ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — An Altamonte Springs police officer is accused of intentionally leaving out evidence to drop a ticket against another officer, according to documents.
An off-duty officer, Evelyn Estevez, caused a crash, and her coworker wrote her a ticket.
That officer, Kristoffor Tomich, told his supervisor, Mstr. Police Officer Ryan Bonk, that he was thinking of leaving out evidence to make sure the ticket would be thrown out.
Investigative reporter Karla Ray obtained documents about the incident.
[ 9 Investigates: Altamonte Springs officer accused of lying about crash ]
The supervising officer, Bonk, resigned days after being written up. Estevez was written up, as well.
Tomich is still under investigation.
9 Investigates learned he has two open internal investigations, but the reason for the second investigation is unclear.
Estevez was in her own vehicle and was off-duty when she slammed into the back of a stopped vehicle near the intersection of State Road 434 and State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs in January.
A crash report shows she was at-fault, but after Tomich wrote her a ticket, Internal Affairs officers found Tomich allegedly told her, “The crash witness list may not be submitted with the citation, implying the citation would be dismissed.”
[ Read: 9 Investigates officers misusing law enforcement databases ]
Law enforcement expert Chuck Drago said an omission is just as bad as falsifying records.
“An officer is obligated to treat everybody fairly, and to do a thorough investigation on any assignment he gets,” Drago said.
Estevez told investigators she insisted that she, “did not want that done.”
Bonk was written up in a memo that stated “a greater level of precaution was warranted on [his] part to ensure there was no perception of bias or favoritism.”
“When somebody does something like this, it reflects on the whole department,” Drago said.
It’s not the first time Channel 9 has reported a questionable traffic call handled by Tomich.
[ In 2016, Tomich stopped an off-duty Orlando officer who admitted to drinking and driving. ]
Tomich did not give that off-duty officer a field sobriety test and instead issued her a citation. At the time, Tomich’s agency defended his actions.
“It’s a misdemeanor, it’s a criminal citation, and it’s officer discretion,” Lt. Robert Pelton said after the incident.