PALM BAY, Fla. — A Palm Bay police officer has been disciplined after she inappropriately accessed a police database to do personal background searches.
She reportedly used the Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) system.
An internal investigation showed the officer ran multiple records searches while off duty to look up people she allegedly didn't get along with.
One of those residents, William Jongck of Rockledge, told police that the officer even boasted about having information about him and other family members
He said when he requested Palm Bay police run an audit he learned he was right.
Jongck said he felt violated when a Palm Bay investigator confirmed one of its police officers had used a police database to run his information
"For somebody who's not a criminal -- I didn't understand why she was doing it," Jongck said.
The internal affairs investigation was launched in April after Jongck called police and alleged officer Carol Vazquez, who lived across the street from his mother in Rockledge, acted as a bully and bragged on multiple occasions about running neighbors' license plates.
Palm Bay's investigation concluded that the officer did inappropriately search the names of Jongck, his sister and the officer's husband.
According to police, as discipline, Vazquez accepted a loss of 40 hours vacation, in lieu of a suspension
"I thought, 'OK, her sergeant's involved. I'm in the clear. I can go on with my daily life again," Jongck said.
Channel 9's Angela Jacobs discovered complaints filed with Rockledge police by Vazquez on the day after Palm Bay's findings. Those complaints alleged that on multiple occasions Jongck harassed her. The complaints said the harassments ranged from a dead cat in her pool to shooting rockets at her roof. Jongck denied all of the complaints.
"I was disgusted. I guess you could say, at a loss for words," Jongck said.
Palm Bay police representatives told Jacobs they could not comment on Vazquez's current status due to pending issues with this case.
An investigator recommended the officer indefinitely lose her access to that police database, which was suspended during the probe.
Police have not confirmed whether that has happened or if it would interfere with her ability to do her job.
WFTV
