SARASOTA, Fla. – (Scroll down for video) — On Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 12:45 p.m., Andrew Haplin resigned from his position as a Police Officer with the City of Sarasota. The resignation letter, which was given to the Patrol Shift Commander, said: “I hereby resign for personal reasons effective immediately.” Mr. Halpin was scheduled to be interviewed by the Sarasota Police Department Internal Affairs at 1 p.m., Tuesday, regarding his conduct recently captured on video. Halpin started with the Sarasota Police Department on November 1, 2006.
On Monday, July 27, 2015, Chief Bernadette DiPino was made aware of a video involving Mr. Halpin. The video was provided to the Sarasota Police Department by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Halpin was seen on camera tossing food to an individual who had been transported to the Sarasota County Jail.
After viewing the video in question, Chief DiPino immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation and placed Mr. Halpin on administrative leave. The internal affairs investigation was ongoing at the time of Halpin’s resignation. Chief DiPino was expected to receive the completed investigation by Wednesday.
“We take allegations of this matter seriously and this one incident does not reflect upon the professionalism of the men and women who work hard to uphold the public trust of the Sarasota Police Department,” said Chief DiPino. “The behavior I saw on that video was unacceptable however Mr. Halpin chose to resign before providing us with his side of the story and before our investigation was completed. I expect our Officers to uphold the highest levels of ethical behavior and treat all citizens with dignity and respect while serving our community. We will continue to build and maintain trust with our citizens and community partners,” added DiPino.
