A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy [Patrick Burt] is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, threatening suicide... Burt would show up unannounced... Burt used his marked patrol car to enter the woman's gated community... A mechanic found a GPS deice attached to the undercarriage of the woman's car... Further, the woman reported that on Feb. 14, she found eight signs posted around her job... An audit of Burt's inquiries through the Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) also showed that he had searched the names of the woman's family members and her current boyfriend... "Patrick Burt admitted that his motivation for (his) actions was to embarrass (his ex-girlfriend) and to seek revenge"...
A misdemeanor charge does not the reflect the DANGEROUSNESS of Deputy Burt's stalking or the color of law misuse of his police powers in the exercise of his stalking. Stalking is too often a precursor to homicide. This cop did not make a mistake. He is systematically and chronically OBSESSED with destroying his ex. His arrest will not protect her. She is smart and my prayer is that she will explore the options for protecting herself. None of them will be easy. The court system needs new ways to handle people who FIXATE on destroying another person's life and needs to take more seriously officers who misuse their police powers to commit crimes. Cases like this should be forwarded to the feds.
PATRICK BURT ALLEGEDLY POSTED UNFLATTERING COMMENTS ON CHEATERVILLE.COM: Deputy faces misdemeanor stalking charge
WPBF
April 3, 2012
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, threatening suicide and even posting signs saying the woman and her new boyfriend both have genital herpes, according to a report.
And that's not all.
The probable cause affidavit said Patrick Burt, 31, also used a GPS tracking device to monitor his ex-girlfriend's movements. She told investigators that Burt would show up unannounced, both at the law firm where she works and at her home in a gated Boca Raton community.
Perhaps the most public measure Burt is accused of having taken was calling his ex a cheater and a user, next to a picture he allegedly posted of her, on the website Cheaterville.com. Burt also "identifies (the woman's) profession as 'Adult Entertainment,'" according to the affidavit. There is a similar posting on that same site about the man Burt's ex is now dating, the report said.
Burt admitted he attached the GPS device to the woman's car, and also admitted to posting the signs outside her place of employment on Valentine's Day of this year, according to the report.
He also admitted that he called in fake pizza-delivery orders to the home of the ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, the affidavit said.
One of the last lines of the four-page report says "Patrick Burt admitted that his motivation for (his) actions was to embarrass (his ex-girlfriend) and to seek revenge."
Burt faces a misdemeanor charge of stalking. It's not clear if he has been disciplined by the sheriff's office. [LINK]
SHERIFF'S DEPUTY ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STALKING, HARASSING EX-GIRLFRIEND
Palm Beach Post
By Cynthia Roldan
April 3, 2012
A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on Monday after he was accused of using sheriff's office resources to stalk his ex-girlfriend - including driving to Boca Raton while on duty in Wellington to post harassing signs and flyers at her job.
This morning, a judge ordered Patrick Joseph Burt, 31, held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond. He is facing stalking charges.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Burt was arrested after detectives initiated an investigation on Feb. 21 into his alleged actions. His ex girlfriend, whose name is being withheld because of the nature of the crime, reported that Burt was stalking and harassing her.
She told a sheriff's detective that after breaking up in 2008, Burt asked that they still be friends. But she ended any type of contact with Burt in September 2011. Soon after, she started receiving harassing phone calls and text messages from Burt, according to the affidavit.
The detective found that Burt used his marked patrol car to enter the woman's gated community in suburban Boca Raton in November, the affidavit stated. He also learned that a mechanic found a GPS deice attached to the undercarriage of the woman's car on Feb. 19.
Further, the woman reported that on Feb. 14, she found eight signs posted around her job that labeled her current boyfriend a "home wrecker and a cheater." There were also yellow-colored flyers posted on the building and elevator that named the woman's current boyfriend a "cheater who pursued another person's fiancé."
When confronted by the detective, Burt admitted to putting the GPS on his ex-girlfriend's car.
He also admitted to posting the flyers and signs. The detective pointed out in the affidavit that on that day - Feb. 14 -Burt was being paid to patrol Wellington when he drove to Boca Raton in his marked patrol car to post the "libelous and harassing signs and flyers."
An audit of Burt's inquiries through the Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) also showed that he had searched the names of the woman's family members and her current boyfriend; a violation of the system's requirements, which restrict the database to be used for law enforcement purposes only.
Burt has worked for the sheriff's office since 2006. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay, a sheriff's office spokesman said. [LINK]
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