One Woman's Story About Police Corruption:
I’ve been
following Archangels of Justice’s articles, posts and comments. In fear of retaliation by the offending
entities, I’ve remained behind the curtain watching as these warriors expose
statewide corruption. However, after
reading their posted article out of Ocala.com titled Bondi objects to lawsuit, by Bill
Thompson, my “curtain” is unveiling in hopes that sharing my story will
bring forth awareness on the abuse of power taking place amongst us. Police officers are violating a federal law that
Attorney General Pam Bondi not only declines to enforce but has a gross lack of
empathy for the impacted victims.
Bill
Thompson writes in his January 2, 2014 article, “Attorney General Pam Bondi asserts in court documents that law
enforcement officers throughout the state can freely snoop into the records of
15 million licensed Florida drivers — so long as the prying is not done for
economic gain.”
If Attorney General
Bondi believes Law Enforcement should not be held accountable for misuse of
drivers databases unless used for “economic gain”, not only is she in violation
of law herself, she’s committing a great injustice to victims of Stalking/Harassment
and their families. Her belief defeats the
purpose of why the Drivers Privacy
Protection Act (DPPA) was established in the first place. It’s enactment had nothing to do with economic
crime; It was specifically created to
protect people from violent crime- Stalking and Harassment in particular, as it
falls under Title XXX of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and was later amended to reflect stricter guidelines and punishment
following the 1989 Homicide of Rebecca Schaeffer, an innocent actress/model
killed by a stalker who used the driving license database to locate and murder
her.
So… back to Archangels of Justice and my story-
I am a former Deputy
Sheriff and although still certified am unable to ever work again.
The irony of Attorney
General Pam Bondi “objecting to lawsuits” as stated in the above article is
compelling. I know of one lawsuit in particular that
wouldn’t even exist had Pam Bondi taken appropriate action following the written
request for help she received.
In 2011, Bondi was
one of 18 different government entities and agencies I contacted for help in
fear for my life after learning more than 120 Law Enforcement Officers from 2
local Sheriff Departments used their federally funded computer database, known
as DAVID, to illegally obtain my
personal information in excess of over 500 times. These same officers then used
my information to also illegally obtain my husband and two sisters private
information- information protected under the DPPA Amendment- nearly 300
times.
After an entire year
of reaching out for help with negative results, I filed a Federal lawsuit
against the offending entities. This was
a last resort effort for help.
For anyone
insinuating my lawsuit to be frivolous- perhaps you think I saw it as an
opportunity to “get rich”, well you are sadly mistaken. I ask you this, “If you were a victim of a
crime, who would you call for help? The
police, right? Well who do I call for
help if the police are the ones
committing the crime?” I was left no
other choice but to hire private investigators and pay thousands of dollars to attorneys
in effort to seek help and protection for my family.
They advised me that by
filing a lawsuit it would expose the behavior and perhaps motivate the police
to stop the harassment in fear of consequence- wrong; there was no consequence, but rather conspiracy.
I’ve learned the
“good ole’ boys’ network” goes far and beyond 2 local Sheriff Offices. Of the 18 agencies I pled to for help,
including Pam Bondi and her Victims Advocacy Division, not a single one of them
would help me. Instead, I was told to
report my allegations to the offending Sheriff Offices’ administration. Since
when are criminals permitted to investigate their own crimes? As crazy as it was, my husband and I did
as instructed. We reported our findings
and expressed the severe distress we were suffering as a result to both Sheriff
Offices.
The corruption
continued and a conspiracy began to evolve.
Mock Internal Affairs
investigations were staged, deputies fabricated [verifiable] lies under oath, I.A.
reports had a “copy & paste” effect duplicating multiple deputies’
statements. Investigators made no
attempt to verify the statements given or cross reference dates/times &
method of database inquiry with DHSMV’s computer records. The security breach committed against my
husband was never even addressed despite formal request. And the big question to this day still
remains- Why? I have yet to know the reason WHY mine, my husbands and my 2 sisters’ privacy
have been so brutally violated.
Why are we being stalked and harassed by local Law Enforcement?
My sisters did not even reside in
Florida during the majority of the 200+ DAVID inquires made against them. I am a mother in my 30’s and have no criminal
history whatsoever. Many of these
deputies were my co-workers- surely they
already knew what I looked like, so why the need to access my driver’s license
photos dozens of times? My poor
husband….Apparently being married to a
female cop means you relinquish any expectation of privacy.
What’s even more
disturbing is the fact that every single deputy who abuses DAVID is doing so
with deliberate intent to break the law.
Access to DAVID and similar databases designed for Law Enforcement
purpose requires training and certification.
During that training, I and every other deputy were specifically told, “DO
NOT access DAVID for personal use.”
Funded by tax payer
dollars, DAVID was not designed to be used as a “Facebook for Cops.” Looking up the address of a girl you find
attractive is NOT permissible under the DAVID User Agreement- the same user agreement officers must click
an acknowledgment icon before accessing.
So why knowingly break the law?
Evidently, the law doesn’t apply to the “good ole’ boys.
Despite several cries
for help, little to no discipline was imposed on the 120+ offending deputies, let
alone criminal charges. I was a victim
of a Federal Felony yet the State Attorney ruled that the 800+ unexplained
DAVID inquires made against us were “not criminal” and should be dealt with
“administratively” by the sheriff’s office themselves. However, this same State Attorney ruled in a
coinciding case involving a female deputy that it WAS “criminal” when she used the database to look up her child’s
father and his affiliates following ongoing harassment surrounding their
custody dispute. Surely that complainant
was not in fear of his life… so why did
the State Attorney’s office investigate his accusation and not mine? Why was that female deputy persecuted to the
point of being fired, yet male deputies, some in which searched me over 20
times each, were given no more than a verbal warning?
What adversaries fail
to realize is the life-altering physical and emotional impact this has had on
my life. One afternoon in particular, my
6 year old son was playing outside when we noticed an intruder on our
property. It was a large, angry man
(whom I didn’t know) at the foot of our driveway acting aggressive and appeared
to be under the influence. I quickly grabbed my son and ran inside to call 911. I then thought, “I can’t call 911; I can’t
have those deputies come here!” Thankfully,
the intruder wondered off without further occurrence. However, that incident made me realize the
severity of what we’re dealing with. I
wasn’t comfortable calling the police in an emergency situation and that is
dangerous!
I live in constant fear
and paranoia every day. My social
activities have become virtually non-existent.
My depression is unbearable. I suffer
such severe nightmares that I’m reliant on anti-anxiety and sleep-aid
medications. I have frequent flashbacks
of the constant harassment I endured while working as a deputy. Any reminder of my former work in Law
Enforcement triggers post-traumatic stress.
I have chronic diarrhea, debilitating migraines, suffer severe
nail-biting, teeth grinding, skin rash, insomnia at night and extreme fatigue
during the day.
Patrol cars routinely
creep past my house on a quite dead-end road forcing me to keep video
surveillance. My husband has received
harassing emails that traced back to a sheriff’s office computer IP Address.
The 24/7 stress of the
ongoing lawsuit and legal process in itself is the most stressful thing I have
ever experienced in my life. The effect
it has had on my marriage and family makes me question, “Is it even worth it?” But then I reflect on everything they’ve done
and realize there’s no telling what else they are capable of. I have
to protect myself! And I’m going to need
the public’s help in order to do so.
Just when I thought
things couldn’t get worse, I discovered that in addition to my 2 former employers
stalking me, several other surrounding agencies were also violating my right to
privacy. Officers I had never even met had
also searched my husband and I on DAVID numerous times. Again, the question remains- Why?
My health continues
to deteriorate. Regretfully, we were
forced to relocate out of Florida. We
left behind our beautiful home on 2 acres, many close friends, our loving family-
including our beloved grandparents who may not have much longer to live, and
our pet horse- a retired champion race horse who we loved dearly. My husband had to leave behind his career (our
only source of income). And our son left
behind his private Christian school and wonderful teacher. We literally are starting all over in another
state, away from the warm Florida weather we so enjoyed. And for the record… we have NOT received a
single penny of compensation from the offenders. This entire move was paid for out of pocket.
Despite being nearly
1000 miles away now, I still hyperventilate every time I see a patrol car. Will I
ever be able to live a normal life again?
Will the intense fear & paranoia ever subside?
I don’t know which is
scarier… Being stalked on a continuous basis by a Sheriff’s Office I haven’t
worked for since 2006 or desperately
seeking help from government agencies supposed to protect me but instead I watch
as they protect the stalkers.
It’s bad enough that the
Sheriff’s Office unjustly robbed me of my lifelong dream in becoming a police
officer; but to further terrorize my family and I, destroying our lives-
placing fear and confusion in our children without consequence, brings this to
a whole new level of battle.
If it weren’t for
Salvatore Rastrelli and Ira B. Robins standing by me since day one, assuring my
family and I that “justice will be served”, I don’t think I could ever survive
this nightmare.
Thank you, Archangels
of Justice, for your continued dedication in unraveling a pervasive epidemic of
Official Misconduct throughout Florida. Thank
you for helping protect my family from an army of attackers. I pray that one day, very soon, all of your courageous hard work will result in the
political change you strive for. Above
all, I pray something this horrific never happens again to anyone else,
especially at the hands of what should be our “protectors.”
THE RULES ARE CLEARLY POSTED IN THE TRAINING MANUAL:
For additional information contact us at:
www.salvatorerastrelli.com
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