to be examined. Through such examination, it was determined that the new bar codes on the mislocated items had been printed on the evening shift of April 1, 1995, during the time that only Respondent was on duty. On or about April 24, Sgt. Colcord and Richard Roberts, Respondent's immediate supervisor, met with Respondent Styers regarding the mislocation of items that occurred during her shift on April 1, 1995. Respondent initially indicated that she had heard something about the problem. Sgt. Colcord presented to Respondent two items of property which had been mislocated, two inmate knives. He then directed Respondent to inspect the items, the labels and the bar codes and asked her if she had anything to do with those items. Respondent denied knowing about or having anything to do with the items. After being told that it had been determined that the bar code ribbons indicated that she had printed the "new bar codes" for the two inmate knives, Respondent changed her story. Respondent stated that she had been working on a relocation to an "L" box in the presence of her husband and eight-year old daughter, who had come to the office to have dinner with her. She indicated that her daughter must have used the computer and mislocated the property while she and her husband were outside smoking. Sgt. Colcord then asked Respondent whether he could call her husband regarding his recollection of the events of April 1, 1995. Within a short time, Sgt. Colcord spoke to Respondent's husband by telephone regarding his recollection of the events. In this conversation, Mr. Styers did not recall that he and Respondent ever left their daughter in the Property Section Office alone. Also, Mr. Styers indicated that he did not believe that, without supervision, his daughter had the computer skills necessary to make the entries required to relocate property or evidence. After the telephone discussion with Mr. Styers, Sgt. Colcord and Roberts resumed their interview with Respondent. After learning that her husband's version of the events conflicted with hers, Respondent changed her story. Respondent then indicated that she had not left her daughter alone in the secure area of the Property Section. Respondent indicated that her daughter was interested in the "stickers" and based on her daughter's interest, Respondent showed her daughter how locations were done. According to Respondent, in demonstrating to her daughter how the labels were printed, Respondent took several items of property that were laying out on the counter and, in the computer, changed the location of the items, printed out the new labels showing the new location, and affixed these labels to the items of property. According to Respondent, she then went back to the computer and returned each item to its original location, but forgot to print corresponding stickers and "inadvertently" took these items and placed them in the bins as indicated on the stickers. Respondent Styers acknowledged making these mistakes, but indicated that the errors were accidental or inadvertent. Most of the items of evidence mislocated by Respondent had been originally processed by Property Clerk Chandler. At the time of the incident, both Chandler and Respondent were eligible for a promotion to a position soon to be vacated by the retirement of Supervisor Bayer. By creating the appearance of mistakes on the part of Chandler with regard to the handling of evidence, Chandler's promotional opportunities would be negatively impacted. Based on his conclusion that Respondent had been untruthful during the investigation and on her actions of mislocating property, Sgt. Colcord referred the matter to the Administrative Inquiry Division (AID) of the Sheriff's Office. During this investigation, Respondent was interviewed by agents of the Internal Affairs Section of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. At that time, Respondent told investigators that on the evening of April 1, 1995, she was demonstrating to her daughter how items were relocated both physically and through bar code changes in the computer. According to Respondent, she thought that she had returned the items used in the demonstration to their appropriate computer locations and had properly bar coded the items. During these interviews, Respondent again admitted that she was responsible for the errors but stated that the errors were simply mistakes and were not made intentionally. After completing its investigation, the AID presented its entire investigative file to the Chain-of-Command Board without conclusion or recommendation. The Chain-of-Command Board met and sustained the complaint. Specifically, Styers was charged with violations of four rules of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The charges involve allegations that Respondent violated the following rules and regulations of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office: (1) C-1,V.A,6,(006), relating to truthfulness; (2) C-1,V,A,14c.,(016), relating to conduct unbecoming a member of the agency; (3) C-1,V,C,5,(064), relating to performance of duty; and (4) C-1,V,C,19,(082), relating to the care, custody, and control of property and evidence. Pursuant to General Order B-15, violation of the rules cited above relating to truthfulness and conduct unbecoming a member of the agency are considered Level Five violations. Violations under the rules related to performance of duty and the care, custody, and control of evidence and property are considered Level Three violations. Under the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Guidelines (Guidelines), a sustained finding of two Level Five violations is the basis for assigning sixty disciplinary points. A sustained violation of two Level Three violations is the basis for assigning twenty-five disciplinary points. The Sheriff's Office General Order B-15 does not contain a disciplinary range for a total point award of eighty-five points. However, consistent with the established Guidelines, the Chain-of-Command Board adjusted Respondent's total disciplinary point award at seventy-five points. For seventy-five (75) total points, the discipline imposed may range from ten days suspension to termination. Based on its findings, the Chain-of-Command Board recommended that Respondent be terminated. Petitioner concurred with the recommendation of the Chain-of-Command Board and terminated Respondent from her position as property clerk with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Prior to the incident in this case, Respondent has not been the subject of an administrative investigation or any disciplinary action by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Civil Service Board of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office enter a Final Order finding Respondent guilty of the conduct alleged in Counts I, II, III, and IV of the charging document and upholding Respondent's termination from employment as a property clerk with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. DONE and ENTERED this 10th day of July, 1996, in Tallahassee, Florida. CAROLYN S. HOLIFIELD Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 10th day of July, 1996. APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER, CASE NO. 96-0022 To comply with the requirements of Section 120.59(2), Florida Statutes (1993), the following rulings are made on the parties' proposed findings of fact: Petitioner's Proposed Findings of Fact. 1.-4. Accepted. Accepted and incorporated. Accepted. 7.-12. Accepted and incorporated to the extent not subordinate or unnecessary. 13. Accepted. 14.-34. Accepted and incorporated to the extent not subordinate or unnecessary. 35. First sentence accepted and incorporated. Remainder of paragraph rejected as argument. 36.-41. Accepted and incorporated to the extent not subordinate or unnecessary. Respondent's Proposed Findings of Fact. Accepted. Accepted and incorporated to the extent not subordinate or unnecessary. Accepted. 4.-6. Accepted and incorporated. 7. Accepted in part. Reject characterization of interview as "informal discussion" and statement that Respondent was not informed of the nature of the mislocation of items. 8.-9. Accepted and incorporated to extent not subordinate or unnecessary Accepted and incorporated to extent not subordinate or unnecessary. Reject characterization of discussion as "informal interview." Accepted and incorporated. Accepted except phrase "no evidence of such was presented" is rejected as not supported by the record. First sentence accepted and incorporated. Remainder of paragraph rejected as argument and/or legal conclusions. Accepted. First two sentences accepted. Remainder of paragraph rejected as argument and/or legal conclusions. Accepted and incorporated. Rejected as argument and conclusions of law. First two sentences and last sentence accepted. Remainder of paragraph rejected as argument. Accepted and incorporated to extent not subordinate or unnecessary. 20.-23. Rejected as irrelevant and immaterial. 24. Accepted. COPIES FURNISHED: James M. Craig, Esquire ALLEY AND ALLEY/FORD AND HARRISON 205 Brush Street Post Office Box 1427 Tampa, Florida 33601 Joseph M. Ciarciaglino, Esquire CIARCIAGLINO AND COYLE, P.A. 200 Mirror Lake Drive St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 William Repper, Chairperson Pinellas County Sheriff's Civil Service Board Post Office Box 539 Clearwater, Florida 34617 B. Norris Rickey, Esquire Office of Pinellas County Attorney 315 Court Street Clearwater, Florida 34616
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that: The Department of Business Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, enter a final order dismissing the charges against respondent, R. Hughes, Inc. d/b/a The Odyssey, contained in the Notice To Show Cause in this case. RECOMMENDED this 6th day of December, 1984, in Tallahassee, Florida. J. LAWRENCE JOHNSTON Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building 2009 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9673 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 6th day of December, 1984.
The Issue An Administrative Complaint dated February 8, 1999, alleges that Respondent committed violations of Section 493.6118, Florida Statutes, when he performed armed security officer services without a proper license and when he failed to cooperate with an official investigation and gave false information regarding his identity and address. The issues in this proceeding are whether the alleged violations occurred and, if so, what penalty is appropriate.
Findings Of Fact Respondent, Vance H. Britto, was licensed by the Florida Department of State as a security officer some time prior to 1993. His license expired and he was deemed ineligible for re- licensure because of an unpaid disciplinary fine. On August 27, 1998, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Richard Yates, an investigator with the Florida Department of State, conducted a pro-active investigation at Windhover Apartments in Orlando, Orange County, Florida. Investigator Yates was accompanied by his colleague, Ed Sundberg. The investigators approached an individual wearing a security officer's uniform and badge and carrying a 38-caliber revolver. They identified themselves and asked the individual for his name and security officer's license. The individual gave his name as David Wilson but said that his license was at his employer's office being laminated. Although he was in a white Ford sedan with security markings, the individual denied having his driver's license or social security card with him. He gave his address as 2203 Page Street in Orlando. He gave his supervisor's name as Ricky Heath and his employer as Security Enforcement Services, Inc. After a brief exchange with the investigators, the individual sped away in his vehicle. Investigator Yates made a note of the license plate and made further notes on an inspection checklist. When he returned to his office and described the individual and the encounter to his supervisor, and with the aid of a file photograph, Investigator Yates was able to identify the individual as Vance Britto, a former licensee. In 1998 and to the present time, Mr. Britto has not been licensed with either a "Class G" or "Class D" license. No one knew Mr. Britto at the Page Street address he gave the investigators and when they checked his address in the computer file they learned that he had not lived there in over two years.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing, it is RECOMMENDED: that the agency enter its formal order finding Respondent guilty of violating Sections 493.6118(1)(g) and (o), Florida Statutes, and assessing an administrative fine of $1,000. DONE AND ENTERED this 8th day of November, 1999, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. MARY CLARK Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 8th day of November, 1999. COPIES FURNISHED: Douglas D. Sunshine, Esquire Department of State Division of Licensing The Capitol, Mail Station 4 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Vance H. Britto 6525 Pompeii Drive Orlando, Florida 32822 Honorable Katherine Harris Secretary of State Department of State The Capitol, Plaza Level 02 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Deborah K. Kearney, General Counsel Department of State The Capitol, Lower Level 10 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
Findings Of Fact Respondent was certified by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission on July 14, 1983, and November 19, 1981, and was issued certificate numbers 02-33918 and 502-868. Respondent is currently certified as a law enforcement officer and as a correctional officer by the Commission. At all times material hereto, Respondent was employed as a Deputy Sheriff by the Broward County Sheriff's Department. On May 3, 1986, Respondent, Deputy McDonald, and their immediate supervisor Sergeant James Walkup were working a directed patrol in the south portion of Broward County, Florida. Each was in his own patrol car, but they were working as a group with the express purpose of conducting a routine harassment of known or suspected drug dealers or users in the vicinity. They spotted a rental car occupied by two black males parked in an open field in a residential neighborhood. The occupant of the vehicle in the driver's seat was Jimmy Fox, a reputed drug dealer. All three patrol cars pulled into the field behind the rental vehicle. Respondent "radioed" in that he had made a traffic stop. Neither McDonald nor Walkup radioed that they were on the scene to serve as back-up units. Deputy George Gechoff was working off-duty at the Home Depot on 58th Avenue in the west Hollywood area when he heard Respondent radio that he had made a traffic stop. Since Gechoff did not hear anyone radio that they were serving as back-up to Respondent, Gechoff drove to the location of the traffic stop which was just a few blocks away. When Gechoff arrived at the scene Respondent had already searched the front seat area of the rental vehicle and had asked Fox's permission to search the trunk. Initially, Fox refused consent to the search of the trunk of the rental vehicle. Gechoff and Fox knew each other. After Respondent assured Fox that Fox would not be arrested since the search was illegal and after Gechoff urged Fox to be cooperative, Fox consented to the request. The trunk of the car was opened, and Respondent and Gechoff began searching it. The Respondent found a pistol in the trunk and went to his patrol car to "run a check" on the gun. While Respondent was in is patrol car, Deputy Gechoff, who assisted in the search of the trunk, found an aspirin or "pill- type" bottle containing approximately 50 small objects. Although Walkup testified that the objects were square cubes of yellowish material, Gechoff testified that the objects were white chips of different sizes. At the time, Walkup, Gechoff, and Respondent each believed that the objects were "crack" cocaine. If the objects were indeed crack cocaine, each object would be a single dose of the drug, and each object would have a sale price ranging from $10 to $20. In respondent to his radio inquiry, Respondent was advised that he had a "hit" on the gun, which meant it was wanted in connection with a crime or that it had been previously reported as stolen. When Respondent communicated that information to his immediate supervisor, Sergeant Walkup, Gechoff handed Respondent the aspirin bottle. Walkup instructed Respondent to take both the firearm and the suspected cocaine and write up a "found property report." Respondent was concerned about writing a report for found property, rather than seized property, and suggested to Walkup that they simply turn the matter over to the State Attorney's Office. Walkup took the position that the property was illegally seized since there was no probable cause for the search of the vehicle and the search had taken place simply as part of an harassment operation. He instructed Respondent to report the property as "found property" and left the scene. When Respondent left the scene, he had with him both the confiscated firearm and the aspirin bottle with its contents. He remained concerned about being ordered to write a found property report, but knew he had to do something since he had already radioed in that he had recovered a firearm wanted by the Broward County sheriff's Office. On the spur of the moment, as he was driving through a wooded area near a rock pit, Respondent took the top off the bottle and threw it out the window scattering the contents as he threw away the bottle. Later that day Respondent wrote and signed an Event Report at the Broward County Sheriff's Office reporting that he had found a .44 Magnum and suspected cocaine off the roadway while on routine patrol. The firearm was turned in at the same time, and a property receipt was issued. No property receipt was issued for the suspected cocaine. Several weeks later, Sergeant Walkup received a telephone call from Fox concerning the incident on May 3. In response to that telephone call, Walkup retrieved and reviewed Respondent's report of the May 3 incident with Fox. Upon reviewing the report, Walkup became concerned with the apparent conflicts between the report's contents and his recollection of the events. He so notified his supervisor. On July 1, 1986, Respondent provided a sworn statement to Lieutenant Roger Lekutis of the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Internal Affairs Unit. He admitted that after he drove away from the scene of the Fox "traffic stop" he threw the bottle which he believed contained cocaine "rocks" out the window of his patrol car. He told Lekutis that Walkup had instructed him to write a report of the incident as a "found property" report. He also admitted failing to turn over the suspected cocaine to an evidence custodian. No evidence was offered suggesting that Respondent disposed of the suspected cocaine in a manner different than throwing it out the window as he drove through the wooded area near the rock pit, and the Respondent's testimony in that regard is credited. Since this incident, Respondent has been reinstated by the Broward County Sheriff's Office but was not yet on the payroll by the time of the final hearing in this cause, since he was undergoing certain pre-employment certification and testing procedures.
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered finding Respondent not guilty of the allegations contained in the Administrative Complaint filed against him and dismissing the Administrative Complaint filed in this cause. DONE AND ENTERED this 26th day of April 1989, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. LINDA M. RIGOT Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 26th day of April 1989. APPENDIX DOAH CASE NO. 88-4963 Petitioner's proposed findings of fact numbered 1, 5, 6, 8-10, 13-17, and 19 have been adopted either verbatim or in substance in this Recommended Order. Petitioner's proposed findings of fact numbered 2-4, 7, 11, 12, and 18 have been rejected as not being supported by the weight of the credible evidence in this cause. COPIES FURNISHED: Joseph S. White, Esquire Florida Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, Florida 32302 Johnny L. McCray, Jr., Esquire 400 East Atlantic Boulevard Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 Daryl McLaughlin, Executive Director Florida Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, Florida 32302 Jeffrey Long, Director Florida Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, Florida 32302 Rodney Gaddy, General Counsel Florida Department of Law Enforcement Post Office Box 1489 Tallahassee, Florida 32302
The Issue Whether on or about November 28, 1993, Petitioner committed an act of violence or used force on another person which was not for the lawful protection of himself or another and was sufficient grounds for denial of Petitioner's application for a Class "D" Security Officer and Class "G" Statewide Firearm Licenses, pursuant to Sections 493.6118(1)(j) and (2), Florida Statutes.
Findings Of Fact By application dated February 10, 1994, Petitioner applied to Respondent for a Class "D" Security Officer license and a Class "G" Statewide Firearm license. The applications prepared by Petitioner were complete, and included the required photos and copy of a certificate evidencing successful completion of security officer training as required by statute. On November 28, 1993, the Petitioner met his estranged spouse in the Lakeland police station lobby to exchange custody of their baby daughter. This transfer of custody was videotaped, allegedly by the Petitioner's mother-in-law. As the transfer was ending, the Petitioner became agitated at the person holding the camera. Petitioner picked up the baby car seat and moved towards the camera. The Petitioner swung the baby car seat, while the baby was in it, in the direction of the camera. No competent evidence was produced which proved that the car seat, while being swung by Petitioner, struck another person or an object held by another person.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered approving Petitioner's application for a Class "D" Security Officers license and a Class "G" Statewide Firearm license as provided for in Section 493.6118, Florida Statutes (1993). DONE AND ENTERED this 11th day of January, 1995, in Tallahassee, Florida. DANIEL M. KILBRIDE Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 11th day of January, 1995. APPENDIX Petitioner is eligible for licensure under either stand Petitioner did not submit proposed findings of fact. Respondent proposed finding of fact: Accepted in substance: paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (in part). Rejected as not supported by the greater weight of competent (non-hearsay) evidence: paragraphs 6 (in part), 7. COPIES FURNISHED: Angel E. Figueroa 5331 David Street Lakeland, Florida 33813 Richard R. Whidden, Jr., Esquire Department of State Division of Licensing The Capitol, MS-4 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Honorable Jim Smith Secretary of State Department of State The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Phyllis Slater, Esquire General Counsel The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
