BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BROWARD COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy is under arrest after he allegedly stole a purse that an undercover federal agent turned in to the deputy, claiming it was found. Instead of trying to locate the owner, the BSO deputy allegedly stole the money inside and trashed the purse. Here is how the Broward Sheriff’s Office reported the arrest:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Broward Sheriff’s Office Public Corruption Unit (PCU) detectives arrested a veteran BSO deputy early Friday morning for grand theft.
Deputy Michael Spencer was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. during his shift at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. He faces one count each of grand theft and committing a third-degree felony with a weapon.
Following up on undisclosed information, BSO PCU detectives conducted an undercover integrity check operation at the airport.
Wednesday evening, Aug. 24, an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who assisted with the operation posed as a traveler who found an unattended brown purse in the airport. The undercover ATF agent turned the handbag that contained $1,664 in cash into Deputy Spencer while he was on duty, in uniform and sitting in his marked BSO vehicle. The purse also contained multiple decoy items to give the appearance a traveler had lost it.
BSO detectives said Deputy Spencer made no attempts throughout the rest of his shift, which ended at 5 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 25, to turn in the purse and its contents. Instead, they said he kept the cash and discarded the purse and its contents.
Investigators said Deputy Spencer reported to work Thursday evening but still did not turn in the money. As a result, he was taken into custody Friday at approximately 12:50 a.m.
The investigation revealed that Deputy Spencer spent about $200 of the money. Detectives recovered the remaining $1,476 of the investigative funds inside Deputy Spencer’s assigned BSO vehicle.
“Public safety is an honorable profession and requires people to serve with the highest ethical standards. We will continue to police ourselves, hold employees accountable for their actions and arrest them when they engage in illegal activity,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said.
Deputy Spencer has been with BSO since December 2001. Following Friday’s arrest, he was suspended without pay.
