BUNNELL, Fla. - For the second time in recent weeks the Flagler County Sheriff's Office has taken action against one of their own for an incident involving inebriated misconduct. Detention Deputy Colin Haggerty, a 13-year veteran of the force, has been suspended without pay following an arrest this month for boating under the influence.
According a statement issued by the FCSO about the incident, Haggerty was boating on the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday, September 2nd. He was stopped by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission near the Hammock Dunes Bridge on the Matanzas River, at which point the FWC officers concluded he was intoxicated.
Haggerty was arrested and taken to the county jail in Bunnell on one charge of boating under the influence, a first degree misdemeanor. He was released shortly thereafter, upon posting the $1,000 bond attached to the infraction. Aside from the awkward experience of sharing a jail with many of the inmates he's helped oversee, Haggerty has also been suspended without pay while Florida Fish & Wildlife conducts a criminal investigation. The FCSO is also planning to conduct its own internal investigation.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to drive or boat sober whether on the road or on the water,” said Sheriff Rick Staly on the incident. “I warned everyone that there would be extra patrols on the roads and waterways this Labor Day Weekend and reminded drivers and boat operators to have a designated driver or boat captain if they were going to drink this Labor Day weekend. No one is above the law, and I am extremely disappointed that DFC Haggerty tarnished his badge and the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office and our agency.”
Just last week, the FCSO announced it was demoting former Michael Breckwoldt from his rank of sergeant to the lower position of corporal, along with a $5.7k pay cut, as punishment for his own drunken incident. Breckwoldt was accused of battering a fellow patron at Finn's Beachside Pub in Flagler Beach and attempting to leverage his rank to procure free drinks.
