Cape officer’s treatment of fired deputy draws criticism

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A former deputy, fired for watching an inmate eat his own feces, could be facing a felony charge for allegedly lying to avoid a traffic citation.

Michael Burnette was dismissed from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office in August. He was stopped Wednesday night for making an illegal u-turn and crossing a median on the 400 block of Del Prado Boulevard North. But Burnette was initially let off with a warning after telling a Cape Coral officer that he was a law enforcement officer.

But before the night ended, Burnette was issued two traffic citations.

The officer who let Burnette go had some apparent hesitation about him.

“The name on the driver’s license was familiar for an unknown reason to me and I let [Burnette] go from the initial traffic stop with a warning due to him identifying himself as a deputy,” the Cape Coral officer wrote in an incident report.

After a quick Google search, the officer went after the terminated deputy, stopping him at the Wawa on 1622 N.E. Pine Island Road.

Burnette told the officer that he was so accustomed to saying he was a deputy and that he’d made a mistake. Then with the tickets issued to Burnette, the officer decided not to pursue an arrest or charges.

The Cape Coral officer who stopped and subsequently cited Burnette said he decided not to charge the former deputy “after review of the facts.” The police department did not provide further explanation, but some Cape Coral residents, like Carter Shelton, feel Burnette was afforded special privileges.

“Police oftentimes act in a, kind of like they’re in kind of a club, and they sort of look out for one another whether it’s right to look out for one another or not,” Shelton said. “I think if I went around impersonating a police officer I’d be in jail before nightfall.”

Anne-Marie Zawislak, who lives in Cape Coral, said Burnette’s case annoyed her.

“But basically, what can I do about it? Apparently, the fact that he was at one time a police officer gave him a free pass, and I disagree with that,” she said.

Rebecca French, also a Cape Coral resident, suggested law enforcement officers should set an example.

“They need to be held to their highest standard period,” she said. “I would just like to see the law followed for all individuals regardless of race, religious background, et cetera.”

Burnette is not completely off the hook. His case was turned over to the state attorney’s office, which will decide whether he will be formally charged. He is facing a maximum of five years in prison, according to Florida laws.