We recently blogged about Finebloom & Haenel P.A. attorney AnneMarie Rizzo’s work on revealing the misconduct of Sarasota Deputy Dominic Fornal. Fornal was caught on multiple video recordings during DUI stops verbally abusing drivers in addition to other questionable actions. In Rizzo’s case, her client was suffering post traumatic stress disorder and was on the receiving end of Fornal’s expletive-laced tirade while a passenger in a DUI stop.
The Herald Tribune now reports that Fornal has resigned as the department investigates the extent of his misconduct. The Tribune quotes a written statement by sheriff spokeswoman Wendy Rose, “He was allowed to review the evidence and witness testimony against him. It was at that time he submitted his resignation.” Unfortunately for Fornal, a lot of the evidence proving his misconduct are video tapes from his own (or should we say former) patrol car.
Don’t worry, just because Fornal has resigned as a deputy does not mean that the cases looking into his behavior are paused. The Tribune also noted that the internal affairs investigation into Fornal’s actions will be completed by the end of the week. We will keep you posted.
In Florida, police are always on the lookout for DUI’s. But their vigilance must still land on the side of legal activities. The legal reality of any traffic stop is that the police must have probable cause to pull a car over. Put differently, the police cannot pull you over for no reason whatsoever. And once they do pull you over, there are certain standards the police are held to during the contact with a driver and his passenger. Not only did Fornal offend those communication standards but some of his stops are also being questioned on a probable cause level. For instance, one such stop occurred last May when he pulled a driver over on suspicion of marijuana after he claimed to have smelled it himself. The issue: the windows were rolled up at the time. Ultimately, no marijuana was found in the vehicle.
We know how scary the Florida criminal justice system can be. That being said, just because you are pulled over or charged does not mean that you will be convicted of a crime. A good Florida criminal law attorney not only looks into the more obvious flaws in a case (issues with a breathalyzer, chain of custody, etc) but also into the individual officers involved in the case. Of course we would all like to believe that every police officer has your safety and best interests in mind but the reality is that Fornal is not the only Florida police officer that has engaged in questionable conduct while on duty.
If you have recently been charged with a crime in Florida, do not hesitate to give the attorneys at Finebloom & Haenel P.A. a call to discuss your case. We will look at every aspect of your case and do our best to get you the best results possible. We will fight for your rights. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
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