It’s always frustrating when a bad apple cop commits a crime WHILE on duty,but THIS is extremely bold.
A 28-year-old Florida deputy named Justin Register, from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, resigned on Wednesday, after he was caught stealing cash during a traffic stop.
Register had arrested a driver for not having a valid license. He took the guy’s wallet and phone and put it in his patrol car’s trunk, for whatever reason.
Two other cops showed up, and saw Register returning to the car’s trunk multiple times. Eventually, Register returned the driver’s belongings, but the driver said he was missing $300 in cash.
Everyone started looking for it, and that’s when Register went back to the trunk, opened a rifle bag, pulled out some folded cash, and said, “Oh, here it is!”
It was obvious enough that the other cops immediately reported it to their supervisor.
In a statement, Sheriff Grady Judd said, “It makes me so angry I could chew the bark off of oak trees because he betrayed the community’s trust. That’s why he’s not a law enforcement officer anymore.”
Register was arrested for theft, and the sheriff says he would’ve been fired if he didn’t resign. The department also said that all of the cop’s previous arrests and traffic stops are being “audited.”
(Fox 35 Orlando / Polk Sheriff)