TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Tryst Sparks New Sheriff's Policy

ADVERTISEMENT

By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: September 6, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - An on-duty "make out session," that a witness compared to the movie "Casablanca," has prompted the sheriff to draft a policy that outlaws nonplatonic relationships between supervisors and subordinates.

The tryst between a sergeant and rookie deputy is at the heart of a messy tale of broken relationships and violence that crossed over into work life.

It all came to a head with the resignation of Sgt. Donnie Smith on Wednesday, the same day those investigations determined he was derelict in his duty.

The other deputy involved, Cari Grasso, was given a three-day suspension without pay on Aug. 4 for conduct unbecoming an officer. In addition, her one-year probationary period - which was set to expire within days - was extended another six months.

Sheriff Richard Nugent said Friday that Grasso's exemplary performance reviews and former service as a dispatcher saved her from firing.

He further condemned Smith for encouraging a woman he occasionally supervised directly to take time out of her shift for romantic encounters.

"We're not going to tolerate" that kind of behavior, Nugent said. "It's unacceptable."

To discourage future "fraternization," the sheriff has ordered a policy drafted that bans romantic and sexual relationships between supervisors and subordinates. The policy applies to both sworn officers and employees.

All the twists and turns of the often complicated story are laid out in three voluminous internal affairs investigations released Friday.

The first report on Smith was at the end of July, when he was placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the internal investigations. At that point, the State Attorney's Office had just declined to press charges after Smith's girlfriend, Kelly Prus, accused him of slapping her.

The accusation stems from the night of May 31 when Smith and Prus joined Grasso and some other off-duty deputies for drinks. Prus stormed out of the bar when she saw Smith and Grasso holding hands in the booth, according to sworn statements.

Smith and Prus began to argue as they drove away from the bar. An anonymous 911 caller reported a reckless driver on U.S. 19 and followed the sport utility vehicle to the parking lot of a CVS/pharmacy. A deputy pulled behind the SUV and walked up to the driver, whom he recognized as Sgt. Smith.

The passenger, Prus, was visibly upset and crying, but she swore she was OK. The deputy noticed what looked like blood on her shirt, but Prus said that was from a fight with another woman at a bar.

In a later interview, she claimed that Smith had twice slapped her with the back of his hand and pulled out a clump of her hair. When the deputy approached them in the parking lot, Smith told her to make up a story about a fight with another woman, according to Prus' statement.

Smith bought some time talking with the deputy so that Prus could clean up her face with some napkins in the car.

The episode was turned over to the State Attorney's Office, which declined to press charges because of a "lack of physical evidence, inconsistent statements ... and lack of other eyewitnesses ..."

Friday, Nugent said it was his personal opinion that Smith did strike Prus because Smith never gave a consistent statement about what happened. The internal affairs investigator determined that Smith did not violate a truthfulness policy.

That night was far from the end of the story.

On June 9, Prus woke up around 1 a.m. in Smith's home. The bed they shared was empty. She peeked out the window and saw a patrol car idling in the driveway. Smith was talking to the driver.

Twenty minutes later, Prus got up again. The patrol car was still there. Smith leaned deep into the open window. It looked like he was kissing someone. As the car drove off, Smith yelled, "Bye Derik."
Prus wasn't fooled. A former dispatcher, she called the communications center and asked who was working the midnight shift in the area Smith lived. Grasso, they replied.

Fast forward a month to July 9. As a supervisor, Sgt. Troy Groves randomly checks the automatic vehicle locators of all road deputies under his care. The AVLs track every movement of a patrol car and how long the vehicles are stationary.

On several instances, Groves noticed that Grasso had spent long periods on a road near the Citrus County border. That in and of itself is not unusual. Deputies occasionally park to write a report, take a break or monitor traffic.

On this particular night, Grasso was idling in that same spot again and had answered a call from her portable radio. Partly curious and partly concerned, Groves decided to investigate and brought another deputy along with him.

They parked two blocks from Smith's house and walked through the woods to a spot where they could observe but not be seen. After 20 minutes, Grasso walked out of the home with Smith by her side.

Groves said they began "making out" and this was not a "peck on the cheek" or a "goodbye see you later" type kiss. When relating what he saw to his supervisor, Groves declared it worthy of the film "Casablanca."

After 10 to 15 minutes of this - with Groves and the other deputy taking turns with the binoculars - Grasso got back in her car and drove off.

The sheriff praised Groves for his initiative, saying that without that kind of supervision this behavior would probably still be going on today.

"He was right on," Nugent said. "He's earned his money."

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT