BRADENTON, Fla. — Following a recommended external investigation by the mayor of Bradenton, Police Chief Melanie Bevan was exonerated of the allegations made against her by a former police department officer.
The investigation began last month when Mayor Gene Brown requested a retired judge and his law firm to look into the allegations, body camera evidence and affidavits accusing the chief of not following proper policing procedure.
"I'm relieved but only to the extent of I knew that this would be the outcome," Bevan said.
Bevan was accused of illegally searching a suspect's pockets and entering and remaining in a home for more than a reasonable amount of time.
The event in question was all captured on police body-worn cameras.
"If you look at the photos of the body camera, you're going to clearly see that the object protruding out of that young man's pocket appeared to be the barrel of a firearm," Bevan said. "You don't see me patting down, you don't see me looking all over, you see me on one thing and one thing only. Which was what I thought was a weapon in his pocket. That is 101 of policing."
"When you encounter people, you better be given them a once-over to make sure that there's no bulges or objects that appear to be weapons "That's what that was, and obviously, we're able to do that and should do that. It's unfortunate that I was the only one who recognized that but I'm glad I did," Bevan explained.
She said the investigation cast a negative light on her police department. In the coming weeks, her efforts will be spent implementing recommended training for her department and rebuilding community trust.
"I'm a police chief, which means I'm a good target," Bevan said. "Allegations are made. I'm a good target. And unfortunately, that's that's the job I'm in and I have to be willing to take that. I have to pull my head up high and continue doing the job that I have been doing. I think there's going to have to be some rebuilding of trust and to ensure the citizens that they have an agency that is confident and prepared. And they do, we just need to work on some things."
The officer who made the allegations against Bevan no longer works for the Bradenton Police Department. Bevan said the officer resigned shortly after she completed an affidavit with accusations against the police chief and the two have not had contact with one another since.
"I think this whole situation has been an embarrassment for our department because it's thrust us into a negative spotlight," Bevan said.
In the bodycam video, Bevan is the only officer seen not wearing a police body armor vest. There's a general order in place stating law enforcement officers ranking as a captain or higher are not required to wear their body armor vests while on the job. Through all these allegations, Bevan said her only regret is not opting to put on that vest anyway.
"You won't see me out there again doing police work without a vest on," she said. "It sets a poor example for my folks and I want to be the best example that they have at this agency."
Not all are convinced Bevan's actions were warranted and in compliance with procedure and state law. Bradenton City Councilor Bill Sanders pushed for BPD to be investigated.
"The videos show she's clearly reached inside the pocket," Sanders said. "Which is illegal."
Sanders said he will continue to ask BPD to be investigated further.
"I think that this is not over," he said. "It's a long way from being over. And probably the Department of Justice is going to intervene at some time."
As the investigation into the chief is now closed, another BPD investigation is still ongoing. BPD's internal affairs investigator is being investigated by a North Port Police captain for allegations made against him by former officers.