KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A Kissimmee police officer assigned to a K-8 charter school was fired for making a sexually explicit video of herself for her husband from inside a school staff bathroom in December 2018, according to an internal affairs report.
- Kissimmee chief fired charter school resource officer
- Investigators: Short video shot in school's staff bathroom
- Officer said she was forced to make video by husband
The report for the unidentified officer became public Friday.
“The safety and security of our community, especially when it comes to our children, is our top priority at the Kissimmee Police Department,” Kissimmee Police Chief Jeffrey O’Dell said in a statement. “The actions taken by this School Resource Officer on duty, while working at a school, were not a reflection of the Department’s top-most priority and as a result that person was terminated.”
O’Dell said he removed the officer from the school’s campus and launched an investigation as soon as Kissimmee heard about her video.
The 10-second video, along with three explicit still images, were found on the cellphone of her unidentified husband, an Osceola County Sheriff's Office employee, as part of a domestic-violence investigation.
The school, Imagine Kissimmee Charter Academy at 2850 Bill Beck Blvd., instructs 775 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It has 65 staff members.
A person who responded to a request for comment from the school said no students were involved, and the officer was not a school employee. The person directed Spectrum News 13 to Kissimmee police.
In a May memo to the officer, O’Dell said the internal affairs investigation sustained allegations that she violated the agency’s standards of conduct. He announced his intent to terminate her.
According to the internal affairs report, the officer admitted to making the video December 2, 2018, but said she was forced into it by her husband. She also noted that she made the video while on a break and inside a private, locked staff restroom. She also said it was only shared with her husband.
“Sending the material did not affect the ability to perform my job; and it is imperative to note that no one was hurt because of my actions,” she wrote. “At no point would I have sent the material if I was not in a physically abusive, emotionally abusive, and submissive relationship where I was afraid for my life.”
Kissimmee City Manager Mike Steigerwald denied her termination appeal in an August 19 memo.
“In this situation, what is indisputable is the fact that you created a sexually explicit video while on duty on the grounds of the school where you served as a school resource officer,” he wrote. “Though you offered facts concerning your relationship that you felt were mitigating circumstances to justify your action, as an officer you are trained to recognize and act upon such situations, which makes it difficult to defend your actions.”