Friday, April 17, 2009

Former Deputy David Brady Accused of Stealing Gas

MANATEE COUNTY

A Manatee sheriff's deputy resigned Wednesday after an internal investigation concluded he stole about 500 gallons of county fuel and then lied about the theft while under oath.

Former deputy David Brady, a canine handler, resigned after nearly 10 years at the Manatee Sheriff's Office, where his attorney says he maintained a "stellar" record and is being punished harshly as an example.

A criminal investigation began after a sheriff's sergeant reported seeing Brady fuel his personal vehicle March 13 at the Manatee County fuel site.

The investigation revealed a "clear pattern of unusual and suspicious fuel consumption" from January 2008 to March 2009, according to the sheriff's Internal Affairs report released Thursday.

Brady's 2008 fuel records showed he used an average of 930 more gallons of fuel than two other K-9 deputies who drive the same type of vehicle with about the same mileage.

The total fuel unaccounted for was determined to be nearly 500 gallons.

Authorities said Brady initially admitted fueling his personal truck with county gas once because he did not have money to buy gas.

Two weeks later, Brady reportedly confessed that he had illegally siphoned county gas three or four times but not to the extent suggested by records.

An internal investigation concluded March 30 sustained two counts of conduct unbecoming a deputy. The theft case has been forwarded to the state attorney's office.

Charlie Britt, Brady's attorney, said Brady took a "small fraction" of what the Sheriff's Office estimated, and he believes the inspectors chose certain deputies to illustrate their point to the extreme.

Brady may lose his license with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Britt said. "I just feel it's truly unfortunate that a career of good deeds is kicked out to the curb for one screwup," he said.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a joke. He thinks he is being treated unfairly because he stole gas a few times & lied about it. No way should he EVER be allowed to be a cop again.