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Hernando Today

Former Brooksville Police Employee Appeals Firing

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: December 5, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - A former employee of the Brooksville Police Department made a case to get his job back Thursday, three months after he was fired for allegedly using his position to get out of a speeding ticket.

Michael Pizzino was sacked after roughly two years as an evidence technician for his conduct during a traffic stop the night of Aug. 20. That's when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, Dwayne Maddux, stopped Pizzino for reportedly driving 55 mph in the 45 mph zone on Spring Hill Drive.
Maddux initially presumed it was an unmarked police car because Pizzino drives a gray Crown Victoria decked out with antennas and a spotlight.

But the car had passed him at 50 mph and the driver waved as he went by, which was "not the conduct of an officer," according to an internal memorandum obtained by Hernando Today.

Here's where accounts split.
Maddux said he asked Pizzino, "What are you trying to prove?"

Pizzino, 42, reportedly mumbled, "I'm an officer at the Brooksville Police Department."

When asked for his credentials, he clarified, "Well, I'm not a police officer yet, but I'm at the end of the process. Right now I'm evidence technician."
Maddux let him go with a written warning out of respect for BPD, but later called to complain about Pizzino's actions and the "trickery" used to "deceive him," the memo states.

The complaint was recorded, an internal investigation completed and Pizzino fired.

During Thursday's hearing, Pizzino didn't dispute that he was speeding or that he wasn't wearing a seat belt. But he strongly denied identifying himself as a police officer.

Doing so would be "completely senseless," he told the hearing officer, City Manager Jenenne Norman-Vacha. "There would be nothing to benefit from that."
Impersonating a police officer is a felony charge and a conviction would dash any hopes he had of becoming a real law enforcement officer, Pizzino said.
Pizzino was on track to join the city's police force. At the time of the incident he was two days away from his physical training portion of the exam.

At the same time, his evidence technician job was on thin ice.

Records show he had been late for work by up to two hours on four occasions in June and that he was given written reprimands for tardiness in January 2008 and July 2007.

At the end of June, he was told that was all the strikes he was going to get. One more slip and he was out of work, Police Chief George Turner had warned.

Under questioning by Norman-Vacha, Pizzino acknowledged Thursday that he was speeding regardless of that warning. He said it wasn't his intention to speed; it was just "carelessness."

The city manager also asked Pizzino about his claims that there were discrepancies in Maddux's complaint. Was there any reason the trooper had to be untruthful?
Pizzino could think of no reason.

Norman-Vacha did not make an immediate decision on Pizzino's appeal at the hearing.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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