Former DOC investigator plans suit against Brevard County Sheriff's Office

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A fired Florida Department of Corrections Inspector General Investigator is planning to sue the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office for an investigation of an incident that cost him his law enforcement career.

9 Investigates' Karla Ray learned it all stemmed from a scuffle at a children’s baseball tournament.

That former DOCIG Assistant Chief, Brian Falstrom, was in the middle of a whistleblower complaint against the Department of Corrections when he was let go.  DOC points out, though, that their internal investigation about the fight was launched prior to his complaint being filed.

Brevard County deputies responded to the Cocoa Expo ballfields last summer after an alleged road rage incident turned to a pushing and punching match between Falstrom and a man, who witnesses say, cut people off in traffic.

“He got in my face, and I pushed him off.  And that’s it, then he came back at me,” Falstrom told deputies.

Recorded interviews taken by BCSO at the scene show confusion about who threw the first punch, but after nearly an hour of interviews, deputies squared in on Falstrom, whose career included stops at the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and FDLE.

Ultimately, no one went to jail, and the case was cleared without an arrest because deputies couldn’t definitively identify the primary aggressor, but an internal investigation that followed shows the fight ended Falstrom’s career.

DOC Investigators found he violated policy by failing to notify his supervisors, and for the fight itself.

“Woefully deficient would be my description of the investigation, and subsequently the DOC finding a reason to fire him, for what happened in Brevard County,” employment and civil rights attorney Marie Mattox said.

Mattox filed a notice of intent to sue the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office on Falstrom’s behalf, writing that Falstrom ‘blew the whistle on a misleading, inaccurate, incomplete BCSO investigation… by filing a written complaint with internal affairs’ about how the incident was handled.

BCSO told 9 Investigates that after that complaint was filed, they determined the actions by responding deputies were consistent with established agency policy.

Falstrom was involved with a whistleblower complaint against his employer after allegedly exposing wrongdoing at the state level when he was let go.

“He's been a career law enforcement officer, he knows the way things should be done, and this was improper,” Mattox said.

In a statement, FDOC said. it expects "the highest degree of professionalism and integrity from staff both on and off duty, especially those in a position of leadership."

Cox Media Group