Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 25, 2006 13:22:25 GMT -5
08.25.2006 - Two weeks ago, Officer Michael E. Dunsavage was a six-year veteran of the Coconut Creek Police Department.
Now, he is a convicted felon stripped of his state certification to be a police officer.
Dunsavage stood before Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to stealing money from immigrant day-laborers during traffic stops while on duty, in uniform and in a marked patrol car.
Dunsavage, who resigned from the force Aug. 11, brokered a deal with the state. He agreed to plead guilty to one count of grand theft, a third-degree felony, in exchange for 18 months' probation. The deal required Dunsavage to quit his job, give up his state certification to be a police officer and repay the $770 he stole from his victims. The money was deducted from his final paycheck.
If Dunsavage, 26, had been convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison.
In mid-July, police say, Dunsavage pulled over and frisked four victims -- Guatemalan and Salvadoran nationals living in Coral Springs, Lake Worth, Coconut Creek and Miami -- took their wallets and returned them, minus the cash.
The victims, undocumented workers fearful of deportation, were reluctant to come forward and did not want to appear in court, said Detective Angela Hofer of the Coconut Creek Police Department.
"It just brings attention to them if they appear in court as victims or witnesses," she said. "They were mostly concerned with restitution and that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
Assistant State Attorney John F. Hanlon Jr. said he worried that when this case went to trial, in a year or two, he might not be able to find the victims, making it difficult to prove the case to a jury. Instead, he said, he opted to resolve the case quickly, ensuring that Dunsavage would no longer be in a position to abuse his power.
"Crimes of this nature, in a perfect world, call for jail time," Hanlon said. "You have a policeman sworn to uphold the law doing something like this, and you balance the fact that you're appalled by it with the concern that you couldn't satisfy a jury. What could be the possible repercussions? The man gets his job back, the victims see no money, and you end up with someone being a police officer that shouldn't be."
As a convicted felon, Dunsavage will never be able to regain his certification to be a law enforcement officer in Florida.
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cdunsavage24aug24,0,5170840.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Now, he is a convicted felon stripped of his state certification to be a police officer.
Dunsavage stood before Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to stealing money from immigrant day-laborers during traffic stops while on duty, in uniform and in a marked patrol car.
Dunsavage, who resigned from the force Aug. 11, brokered a deal with the state. He agreed to plead guilty to one count of grand theft, a third-degree felony, in exchange for 18 months' probation. The deal required Dunsavage to quit his job, give up his state certification to be a police officer and repay the $770 he stole from his victims. The money was deducted from his final paycheck.
If Dunsavage, 26, had been convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison.
In mid-July, police say, Dunsavage pulled over and frisked four victims -- Guatemalan and Salvadoran nationals living in Coral Springs, Lake Worth, Coconut Creek and Miami -- took their wallets and returned them, minus the cash.
The victims, undocumented workers fearful of deportation, were reluctant to come forward and did not want to appear in court, said Detective Angela Hofer of the Coconut Creek Police Department.
"It just brings attention to them if they appear in court as victims or witnesses," she said. "They were mostly concerned with restitution and that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
Assistant State Attorney John F. Hanlon Jr. said he worried that when this case went to trial, in a year or two, he might not be able to find the victims, making it difficult to prove the case to a jury. Instead, he said, he opted to resolve the case quickly, ensuring that Dunsavage would no longer be in a position to abuse his power.
"Crimes of this nature, in a perfect world, call for jail time," Hanlon said. "You have a policeman sworn to uphold the law doing something like this, and you balance the fact that you're appalled by it with the concern that you couldn't satisfy a jury. What could be the possible repercussions? The man gets his job back, the victims see no money, and you end up with someone being a police officer that shouldn't be."
As a convicted felon, Dunsavage will never be able to regain his certification to be a law enforcement officer in Florida.
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cdunsavage24aug24,0,5170840.story?coll=sfla-news-broward