Brevard County sheriff's deputy fired after past misconduct revealed by Washington Post

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey fired deputy Jonathan A. Freitag earlier this month after he became aware that the officer had a long history of misconduct allegations which, according to the sheriff, were not provided to his agency during a background investigation.

The story of the deputy's history and that the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia failed to inform the Brevard County' Sheriff's Office about the allegations were broken by the Washington Post.

"To say the least, it is outrageous that an individual such as Mr. Freitag, with a history of alleged misconduct at the Fairfax County Police Department, had become a member of our agency and placed in a position that may have negatively impacted our citizens due to your agency's misrepresentations," Ivey wrote in a two page April 5, 2021 letter to the Interim Police Chief of Fairfax County, David M. Rohrer.

Freitag, 25, had served seven months with the BCSO before he was terminated on April 1.  A former officer of the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, Freitag had resigned in May 2020 amid mounting internal and criminal investigations against him, the Post reported. 

Fairfax County prosecutors allege that Freitag had made a series of racially motivated traffic stops and made untruthful statements in his reports, including one stop that led to the questionable arrest of a Black Washington, D.C. firefighter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also reportedly investigating Freitag. Now prosecutors are moving to overturn as many as 400 criminal convictions based on Freitag's testimony.

The Post reported these developments in June 2020, however that did not prevent Freitag from finding employment with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office in August of that year. He remained employed with the Sheriff's Office until reporters asked about his status there. 

Documents provided to FLORIDA TODAY by the Sheriff's Office show that in response to an August 11, 2020 employment questionnaire about Freitag, the Fairfax County Government said he was eligible for reemployment, had never been subject to disciplinary action, never been known to be dishonest, never exhibited racial prejudices, and rated his overall work performance as "good."

In a separate June, 2020 letter, Fairfax County administration said Freitag "resigned from the position in good standing" and that his employment was "entirely favorable."

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According to Ivey's letter earlier this month, the BCSO had also taken steps to investigate Freitag, including an August 7, 2020 records request made by phone "for any internals or disciplinary actions taken that involved Mr. Freitag."

The BCSO "relied upon the documentation provided by the Fairfax County Police Department in determining Mr. Freitag's suitability to become an employee... this decision was in large part due to the belief that he had no history that would preclude him from being employed," Ivey wrote. 

What's more, according to Ivey, "multiple attempts have been made to secure copies of any internal affairs investigations, along with any and all disciplinary records pertaining to his employment with (Fairfax County Police Department)," but that despite these numerous contacts to obtain the records, all attempts were unsuccessful.

"We have exhausted all efforts to review the factual materials your office maintains regarding Mr. Freitag. It is obvious that your agency provided misleading representations to our legitimate efforts to investigate his eligibility for employment and to this date have provided no factual information as related to his employment history," Ivey wrote, adding "It remains unclear as to your motivation in this matter."

The Brevard Sheriff's Office provided no additional comment to FLORIDA TODAY, but shared an April 6 email sent to State Attorney Phil Archer from Chief Deputy Douglas Waller that the BCSO is in the process of reviewing any BCSO investigations where Freitag "was associated or conducted" and noted:  "We have not received any conduct complaints during his employment with the BCSO."

Police reform advocates have long decried the frequency and ease with which officers with disciplinary records at one agency are able to be rehired by another. Often they do so by resigning from one force amid an investigation and then joining another before any findings are made. Many agencies stop any investigations an officer once they resign from an agency.

An analysis published last year in the Yale Law Journal described the practice of "wandering officers" and found that as many as 3% of police officers in Florida have been previously fired by another agency. 

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon is a Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Sassoon at 321-355-8144, asassoon@floridatoday.com and Twitter: @alemzs