DELTONA, Fla. (WFLA) – A former employee fired from the Miami-Dade Police Department was arrested in Borussia County this week after lawmakers said they tried to use his old badge and qualifications to impersonate police.
Volcia County deputies said they met 39-year-old Paul Fultty in a speech on Shepherd Avenue in Deltena after being warned by a man who parked in a driveway looking for a little girl.
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Fulty told deputies he was a Miami-Dade police officer working with a former US US s to find the missing girl, and the girl’s phone was pinging in the area, the Volsia County Sheriff’s Office said.
Body camera video provided by the Sheriff’s Office showed deputies interacting with Fulty. In the video, you can see Fulty displaying a police badge and lifting up a photo of his qualification on his mobile phone.
He went on to tell deputies that the missing girl was “running from the police,” claiming that this was why he was not in the police car marked. Fulty also said the girl was not “officially” in as missing.
Further investigations revealed that Fulty was fired from the Miami-Dade Police Department earlier this year, detectives said. He was arrested on Monday, September 22nd, hours after his initial interaction with his agent.
Additional body camera video showed a Volsia County deputy being arrested. Fulty could hear him ask, “What did I do?” Just as the deputy handcuffs him. Deputies then impersonate him as a police officer and told him there was a warrant.
“My name is Google. I got everything with this year’s executives,” Fulty said before being taken to prison.
A May 2020 article for WSVN states that Fulty was appointed officer of the year by the Miami-Dade Police Department after being shot and injured during a halt that someone wanted for domestic batteries.
After his arrest, Fulty told Volcia County deputies he “mistakes” and “mistakes” provided his old badge and qualifications, and claimed he was a police officer “accidentally,” the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives said documents collected during the investigation suggested that Fulty was a private investigator who may have been in the area for an insurance investigation.
Fulty was booked at the Volsia County Branch Jail with one count impersonating a police officer. He posted a $2,000 bond Tuesday afternoon.
