FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

DATE: February 22, 2021

TO: Patrick Lynn / Interim Chief of Police

FROM: Francis Sousa / Interim Assistant Chief - Operations Bureau¥

SUBJECT: Internal Affairs Case No. 20-087 - Police Officer Michael Berndt {CCN 1637)

After careful review of the evidence and testimony in the above captioned investigation, I concur with the findings of Acting Captain David Cortes that the allegation Officer Michael Berndt violated the following Fort Lauderdale Police Department policy Is sustained:

118.0 E 12 (g) "Unauthorized access, use, dissemination, sharing or copying of information from law enforcement databases or web sites not related to legitimate business purposes. Examples of official law enforcement sites are, DAVID, FC/C, NC/C, DOJ, DJJ etc. This includes, but is not limited to, idle curiosity and other personal use"

It is my recommendation that a Supervisor/Employee Interview Form be issued to Officer Michael Berndt for the aforementioned sustained Department policy violation.

FS/np

FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

DATE: February 22, 2021

TO: Interim Chief Patrick Lynn/Office of the Chief

FROM: A/Captain David Cortes/Office of Internal Affairs A/~~~ tt r~-i(#

SUBJECT: Internal Affairs Case No. 20-087 Officer Michael Berndt {CCN 1637)

After careful review of the evidence and testimony in the captioned investigation, I have determined the charges against Officer Michael Berndt for violation of Fort Lauderdale Police Department policy 118 E 12 (g): "Unauthorized access, use, dissemination, sharing or copying of information from law enforcement databases or websites not related to legitimate business purposes. Examples of official law enforcement sites are, DAVID, FC/C, NCJC, DOJ, DJJ etc. This includes, but is not limited to, idle curiosity and other personal use" is Sustained.

On April 3, 2020, the Office of Internal Affairs was notified of the results of an internal audit, conducted by the agency's Terminal Access Coordinator (TAC). The TAG identified potential violations of Department 'policy and a standing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The potential violations were identified utilizing criteria provided by Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). Officer Berndt was identified as having utilized the Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) to run himself on August 8, 2019 and - on November 12, 2019.

A check of Officer Berndt's Telestaff schedule confirmed he was working at the time of the DAVID queries. During his sworn statement to Internal Affairs investigators, Officer Berndt admitted to having conducted the DAVID queries. Officer Berndt could not provide a plausible law enforcement purpose for having done so. This investigation failed to find any indication Officer Berndt disseminated the accessed information or acted with malicious intent.

***Note: This case was tolled from March 9, 2020 through August 31 , 2020. in accordance with F.S.S. 112.532 due to Florida's COVID~19 declared state of emergency.

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I I FOh. LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARl r••.::NT

INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT REPORT FORM INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE 20-087

Complainant: Interim Chief of Police Patrick Lynn Telephone: 954-828-5700

Address: 1300 West Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312

Location of Occurrence: Fort Lauderdale Police Department

Date of Occurrence: August 8, 2019 & November 12, Date Reported April 3, 2020 2019

Personnel: Officer Michael Berndt CCN: 1637 Assignment ~---

Motors -~__;_~--~

Personnel: CCN: ~----------

Assignment ~-----~

Report Number(s): _N_/_A_______________ Case Category: _1______

Allegation{s):

Officer Michael Berndt

Alleged violation of Fort Lauderdale Police Department Policy:

1. Policy 118 E 12 (g) "Unauthorized access. use, dissemination, sharing or copying of information from law enforcement databases or web sites not related to legitimate business purposes. Examples of official law enforcement sites are, DAVID, FCIC, NCIC, DOJ, DJJ etc. This includes, but is not limited to, idle curiosity and other personal use."

Sustained X Not Sustained _ _ Exonerated __ Unfounded __Policy Failure ___

Revie ed by: A/CAPTAIN David Cortes (CCN 1376)

Police Chief Date ~l O~I Z..\ Assistant Chief Date

~----------------------

I do not concur with the Internal Affairs finding. Attached is a separate memo with my recommendation( s)

Date ~---------------------------- ---­

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Fol. LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARi ... .:NT INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT REPORT FORM

INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE 20-087

SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT

On April 3, 2020, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD) Office of Internal Affairs received an email from Senior Police Teletype Operator Yanique Brown with regards to possible Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) violations. The possible violations were identified during an internal audit conducted by Teletype Operator Brown and Teletype Operator Raphael Bain. During the audit, it was learned Officer Michael Berndt queried the information of himself, as well as the information of- .

The Office of Internal Affairs was tasked with determining if Officer Berndt's actions violated Department policy.

FACTS OF THE INVESTIGATION

On April 3, 2020, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD) Office of Internal Affairs received an email from Teletype Operator Brown with regards to possible Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) violations. The possible violations were identified during an internal audit conducted by Teletype Operator Brown and Teletype Operator Bain. During the audit, it was learned Officer Berndt queried the information of himself, as well as the information of

A review of the information provided by Teletype Operator Brown revealed Officer Berndt queried himself on August 8, 2019 a1 3:29 PM. Officer Berndt queried on November 12, 2019 at 8:22 AM. A query of our Records Management System (RMS) revealed neither Officer Berndt, nor­- information was documented or associated with any FLPD incidents such as Offense Incident Reports or Traffic Crash Reports on these dates and times.

On September 11, 2020, Teletype Operator Brown responded to the Office of Internal Affairs and provided a sworn and digitally recorded statement to Sergeants Francisco Vetancourt, Hems Eugene, and Matthew Guerra.

On September 21, 2020, Teletype Operator Bain provided a sworn and digitally recorded statement to Sergeants Vetancourt and Eugene at the FLPD Main Station.

The statements of Teletype Operators Brown and Bain illustrated they located the possible DAVID violations. During an internal audit, they specifically identified these violations made by Officer Berndt based on criteria and guidelines provided by the FLHSMV.

On September 11, 2020, the DAVID Usage Warning legal Disclaimer was printed and reviewed. This warning message appears upon logging on to DAVID. The user must read and check a box indicating "/ have read and understand this agreement" After checking this box, the user must click "/ accept the above conditions on my use of DAVID" in order to access DAVID. It should be noted, Operator Brown has been the DAVID Point of Contact (POC) since 2017 and the legal disclaimer has remained unchanged during this time span.

Once access has been gained to DAVID, the user must select a purpose code when querying information through the database. In the case of Officer Berndt, he selected purpose code "034-Training" on August 8, 2019 when he queried himself. Officer Berndt selected purpose code "033-Trafflc Related Inquiry" on November 12, 2019 when he queried

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I I FOh.. . LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARl •-•.:NT

INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT REPORT FORM INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE 20-087

Officer Berndt's Telestaff calendar was reviewed, which indicated he worked on August 8, 2019, from 0700-1700. Additionally, it indicated he worked on November 12, 2019, from 0700-1700. Officer Berndt was assigned to the Motor Unit during both of these dates.

On November 20, 2020, was sent correspondence, via certified mail, providing contact informa~ffice of Internal Affairs and requesting to set an appointment to further d iscuss this matter. _,as not contacted the Office of Internal Affairs with regards to this matter.

As of the completion of this review, on January 19, 2021, Officer Berndt provided a sworn and digitally recorded statement regarding this matter.

The investigation into this complaint led to the statements obtained from the individual's listed below.

WITNESS - Senior Pollce Teletype Operator Yanigue Brown (CCN # 8445)

On September 11, 2020, Teletype Operator Brown responded to the Office of Internal Affairs and provided a sworn and digitally recorded statement to Sergeants Francisco Vetancourt, Hems Eugene, and Matthew Guerra. Teletype Operator Brown advised she is the Teletype supervisor and as such is the FCIC/NCIC Agency Coordinator (FAC) and the DAVID point of contact (POC). Teletype Operator Brown advised there are over 500 users of DAVID and it is her responsibility to conduct the FLPD internal audit. Teletype Operator Brown sta1ed she identified possible violations by checking to see if users ran themselves, relatives, other employees, celebrities, politicians, or numerous runs of the same people. Teletype Operator Brown advised she conducted this audit with the help of the alternate POC, Teletype Operator Bain and advised it took approximately three (3) weeks to complete the audit. She stated they put together a list of the possible violations and forwarded them to the Office of Internal Affairs via her chain of command.

When asked to explain the purpose of the internal audit, Teletype Operator Brown responded:

'We need to be in compliance with the memorandum of understanding we have with DA V/D, basically saying, hey, this is your responsibility to check your people, make sure things are being done right, according to policy. Everybody that has access to the system has to take your annual exam to have access to the system. Every 364 days, you are prompted to take your annual test, which gives you the training and then you go through the steps of taking the test to regain access for the next year." (Page 10, Lines 181-186)

Teletype Operator Brown further explained when users log Into DAVID there is a prompt reminding users of the DAVID policies and a user agreement As such, the user must click they agree in order to gain access to the database. She advised ifa user clicks they do not agree then they are automatically logged out An additional audit feature DAVID has is the purpose code drop down menu the user must select when querying information. This is a summary of the total statement and Is not verbatim. Refer to the transcript for details.

WITNESS - Police Teletype Operator Raphael Bain (CCN # 8516)

On September 21 , 2020, Teletype Operator Bain provided a sworn and digitally recorded statement to Sergeants Vetancourt and Eugene at the FLPD Main Station. Teletype Operator Bain advised he is the alternate DAVID POC and as such he assists the main DAVID POC. Teletype Operator Bain stated as part of his duties, he along with Teletype Operator Brown conducted an Internal audit and identified

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Fol. LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARl .....:NT INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT REPORT FORM

INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE 20-087

potential violations. He advised some of the possible violations were employees who queried themselves, co-workers, former employees, and relatives. Teletype Operator Bain advised he does not recall any employees contacting Teletype to advise their login and password had been compromised. This is a summary of the total statement and is not verbatim. Refer to the transcript for details.

ACCUSED-Officer Michael Berndt (CCN # 1637)

On January 19, 2021. Officer Berndt responded to the Office of Internal Affairs and was provided all evidence and related materials In this investigation. Officer Berndt then provided a compelled, sworn, and digitally recorded statement to Sergeants Donald Gelger and Guerra. Officer Berndt advised he is regularly assigned to the FLPD Motor Unit. Officer Berndt confirmed he was working on August 8, 2019 when he conducted a self-inquiry. Officer Berndt stated he queried his name because he previously traded in a vehicle and purchased a new vehicle with new insurance coverage. He wanted to verify his driver's license was not suspended due to the change in insurance coverage.

Officer Berndt confirmed he worked on November 12, 2019, when he queried••••••••• Officer Berndt stated he queried o verify her Florida driver license was valid. This was done due to elaying to Officer Berndt her belief that she ran a red light. Officer Berndt stated •

- never received a traffic citatlon in the mail for the aforementioned red light. Out of precaution, Officer Berndt queried Florida driver's license to determine if a suspension had been applied to her Florida driver's license. Furthermore, Officer Berndt acknowledged he checked the box indicating he read and understood the DAVID user agreement. Officer Berndt advised he did not print the information for his records and did not disseminate the information. Additionally, he did not author a report for ..

- and was not aware of any Investigation or accident she may have been involved which would have warranted him querying her information. This is a summary of the total statement and is not verbatim. Refer to the transcript for details.

EXHIBITS/EVIDENCE

Witness and Accused Statements: Transcribed witness and accused statements.

Email from Senior Teletype Operator Brown: Email from Senior Teletype Operator Brown notifying the Office of Internal Affairs of the possibly violations.

Officer Berndt's ueries: Senior Teletype Operator Brown provided a list of Officer Berndt's queries of himself and

Officer Berndt's Telestaff Calendar: Months of August 2019 and November 2019.

DAVID Legal Disclaimer: DAVID Usage Warning prompt.

Correspondence to ia certified mail. Corres ondence t

Policy 118 Rules of Conduct: Copy of Policy 118 in effect during the dates of the violations, which has a revision date of April 26, 2019.

Polley 112.2 Access to Criminal Justice Information: Copy of Policy 112. 2 effective during the dates of the violations.

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I I FO~. LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARl •••.:NT

INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMPLAINT REPORT FORM INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE 20-087

Charging Document for Officer Berndt: Documented January 11, 2021, Officer Berndt was notified of the allegation made against him for violation of Fort Lauderdale Police Department policy.

CONCLUSION

• On April 3, 2020, the Office of Internal Affairs received an email from Senior Police Teletype Operator Brown with regards to possible DAVID violations identified during an audit.Teletype Operator Brown identified Officer Berndt as having queried himself on August 8, 2019 at 3:29 PM, and information on November 12, 2019 at 8:22 AM.

• A query of our RMS revealed information was not documented or associated with any FLPD incidents such as Offense Incident Reports or Traffic Crash Reports on these dates and times.

• On November 20, 2020, was sent correspondence, via certified mail, providing contact information for the Office of Internal Affairs and requesting to set an appointment to further discuss this matter. - has not contacted the Office of Internal Affairs with regards to this matter.

• Officer Berndt acknowledged he checked the box indicating he read and understood the DAVID user agreement.

• Officer Berndt confirmed nd he queried her information. Officer Berndt advised he queried her information to verify her driver's license was nqt suspended due to possibly running a red light.

• Officer Berndt did not provide his password to anyone. There were no known intrusions into either FLPD or DAVID databases on August 8, 2019, or November 12, 2019.

• Officer Berndt did not disseminate the information he queried. This investigation failed to show Officer Berndt had any malicious intent with the information gathered. He did not access information he would otherwise not have been privy to.

• Officer Berndt confirmed he queried himself to verify his Florida driver's license was ~ Berndt did not have a legitimate law enforcement purpose for querying his or -- ­information and had done so for personal use. Officer Berndt took onus for utilizing DAVID for personal use.

Under the penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing document and that the information contained within it is accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Furthermore I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of my personal knowledge, information and belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed another to deprive the subject of the investigation of any of the rights contained in SS. 112.532 and 112.533 Florida Statutes. INVESTIGATOR'S SIGNATUBE· ... . ~ I CCN: 1703

J_.J {

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INTERNAL AFFAIRS CASE INDEX CASE NUMBER 20-087

Internal Affairs Case Summary

Table of Contents

Transcribed Statements·

1. Senior Police Teletype Operator Yanique Brown - Witness 2. Police Teletype Operator Raphael Bain -Witness 3. Officer Michael Berndt - Accused

ExhibitslEvidence

4. Email Notification Correspondence from Senior Tele 5. Officer Berndt's Query of himself an 6. Officer Berndfs Telestaff Calendar 7. DAVID Legal Disclajmer 8. Correspondence to 9. Policy 118 Rules of Conduct 10. Polley 112.2 Access to Criminal Justice Information 11 . Charging Document for Officer Berndt