Boynton Beach Police Officer Alex Lindsey -- who once famously arrested a woman named Merry Christmas -- was arrested today on charges that he lied in an arrest report, according to the State Attorney's Office.
According to prosecutors, Lindsey wrote in a police report that he'd found a gun on 42-year-old Jeffrey Pugh at the scene of the alleged crime but actually didn't find it until Pugh was booked into jail -- which was caught on tape.
He said he lied because he'd made that same mistake before, which is verified by internal affairs reports released by the Boynton Beach Police Department.
According to Lindsey's discipline record, he's been found in violation of department rules three times: Once for unsatisfactory performance, once for backing into a civilian's car with his patrol car, and once for violating the integrity of the reporting system.
Only verbal discipline was given to Lindsey for the unsatisfactory performance and violating the integrity of the reporting system, so no written narrative of what happened is included.
Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater says Lindsey has been on administrative duty since March 7, 2011, and will remain there until the outcomes of criminal proceedings and an internal affairs investigation are determined.
Lindsey is now the fourth Boynton Beach police officer to be
arrested in the past 30 days, joining the dirty-cop list alongside
Michael Mulcah and Michael Arco, who were arrested on Tuesday on charges
that they were also fudging police reports, and 2010 Boynton Beach Police Office of the Year David Britto, who faces up to life in prison for alleged meth trafficking.
In a statement, Boynton Beach Police Chief Matt Immler says the arrests of his own officers isn't a sign that his department is full of crooked cops but more of a sign that they're dedicated to thorough investigations, even when the investigations are into some of their own.
"The case against Lindsey, along with the other recently filed cases against BBPD officers, illustrates our commitment to the profession and the community," he says. "Each of these cases were the result of an internal investigation where our own supervisors and officers did not hesitate to report misconduct; resulting in an immediate inquiry by our Professional Standards Unit and referral to the States Attorney's Office Public Integrity Unit."
Lindsey faces two counts of fraud as a public servant falsifying an official document and was released from jail this morning after posting $6,000 bond.
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