06/03/2022
Florida Fish & Wildlife Police Officer Gets Himself Fired
The following is a thorough presentation of the facts. It's long. If you don't like reading, you'll have to weigh that against whatever interest you have in knowing the details of what happened. This story has never been reported elsewhere.
This incident occurred on March 29, 2020. At that time, David Robison was an “Officer Specialist” with Florida’s Fish & Wildlife Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement. He had been with the agency 13 years, and had previously been a lieutenant. He had also served a field training officer for five years.
Robison and his family moved to their current residence in Key Largo, Florida in 2019. Their residence is adjacent to the residence of two people who I will refer to as L and M, or as "the neighbors" — who had lived in the neighborhood for years. The two residences shared a chain link fence.
In the beginning, the Robisons and the neighbors interacted cordially. They occasionally made requests of one another via text message, such as to reduce the volume of music, with no further complaints or issues.
At some point in November 2019, L noticed the Robisons had begun playing loud music outdoors more frequently and at all hours of the day and night, which disturbed her ability to work from home, sleep, or watch TV uninterrupted. L also was concerned that visitors to their home would be subjected to the explicit lyrics in the Robisons’ music. The interactions between the neighbors and the Robisons became increasingly strained to the point where L resorted to making anonymous complaints to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) about the volume of the Robisons’ music.
On March 29, 2020, while at their residence, L and M heard “extremely loud” music emanating from the Robison residence. Robison’s two adult daughters and grandchild were outside in the pool area; his wife was asleep inside the house. Later that afternoon, L and M decided to place a loud speaker on their lawn near the fence they shared with the Robisons “to give them a little taste of their medicine” and “to see if they'd get the message.”
They did.
Around 7:20 p.m., Robison left work early to return home, at the insistence of his daughters, to see for himself what was occurring with the neighbors’ music. Upon arrival, Robison took a photograph of the neighbors’ speaker and texted the photograph to L along with the following words: “Really if this is how it’s going to be I hope your [sic] ready for the fireworks[.]” Robison then returned to work.
Robison never threatened the neighbors with a physical act. According to Robison, the text message referenced fireworks he planned to have at his residence for a birthday celebration in the future. L was not sure how to interpret the text message, but she felt it was threatening because she knew Robison was an armed law enforcement officer. The music from both residences played loudly for several hours until the neighbors turned off their music around 10:00 p.m. Music from the Robison residence continued to play loudly. Robison returned home from work at the end of his shift shortly after 10:00 p.m.
At approximately 10:07 p.m., L called Monroe County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) to report a noise complaint. The Robisons’ music could be heard on the recorded line both while L was inside her home and outside. Deputies Tommy Durham and Lauren Landa responded to L’s complaint. Upon their arrival, Durham could hear the Robisons’ music from the road in front of L and M’s residence. As Durham approached the Robison residence, he noticed Robison’s work truck and realized that he was an “FWC officer.” Robison met the deputies at the front gate to his home. The deputies identified themselves and stated the reason for their visit: a noise complaint.
The events depicted in this video ensued, to include Robison, agitated, immediately stating that he would not turn down his music. Durham attempted to speak with Robison “officer to officer” to calm him down. Instead, Robison continued to ignore Durham's directive to lower the volume of his music, and suggested that he would relinquish his badge and quit his job “right now” instead. After a lengthy back and forth with the deputies, Robison finally agreed to lower the volume of his music to a level that was acceptable to Durham. The deputies returned to the neighbors’ residence to brief them on the outcome of the encounter with Robison.
M and L advised the deputies that Robison had appeared in his yard naked in the past. The deputies advised the neighbors that they should record any alleged illegal activity and report it to MCSO or to Robison’s superiors. The deputies then departed the scene. Around 11:30 p.m., approximately a half hour after the first incident concluded, L called MCSO because she believed the Robison’s music volume had been turned up again.
Durham responded to the second complaint, along with Deputies Landa, Cody Jackson, and Michael O’Connor. Four deputies reported for the second incident because of Robison’s confrontational demeanor earlier that evening. As the deputies approached the scene, they could hear — from three houses away — music they would later describe as “extremely loud" playing from the Robison residence. The deputies were prepared to issue Robison a court date and citation for breach of peace.
Deputy Jackson contacted Robison’s supervisor, Lieutenant Paul Hein, to inform him of (a) the noise complaint, (b) Robison’s refusal to comply with police orders, and (c) the nature of the text message that Robison had sent to L. Jackson’s goal was to avoid having to arrest Robison. Hein advised Jackson to “do what you need to do,” because Robison was off-duty at the time. Upon reaching the Robison residence, the deputies were met by Robison and his wife. The Robisons immediately denied that the volume of their music had been adjusted since the deputies left earlier that night. They vehemently refused to turn down the music and made several attempts to walk away from the deputies.
Deputy Durham insisted that the music was louder than it was when he left the first time. Because it obviously was. Durham then announced that he was conducting a criminal investigation for breach of peace, a misdemeanor offense, and advised the Robisons that they were not free to leave. Durham further admonished Robison that if he continued to refuse to comply, the deputies would place him under arrest. Loud, disagreeable, and chaotic conversations continued among Robison, his wife, their adult daughter, and the deputies. (Someone might want to tell them that there is no such thing as a "decimal meter." At least not one that measures loudness.)
After continued argument over whether the Robisons increased the volume of their music after the earlier incident ended, Robison and his wife challenged the deputies to just “write the ticket.” When Deputy Jackson informed Robison that he would have to contact his superiors, Robison responded that he didn’t care if Jackson called his captain and that he does not “give two f***s about that job.” He further said that the deputies could take his work truck if they wanted to, because he did not care about his job after the treatment he received during a prior internal affairs investigation.
Because the Robisons refused to turn down their music, Durham directed them to turn the music off instead. Deputy Jackson advised Robison’s wife that the officers would not issue a court date or a ticket if the Robisons agreed to turn the music off. That worked. The Robisons finally agreed to turn off their music. The deputies advised that a repeat offense would warrant an arrest and warned the Robisons not to say anything threatening to L and M.
The deputies then followed up with L and M, and again advised them to retain any text messages from Robison and to call MCSO if the issue continued.
In subsequent testimony at a hearing regarding Robison’s termination, Durham testified that he was surprised by Robison’s statements regarding his job. To Durham, Robison’s conduct was disrespectful and interfered with the deputies’ ability to resolve the noise complaint. He believed that if he displayed the same conduct as Robison, he would be fired immediately. Robison blames his conduct on the evening of March 29 on being “in the heat of the moment.” He also believes that his reaction to the deputies referencing his employment with FWC was due to his depressive state following what he believed was prior mistreatment by FWC. During the two years that Robison was being investigated by FWC, he underwent therapy.
On April 2, 2020, L filed a complaint against Robison with the Fish & Wildlife Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement—which for simplicity's sake I am going to refer to as FWC. L's complaint alleged that Robison had sent her a threatening text message on March 29. L stated that although she did not know what Robison meant by the message, that she and her family were in fear of what Robison might do next. L also alleged that Robison and his wife routinely played loud, explicit music from their residence, were seen walking naked in the yard, and were “belligerent and disrespectful” toward the MCSO deputies who were dispatched to the Robison residence to handle the noise complaint on March 29. The following day, L filed an official statement with MCSO, requesting to press charges against Robison. L further stated her belief that Robison “insists on breaking the law without consequence.”
At FWC, complaints about an employee’s performance are typically processed through the employee’s chain of command, but complaints of potential misconduct or law violations are referred to FWC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) for investigation. The OIG issues a final report with investigative findings and conclusions concerning the allegations in the complaint.
L’s complaint was forwarded to the OIG for an investigation, which included interviews of multiple involved parties, review of the MCSO incident reports, observation of the video footage shown here, and more. The OIG investigation sustained the following charges regarding the incidents that occurred on March 29: (1) that Robison sent a harassing (not threatening) text message to L during an ongoing neighbor dispute regarding a noise complaint; (2) that Robison was rude, uncooperative, and disrespectful to the MCSO deputies; (3) that Robison spoke negatively about FWC during a verbal altercation with MCSO deputies; and (4) that Robison placed himself at areas outside of his house where he was seen naked by his neighbors.
Captain Thomas Ship, the professional standards coordinator, prepared a summary of the allegations and the range of allowable discipline for each sustained charge, and forwarded it, and the OIG report, to the Director of the Division, Colonel Curtis Brown, for his review and discipline decision. Colonel Brown believed Robison’s interactions with his neighbors on March 29 was inappropriate and intimidating, and reflected negatively on FWC. He further believed that Robison’s interactions with the MCSO deputies, including his use of profanity and repeated refusal to obey their directives, was disrespectful and unbecoming of an FWC employee. Colonel Brown also considered Robison’s public criticism of FWC and his interference with MCSO’s ability to investigate the noise complaint, to be violations of FWC rules and policies.
Testimony established that FWC enjoys an “extremely close relationship” with MCSO, as the officers mutually support one another, and that a good relationship with other law enforcement agencies is critical to ensuring the safety of officers and the general public. The events of March 29 between Robison and the MCSO deputies damaged the cooperative, working relationship between FWC and MCSO.
On September 23, 2020, Robison was relieved of his law enforcement duties, placed on administrative leave and notified of FWC’s intent to dismiss him from employment. Robison participated in a predetermination conference on October 9, represented by counsel, and on October 19, Robison was fired.
In determining the discipline to impose, Colonel Brown had considered Robison’s conduct on March 29 as well as his disciplinary history, in light of FWC’s disciplinary standards. Prior to the March 29 incident, Robison had been disciplined four times by FWC.
[Perhaps more. Law enforcement agencies – particularly those with union-bargained contracts – often 'age out' officer discipline histories, meaning that after a specified period of time passes, a sustained disciplinary finding can no longer be held against the employee for the purpose of progressive discipline. In practical terms, it is possible for an officer to have multiple sustained instances of the same policy violation — where each instance gets treated as a first offense.]
The four instances:
On December 6, 2017, Robison was suspended for thirty days, demoted from lieutenant to officer, and transferred to a different county. This was based on a finding that Robison had given contradictory and false sworn testimony as a witness in an unrelated case before the Public Employees Relations Commission, violating “Conduct Unbecoming a Commission Employee” and “Lying or Failure to Give Truthful or Requested Information or Instructing an Employee to Do So.” A settlement agreement later modified that discipline to remove what would have been his transfer to Palm Beach County.
On February 27, 2017, Robison received a written reprimand for communicating with a member of the public in an unprofessional manner during a vessel stop, a violation of “Violation of Statutes, Statutory Authority, Rules, Regulations, Commission Policies or Procedures, General Orders, Division/Office Policies, or Procedures.”
On February 10, 2017, Robison was suspended for five days for engaging in off-duty employment without obtaining supervisory approval for either the off-duty work or the leave he utilized in doing so. This violated “Violation of Statutes, Statutory Authority, Rules, Regulations, Commission Policies or Procedures, General Orders, Division/Office Policies, or Procedures”; “Inefficiency, Inability to Perform Assigned Duties, Substandard Performance of Duties, or Loafing”; and “Absence without Authorized Leave.”
On November 26, 2012, Robison received an oral reprimand for careless use of FWC equipment, which resulted in damage to his assigned vessel and a waterway channel marker. His conduct constituted a violation of “Improper or Careless Use of State Property, Including Conveyances.”
FWC charged Robison with several violations arising from his involvement in the noise complaint incident, Specifically, FWC alleged that Robison sent a text message to L that could be interpreted as harassing; was rude, uncooperative, and disrespectful to the MCSO deputies; spoke negatively about FWC during a verbal altercation with the MCSO deputies; and placed himself at areas outside of his house where he was seen naked by his neighbors on prior dates. For this conduct, FWC charged Robison with conduct unbecoming an FWC employee; violating FWC policies and procedures; and using abusive, threatening, or offensive language.
Robison appealed his termination to PERC, Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission, where a hearing officer recommended that the Commission affirm FWC’s dismissal of Robison.
On February 26, 2021, the Commission upheld FWC's discipline. Robison was fired.
~~~
Note: it appears that at least two of Robison's earlier disciplinary cases involved moral character violations, which should have been reported to Florida's Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission. I have been unable to find any indication that even a single report was ever made. I will look into that further.
See pinned comment for a detailed overview of this case.~~~/r/realworldpolice@realworldpolice
