Community deputy back on duty; cleared in criminal investigation

Deputy Teddy Floyd returned to duty Friday after he was cleared in a criminal investigation that led him to be placed on paid administrative leave, officials said.

The criminal investigation, involving complaints of possible harassment and theft, was closed, Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said. It was determined no crime had occurred and the case was unfounded.

Flowers said the agency will conduct an internal affairs investigation to determine if any policy violations occurred.

A worker from the Department of Health filed the complaint against Floyd with the sheriff’s office, investigative reports show. The complaint led the longtime community deputy to be placed on paid leave June 1, Flowers said.

The complaint involved three parts, according to records obtained from the sheriff’s office.

Reports show the employee spoke with deputies in May. The worker accused Floyd of making her feel “uncomfortable” and recalled several incidents between her and Floyd that could be seen as harassment or stalking, authorities said.

The incidents occurred toward the end of 2018, reports show. Floyd told deputies his interaction with the worker was a misunderstanding, reports show. Floyd denied any inappropriate relationship with the employee, authorities said.

The worker also told deputies she felt Floyd was inappropriately intervening on behalf of Smith’s Grocery Store, which was cited by the health department for county violations, including drug use and prostitution, authorities said.

The worker and another health department official said Floyd was regularly getting free food and other items from several businesses, including Smith’s Grocery Store. The employees said Floyd wanted to testify at an upcoming hearing for the store since the manager was out of the country.

Floyd said the store owner reached out to him for help, reports show. He said it was never his intention to intervene in the case, authorities said. Floyd also denied any type of personal or business relationship with the owner.

For the third complaint, the worker accused Floyd of taking dirt from a construction site owned by the non-profit Every Dream Has A Price to build a house toward the end of 2018, reports show. The worker, who is also a member of the nonprofit, said there was a shortage of fill dirt at one of the sites.

The worker also said banks had called the charity asking about Floyd’s financing for a new house, reports show. Floyd, a founding member of the nonprofit, denied the accusations and said he had no knowledge of the missing fill dirt, authorities said.

Floyd stepped down as a board of director toward the end of 2018, officials said. Deputies spoke with several other witnesses during the nearly two-week criminal investigation and determined the case was unfounded because of a lack of evidence of a crime, reports show.

Deputies determined there was no probable cause to support the harassment claim. Deputies noted the worker only gave vague references when discussing the circumstances regarding the accusation, none of which rose to the level of being criminal, reports show.

Deputies also noted there was no supporting evidence that Floyd was intervening on behalf of Smith’s Grocery Store.

For the third complaint, deputies determined there was no missing dirt. Deputies said the accusation was a result of “miscalculation and miscommunication,’ reports show.

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