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DUI Deputy Case Handed Off

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By JOSH POLTILOVE and THOMAS W. KRAUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 21, 2007

TAMPA - The day after former Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Daniel Brock announced that he will be allowed to keep his law enforcement certification, state prosecutors said they have passed their criminal investigation into Brock's actions to the U.S. attorney's office.

Brock was the county's top deputy for DUI arrests until he was fired May 24. An internal affairs investigation determined he failed to turn in DUI reports at the end of his shift and wrote reports days later from memory rather than using field notes.

Brock, who joined the department's DUI enforcement unit in 2003, quickly garnered the highest number of drunken driving arrests. He also gained a reputation among prosecutors for providing weak cases with shaky evidence, which ultimately sparked the investigation, the internal affairs report states.

From October 2005 to October 2006, Brock made 313 driving-under-the-influence arrests. Of those, he did not record a video about 40 percent of the time, according to internal affairs documents. In 58 arrests, the suspect had a blood-alcohol content below 0.08 percent, the level at which Florida law considers a person impaired.

After his dismissal, Brock said he had become a scapegoat for prosecutors who dropped what he considered viable DUI charges. He called his firing "unfair and heavy-handed."

On Wednesday, Brock's attorney, Jeffrey Blau, announced that a review by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Division recently exonerated Brock of allegations that he falsified DUI arrest records. That exoneration means he can keep his certification as a Florida law enforcement officer.

In a letter dated Nov. 14, FDLE officials notified the sheriff's office that the alleged misconduct either did not meet the state's criteria for disciplinary action or could not be proved.

Filling out reports after a shift has ended is not prohibited, Blau said. Brock received a copy of the letter on Dec. 10, Blau said.

A criminal investigation looking into possible official misconduct by Brock was conducted, but the state attorney's office declined to prosecute, the letter states.

Today, the state attorney's office released a statement saying its prosecutors had been working with the FBI and federal prosecutors regarding the allegations against Brock. All the agencies have agreed that the U.S. attorney's office is "the appropriate agency to lead the investigation."

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi declined to say what specifically the U.S. attorney's office would investigate.

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, also said he couldn't speculate on what, if any, federal charges would apply. He added that he could not speculate on how long it might take federal prosecutors to decide whether to file charges.

Brock moved to Tennessee a few months ago, where he works for the Transportation Safety Administration.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com.

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