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In The Defense Of Captain Charlie Brown Was Sheriff Mike Chitwood's Termination Of Capt. Brown Politically Motivated? Does The Personnel Board Have A Bias Towards Law Enforcement Officers? |
May 3, 2018 |
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On April 16th and 18th, 2018 - Volusia County held the personnel board regarding the 2017 termination of former Sheriff Captain Charlie Brown. As per the 2017 VCSO internal affairs report - Captain Brown was terminated for allegedly violating the civil rights of a 80 year old grandmother (Matsuko Hulsey) during an October 2013 encounter whereas Brown was attempting to located and arrest Hulsey's grandson. The termination centers on whether Captain Brown acted appropriately in his decision to secure Hulsey in handcuffs - AND whether he had the authority to search Hulsey's home. (Read the above linked IA REPORT for particulars) However, the 2013 Hulsey incident was secondary to the initial rationale for opening the internal affairs investigation against Captain Brown. Initially the allegations against Brown were his usage of profanity AND referring to two deputies (Nicholas Yackel and Donald Gray) as "butt buddies" and "do-bitches". |
April 16th & 18th, 2018 - DeLand, Florida
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It was significant to us (VolusiaExposed.Com) AND to the members of the Personnel Board that neither Deputy Yackel or Deputy Gray testified during the board hearing. Captain Brown's defense centered on his beliefs that he is innocent - and that he is being targeted by a politically motivated sheriff in order to cleanse (terminate) the VCSO of anyone that will not become a "yes (wo)man" to the sheriff's administration of the VCSO.
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In as far as the search of Grandma Hulsey's home - we support that Captain Brown either needed a warrant or Hulsey's permission. Captain Brown stated that he received such permission - while Hulsey stated that he did not obtain her permission. VolusiaExposed.Com is of the OPINION that Captain Brown should have awaited the arrival of additional deputies prior to searching the home. Doing so would have provided him the additional safety of having back up - and would have provided him the additional verification of Hulsey's permission to search. |
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SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE SHERIFF
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As previously stated - Sheriff Mike Chitwood testified during Captain Brown's hearing (see videos -->). Much was made by Sheriff Chitwood that Captain Brown was operating "in the gray area" of law enforcement. In other words - he was not allegedly following the U.S. Constitution, Florida law or VCSO policies. Then again - apparently a large section of the VCSO knowingly operates in the "gray area" regarding the usage of profanity. Brown's attorney, Gary Wilson - questioned Sheriff Chitwood on whether he also operates within this "gray area". |
April 18th, 2018 - DeLand, Florida
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Allegations were presented that questioned whether Sheriff Chitwood had authorized the falsification of a traffic ticket he had received for speeding. That the ticket was falsified in a manner that negated a mandatory court appearance. Further - Wilson questioned whether the sheriff had been involved in a recent incident of domestic violence - that was covered up by responding law enforcement. Sheriff Chitwood denied these allegations. VolusiaExposed.Com would be interested in any documentation or evidence that would support these allegations. DO NOT USE YOUR EMPLOYMENT EMAIL - suggest using an anonymous email - we have NO desire to know your identity - we just want the information / documents that we will independently verify .  EMAIL US CAPTAIN CHARLIE BROWN TESTIFIES |
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Based on Captain Brown's testimony one thing is clear - he is no choir boy - no boy scout. He has a history of using profanity - and he has a reputation with some of being a hard nosed supervisor. He also has his disciplinary history with the VCSO. (watch videos for particulars - nothing career ending - but it is eye opening) From our vantage point - we believe that Captain Brown and Sheriff Chitwood both practice the same "Dirty Harry" approach to law enforcement. Both are known for their usage of profanity and name calling. Both can be easily labeled as hard nose supervisors. And finally lets face the truth - both (Chitwood & Brown) have played in the "gray area" of law enforcement. While Sheriff Chitwood would most likely deny ever using the "gray area" of law enforcement to his advantage - may we kindly remind him of his 2008 practice - while police chief of Daytona Beach - of collecting DNA samples of persons of interest in the Daytona Beach Serial Killer investigation. |
April 18th, 2018 - DeLand, Florida
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Given that police in California just recently arrested a suspect in the decades old Golden State Killer case using DNA data secured from a private DNA database - one must wonder - that given the fact that Volusia County officials have the Daytona Beach Serial Killer's DNA profile - will they too want to play in that "gray area" sandbox of searching private DNA databases? We highly suspect that Sheriff Chitwood has already made the call in his attempt to gain access to these private data bases. Our point is this - IF Captain Brown is unqualified to be a law enforcement officer because he sometimes plays in the "gray area" - what does that say about Sheriff Chitwood's qualifications? |
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VolusiaExposed has for years - seen the Volusia County Personnel Board as a "Kangaroo Court". The board is selected and appointed by the County Council. Currently the members of the Personnel Board are past, or present administrators - and / or past member(s) of the County Council. Therefore, we believe it is reasonable to conclude that the board has a pro county administration bias - or at the very least - the appearance thereof. |
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THE COUNTY CHARTER The County Personnel Board on at least two ocassions has been found to be staffed by members that placed the board in violation of the County Charter. The first violation was attached to the "Dolores Lopez" incident (Read the January 8, 2000 - Orlando Sentinel article - for more information regarding this Charter violation). The second violation was the assignment of past County Council member Dwight Lewis to the Personnel Board - as outlined in our July 2, 2012 article. VolusiaExposed.Com had a heck of a time convincing County Attorney Dan Eckert that Lewis' assigment to the County Personnel Board was a violation of the County Charter. But finally - Eckert admitted that it was a violation - causing Lewis to resign from the board. Judge Rules That The Volusia County's Personnel Board Was In Violation Of The County Charter VolusiaExposed has also expressed concerns within our September 5, 2013 article - regarding Fran Duvall's assignment to the Personnel Board. We suspect that Duvall might have biases towards law enforcement and correctional officers connected to the 2005 arrest of her son (Gregory) by the Volusia County Sheriff Department for second degree murder. According to Florida Department Of Corrections records - Gregory Duvall is still serving his thirty year prison sentence. |
April 16th & 18th, 2018 - DeLand, Florida To Her Son's Victim's Family Letter Obtained Off Of The Volusia Clerk Of The Court Website Regarding The 2005 Criminal Prosecution Of Gregory Duvall     |
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Our concerns regarding Duvall are of significant importance within the Capt. Brown hearing. VolusiaExposed.Com obtained a January 2006 letter apparently written by Fran Duvall to her son's victim's family (see above letter). Our point is this - Mrs. Duvall and Grandma Hulsey seems to share a very similiar experience - regarding the police searching their homes. Both sat on their couches as they watched their home being searched by the police. For Grandma Hulsey - the police was looking for her grandson, for Mrs. Duvall - the police had taken her son into custody and was looking to secure evidence that led to his conviction for murder. While Mrs. Duvall may have been able to over come any biases she held against the police agency (VCSO) that arrested her son - does she also hold some sympathetic feelings towards Grandma Hulsey over their shared experience with law enforcement? We invite you to watch her (Duvall) questioning of Captain Brown and her statements made during the Personnel Boards deliberations. We highly suspect that these sympathetic feelings do exist and are observable within her questions to Captain Brown and within her deliberation statements. We submit that these sympathetic feelings biased Duvall's overall ability to fairly process the FACTS attached to the Captain Brown matter. Several of the Personnel Board's votes in upholding the disciplinary charges against Captain Brown were split (2 to 2) votes. Therefore, Duvall's apparent bias and sympathetic feelings could have been a game changer in the board's decisions. On May 1, 2018 - County Manager James Dinneen signed off on the Personnel Board findings supporting Captain Brown's termination.
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Isn't it kinda ironic that the sheriff terminated Captain Brown for his alleged violations of Grandma Hulsey's constitutional rights - while the sheriff testified that he never met with Captain Brown, or reviewed Brown's recorded meeting with Deputy Chief Creamer - in order to ascertain Brown's full account of what transpired at the Hulsey home - thus, in a way, denying Captain Brown of his own due process?
Further, the past and present biases within the Personnel Board present credibilty issues directly at the front door of Volusia County Human Resource division. We submit that these unchecked biases denied Captain Brown his right to a fair hearing. In reality - the County seems to operate it's Personnel Board within it's own little "gray area" of administrative law. We have concluded (our opinion) that Captain Brown was not treated fairly - and others should be prepared to suffer his same fate - even as they are promised a fair hearing in front of the County's Personnel Board. Captain Brown in the end - may or may not deserve to keep his position within the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. However, if what was presented, under the manner it was presented, is the evidence that supports Captain Brown's termination - then our (VolusiaExposed.Com) verdict is NOT GUILTY - the County in our OPINION failed to prove their case AND failed to provide Brown with full due process. However, regardless of our belief / opinion - and now further supported by the Personnel Board's finding - Captain Charlie Brown will remain a member of our list of local Brady Cops. (see our requirements for membership to our list of troubled police officers) Here is our standard advisement for those that have a pending Personnel Board hearing... you are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Volusia County Personnel Board! (paraphrasing - Rod Sterling - from the Twilight Zone) Good luck ! |
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