A Boynton Beach police officer honored only last year as an Officer of the Year and an instructor at his department's Teen Police Academy now stands accused of selling drugs for the last two years.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and DEA officials announced Tuesday the indictment of David Britto, 28, who they allege had and intended to sell more than 500 grams of methamphetamines between June 2009 and March 2011.
Boynton Beach Police department hired Britto in 2007. The Palm Beach County Association of Chiefs of Police and the Boynton Beach police selected him as 2010 Officer of the Year.
At the time, the department reported that Britto was an instructor at the department's Teen Police Academy and volunteered as a mentor at the Florida Community Alliance.
"The decision to deal drugs while carrying a badge is not only a breach of the law enforcement oath, but a community tragedy as well," DEA special agent n charge Mark R. Trouville said in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.
Britto's indictment was a result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force led by the DEA, which was assisted by various police departments including Boynton Beach Police Department's Internal Affairs, the statement said.
Boynton's Police Chief Matthew Immler issued this statement:
"The alleged corruption of a police officer, especially one that by all accounts performed his duties admirably and with dedication, affects all of us in the Boynton Beach Police Department. We realize that when an officer stands accused of a violation of the public trust, all of law enforcement pays the price in eroded citizen confidence and the perception of diminished integrity," he wrote.
Immler noted, however, that this is an example of how his department vigorously polices itself. A department internal investigation of this matter is ongoing, he said.
Poster Comment:
Getting wound up on crystal meth must be the hot ticket for getting the officer of the year award.