Bronson Announces Filing Of Felony Charges Against A Former Central Florida Security Officer
For Information, Contact:
Terence McElroy
(850) 488-3022
March 6, 2008
TALLAHASSEE – Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the filing of felony charges against a former security officer accused of impersonating a police officer during an altercation in Orlando last fall.
According to Bronson’s Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE), the suspect - Jonathan C. Shaddix, 22, of Orlando - struck a resident of an Orlando housing complex on September 26 with a baton and used pepper spray during the altercation while wearing clothing and carrying a badge that made him appear to be a law enforcement official. Shaddix had a security officer’s license until 18 months earlier - a license that was revoked by Bronson’s office on grounds of misconduct while on duty.
The suspect, who is currently in state prison for violating probation in an unrelated case, was charged with impersonating a police officer and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Bronson’s department investigated the case because it licenses security officers and believed that Shaddix’s offense constituted impersonating a security officer. But prosecutors who reviewed evidence in the case determined that the facts established during the investigation warranted the more serious charge of impersonating a police officer.
-30-
