Misc. Cases II

[Lady Cop]

this betrayal of the public, the oath and the badge made me nauseous. :(

ORLANDO --
Orange County deputies arrested one of their own after they say he was caught stealing a purse at a Disney theme park.

Not only is facing criminal charges, but he's now out of a job.

The sheriff’s office said Deputy Kirk Smurawa was caught stealing a purse out of a car at a parking lot at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Orange County Sheriff's Office said they got some information recently that caused Deputy Smurawa to come into suspicion, so they set up an undercover surveillance and they were surprised by what they found.

According to the arrest affidavit, Smurawa was caught in the criminal act while on duty, dressed in his full patrol uniform, with his officer issued glock.

During a surveillance operation, Smurawa was observed entering a minivan in the parking lot, taking a silver purse back to his patrol car, and then returning to the minivan a short time later and tossing the purse to the ground, according to officials.

Smurawa then got back in his patrol car and drove away from the scene.

The victim said the deputy stole $55 in cash out of her children's wallets.

When confronted later, officials said Deputy Smurawa admitted to taking the purse and he was booked inside the Orange County jail shortly after midnight.

"It's a sad day whenever we have to arrest a law enforcement officer, but what I can tell you is this, the Orange County Sheriff's Office is no place for a thief or a liar to work and we are going to what we can and he is still entitled to his due process in that case, but we are certainly not going to tolerate that amongst our personnel," said Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Deputy Smurawa is now facing charges of armed burglary of a conveyance and petit theft of $100 or more.

Smurawa, who has spent the past 10 years working for Orange County Sheriff's Office, was released on bond.

The sheriff’s office said it will not release video from the surveillance operation at this time.