Domestic violence allegations involving deputies leads to 2 resignations, 1 firing
Posted: August 18, 2016 - 12:06am | Updated: August 18, 2016 - 9:18am
By JARED KEEVER
jared.keever@staugustine.com
A St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputy, who was arrested by his colleagues on a single charge of domestic battery over the weekend resigned Monday morning. His resignation marks the third such instance in the last month that a deputy has either resigned or been fired as a result of allegations of domestic violence.
Of the three recent instances, one deputy was fired after an internal affairs investigation and the other two resigned. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan called the recent string of incidents an “anomaly.”
“This is not characteristic of what we see at the Sheriff’s Office,” he said. “Although they do occur from time to time, to have three in a row in a short period of time is not normal.”
The most recent incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning when sheriff’s deputies arrested Timothy Brian Robertson just after 12:30 a.m. on a single count of domestic battery. Prior to his resignation, Robertson had been a traffic deputy with the Sheriff’s Office.
Robertson’s arrest report indicates he was taken into custody after a woman he lives with claimed he slapped her on her “left upper arm area” and then pushed her. The deputy who filled out the report indicated the woman had redness on her arm and a child they have together said he or she had heard the woman say, “Ow, you hit me.”
Robertson submitted a resignation letter on Monday morning.
“He turned it in Aug. 15 and the sheriff signed it Aug. 15,” Mulligan said.
The resignation came about two weeks after another traffic deputy tendered his resignation under slightly different circumstances.
Kevin Douglas Nickmeyer resigned July 30, a day after the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office filed charges against him in Flagler County, records show.
Nickmeyer is facing a single charge of domestic battery and one count of domestic assault.
According to the charging affidavit in the case — dated May 4 — the charges stem from a Dec. 30 incident between Nickmeyer and his wife who said that he had grabbed her by the front of her dress during an argument and began “twisting the center of her brassiere” and pushed her against a countertop. A supplemental document attached to the affidavit indicates the wife later submitted video evidence of that incident and one other that she said was recorded by the couple’s 11-year-old daughter.
Nickmeyer entered a written plea of not guilty to the charges on Aug. 2.
The other incident in the recent spate occurred in June when then-corrections deputy David Michael Nogowski was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office on a single count of domestic battery.
The arrest report indicates Nogowski was arrested in the early morning hours of June 14 after his wife told deputies he had held her down to grab a set of car keys from her. The deputy who filled out the report wrote that he observed “a bruise and redness” on the woman’s lower left shoulder and “a vertical scratch running down her right leg” that he felt was consistent with her statement.
The State Attorney’s Office filed the formal charge of domestic battery against Nogowski on June 30. He has also entered a written plea of not guilty.
Nogowski was fired from the Sheriff’s Office on July 19 after an internal affairs investigation — opened June 15 — found that he violated three policies including a prohibition against lying and another against the “commission of a criminal act.” The third policy was a sustained finding of “conduct unbecoming,” documents show.
Mulligan said that apart from a part-time civilian employee who was arrested in Jacksonville in January — and subsequently fired — no other Sheriff’s Office employees have been arrested this year, and that it has been well over a year since a complaint of domestic violence has been lodged against a deputy.
“We had three in this period,” he said of the recent occurrences, “But we had no reported incidents in all of 2015.”
Mulligan said Nogowski’s and Nickmeyer’s cases have been forwarded on to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for review and Robertson’s was in the process of being sent.
COMMENTS
JoeJoe 08/18/16 - 05:34 am 75Very concerning
It seems what the Sheriff's opponent in the election has been saying is ringing true.
TBone42 08/18/16 - 05:55 am 84Imagine That
Debra Maynard specifically pointed out that officers who commit domestic violence are rarely punished by Shoar, and now we have not one, but three all of a sudden being punished just a few weeks before the election. Hmmmm. I have never seen him be so proactive and all of a sudden present in the media than I have these past few months of election season. Once he wins, and let's face it, he will, we won't see or hear of him much anymore. It will be back to business as usual.
Thomas Francis Reynolds 08/18/16 - 07:17 am 33One more to go Sheriff !
There is one more to go Sheriff. Not a Deputy, but works for your department. William "Bill" Jones has had two Internal Affairs reports for lying and official misconduct. Plus a criminal report was filed in 2014. Now William "Bill" Jones has a criminal charge against him pending now for using the Sheriff Department equipment to interfere with an Election while on paid duty. William "Bill" Jones is President of the Beach Civic Association, under VERY SERIOUS SCRUTINY RIGHT NOW. Because of the actions of William "Bill" Jones and the Vice President of the Civic Association Robert "Boobie" Samuels, two more Felony charges are pending. Commissioner Andrea Angry Samuels and Commissioner Rich e Rich O'Brien both have FELONY charges pending against them, 104.61(2). Now I think Sheriff David Shoar is doing a GREAT JOB in many areas of Law Enforcement, including firing these criminals who worked there. But I can not help to wonder how a really BAD PERSON like William"Bill" Jones is keeping his job. Is it because you want the BACKING OF A FEW BEACH CIVIC ASSOCIATION VOTES ? I hope not, your a Good Cop, let's keep it that way. FIRE St Johns County Sheriff s Department employee William"Bill" Jones TODAY he does not belong working for such a GOOD AGENCY or for a GOOD COP like you !
JoeJoe 08/18/16 - 07:44 am 22The meth raid
Very fishy an investigation that has been going on for a year all the sudden becomes a press conference and big news right before the election.....
tmzhja5 08/18/16 - 07:54 am 51TFR at it again
TFR, I just wish you had the same sense of justice when it came to in-home armed robberies.
flg8rlvr 08/18/16 - 08:16 am 52Here's a question...
Jeremy Banks has admitted, in an official investigation, to his using physical force against Michelle, but he still has a job, why?? Could it be because Michelle isn't here to file a report and press charges?? Hmmmm...If the Sheriff wanted to make a point, shouldn't he (Jeremy) have been the first to go????? Just a thought.
specialone 08/18/16 - 08:39 am 72Michelle O'Connell
Until SJSO, specifically Shoar, admits they made a Very serious mistake by not arresting Dep. Banks for homicide ASAP. No one can take them seriously. This is still an open case with FDLE and the is no statute of limitations on homicide. Debra Maynard was fired from SJSO for not going along with the BS story they presented. Anyone with 1/2 a brain can come to the only conclusion after watching this.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/
specialone 08/18/16 - 08:43 am 41Michelle O'Connell
Until SJSO, specifically Shoar, admits they made a Very serious mistake by not arresting Dep. Banks for homicide ASAP. No one can take them seriously. This is still an open case with FDLE and the is no statute of limitations on homicide. Debra Maynard was fired from SJSO for not going along with the BS story they presented. Anyone with 1/2 a brain can come to the only conclusion after watching this.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/
Firstcoaster 08/18/16 - 09:37 am 21JoeJoe
I really doubt that the meth case is political. If it were, it would be announced "after a three month investigation," or something similar.
The clock typically starts running when the first tip or lead is received. This may not be enough information, so the case is worked a little by little until the case is workable, i.e. an informant is identified, etc., but the clock is running.
CLWilliams 08/18/16 - 10:45 am 31Tip of the iceberg
Tip of the iceberg people..tip of the iceberg...long standing history of domestic violence (and more) being ignored at this dept. Until the leadership is changed..nothing is going to change.
Peter Swanson 08/18/16 - 11:05 am 34Amazing. An entire story
Amazing. An entire story about domestic violence in Shoar's department without a single mention of the Michelle O'Connell case, one of the worst cover ups in the history of American law enforcement.
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