Thefts another bump in deputy's career - SWAT sgt. was fired from Key West PD

A Monroe County deputy who is the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation following the theft of weapons and other law enforcement equipment from his vehicle -- for the second time in three years -- was fired from the Key West Police Department 14 years ago after accumulating a personnel file full of complaints, according to city and county officials.

City of Key West records indicate Monroe County sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Ken Fricke was fired from the Key West Police Department 14 years ago for a litany of complaints that included sleeping on duty, misusing city equipment and falsifying information about the pat-down of a female bar patron. He then worked briefly for the Key Colony Beach Police Department before he was hired by the Sheriff's Office.

Fricke last week reported the burglary of his county-issued vehicle, and theft of a .45-caliber Glock pistol, a .40-caliber Glock pistol, a Colt M4 assault rifle, ammunition, a bulletproof vest and other SWAT tactical gear. It was the second time Fricke had reported such a theft.

Prior firearms theft

In August 2009, the deputy reported the theft from his Sheriff's Office vehicle of a county-issued Remington 12-gauge shotgun and .45-caliber Glock handgun, as well as his personal .40-caliber Glock.

Both times the vehicles were parked at Fricke's Big Pine Key home, and there were no signs of forced entry in either case, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

The incident was not documented in Fricke's personnel file because at the time there was no policy prohibiting deputies from storing gear and guns in their patrol cars, said spokeswoman Deputy Becky Herrin.

The weapons and SWAT gear taken in last week's burglary were quickly recovered, and two arrests followed. In the 2009 case, neither of the Glock handguns were recovered. The shotgun later was found at a Marathon apartment complex, reports state.

Fired from department

Fricke was hired by the Key West Police Department in 1996. He was cited for multiple infractions during his two-year employment, and was fired May 20, 1998, according to Internal Affairs records.

Fricke was fired for sleeping in his patrol car and for disconnecting a city telephone line from a fax machine in the dispatch center "in order to use [his] personal laptop computer to send and receive personal email, resulting in the inability of the police department's communications office to receive or transmit fax material."

His personnel file includes other sustained complaints:

• In November 1996, Fricke was reprimanded for not driving his Corvette "responsibly" while off-duty;

• In November 1997, he was suspended for four days without pay for "patting down" a woman at a Duval Street bar with "no reasonable suspicion" or "probable cause" for the search;

• In October 1997, he was given a letter of reprimand for "making false claims or misrepresentations in an attempt to obtain sickness or accident benefits";

• In December 1997, he was issued a written warning for failing to respond to fellow officers' radio call for help at a Duval Street bar while Fricke was at another Duval Street bar in full uniform, 30 minutes after it had closed. The commanding officer wrote that Fricke's "carelessness, improper and insubordinate conduct put other officers' safety in jeopardy and could have, as well, resulted in [his] safety being placed in jeopardy," according to an internal memo.

• In April 1998, Fricke was suspended for 30 days without pay for falsely arresting a woman with a fake ID at a Duval Street bar on a disorderly charge that he "fabricated"; and

• In April 1998, he was given a written warning for failing to show up to traffic court, which resulted in the dismissal of a case.

The personnel file also included documents that allege Fricke displayed a lack of knowledge of the law and police procedures, as well as infractions listed as minor, including using a gas key without permission, wearing an earring on duty, and one incident in January 2008 when he allegedly "was thinking of letting a drunk start to drive before stopping him," records state.

In sum, the department found Fricke "demonstrated incompetence and inefficiency in the performance of assigned duties while in [his] position," according to his memo of dismissal.

Commendations

Fricke worked with Key Colony Beach Police Department between his time with Key West police and the Sheriff's Office. He was hired for part-time work Dec. 26, 2003, and began working full time on April 23, 2004.

Fricke was hired at the Sheriff's Office in June 2005, and has no disciplinary history in the seven years he has been employed there, according to records. Those same records indicate Fricke has received 17 commendations during that time.

Firearms policies

In February 2010, the Sheriff's Office adopted a policy prohibiting deputies from keeping firearms or other Sheriff's Office gear in their patrol vehicles. That policy was enacted following numerous reports of law enforcement vehicle burglaries in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, said Sheriff Bob Peryam.

"Items were being stolen by suspects for use specifically in robberies where they were impersonating police officers," Peryam said. "At the time, we had a lot of guys going up to Broward and Dade for training, as well as a few guys living in Dade, so we developed the policy at that time."

Peryam said the agency also implemented a policy that required the trunk release inside the cars to be disconnected, so if someone did break into a squad car, they wouldn't have immediate access to the trunk.

Herrin said the two thefts of weapons and gear from Fricke's vehicles are the only incidents of that nature in recent memory.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

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