A disciplinary report from 2010 shows that district 4 School Board candidate Will Fonseca resigned from the Kissimmee Police Department in lieu of termination in March 2009 after a list of sustained violations of department policies.
The district 4 race will be decided on Nov. 8. Fonseca, the leading vote-getter with nearly 45 percent of those cast in the Aug. 23 primary, faces Heather Kahoun in the runoff election.
Television ads supporting Kahoun ran locally on major cable networks like the Fox News Channel and the Food Network starting Tuesday night, referencing the report and its details.
The report, obtained by the News-Gazette, shows Fonseca queried the state’s motor vehicle database to look up as many as 16 females under the age of 30 (one was 35), while not on active call or a traffic stop, and, “a records check revealed none of the females were issued citations, warning citations, or Fl cards by Officer Fonseca.”
Also part of the 52-page report:
At a February 2009 investigative hearing, Fonseca admitted discussing the details of another incident with a fellow officer accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old. They met during a July 2008 traffic stop where no citation was issued and was only initiated so Fonseca and his partner could admire the BMW car driven by the teenager.
Following the incident, in which one of the officers used the Motor Vehicle database to look up the driver and one of her friends, the officers admitted to meeting up with her in the weeks afterward at the back of her apartment complex while on duty; they would get calls for service, leave for them, and return afterwards.
In a phone interview this week, with the Osceola News-Gazette, Fonseca said he resigned from KPD in order to go into the private sector in security. He acknowledged making mistakes — mistakes that have made him the better person who would seek public office.
“When I was an officer I did some really good work. I had a recommendation from my lieutenant before I left,” he said. “I was younger then and made some mistakes. Those mistakes molded me into becoming a better role model.”
In an email he sent following that interview, Fonseca stated, in part: "I have remained committed to paying it forward through my own service as a former law enforcement officer, community advocate, youth coach, and candidate for Osceola County School Board. Each of my past experiences have provided tremendous learning and growth opportunities and have prepared me to provide servant leadership to the parents, employees, community, and most important, the students in our district."
In March 2009, Fonseca issued an undated letter of resignation to the City of Kissimmee effective March 31. An attached city Personnel Action Form showed he could not be rehired. A Federal Department of Law Enforcement separation affidavit checks the reason as, “Voluntary separation or retirement in lieu of termination for … violation of moral character standards.”
The report shows a list of sustained allegations against Fonseca. They include failing to notify Central Communications of a traffic stop; repetitively negligent in performing his assigned duties by engaging in numerous on-duty social meetings; intentionally conducting improper DHSMV/ DAVID queries for non-law enforcement purposes; and disclosing confidential information of an internal investigation to another officer when directly prohibited to do so, and against the written directives of a memo about the incident. In the review, Fonseca acknowledged meeting and socializing with the teen, who told him her boyfriend was involved in drug transactions, and an investigator wrote, “Officer Fonseca admitted he knew his actions were wrong.”
“Officer Fonseca offered to assist by having the Tactical Unit set up a drug deal with <REDACTED>. Fonseca never ran his criminal history, nor did he contact the Tactical Unit supervisor to follow through on the tip. Fonseca admitted he socialized with <REDACTED> on approximately 10 occasions while on duty for extended periods of time at the apartment complex. Officer Fonseca acknowledged his actions of socializing with <REDACTED> instead of performing his duty assignments were wrong.”
The report says Fonseca acknowledged the lookups were “a misuse of the DHSMV/DAVID system … he acknowledged it was possible he queried the boyfriends or husbands of some of the female subjects; however, he could not recall specific names.
“Officer Fonseca’s misconduct rises to the level of Repetitive Negligence of Duty based upon the number and the length of time he willfully failed to perform his duties in order to socialize with a female acquaintance,” an investigator said in the report.
The fellow officer was interviewed by KPD Internal Affairs the following week, and he said Fonseca “had been calling him on a consistent basis asking about the status of the investigation, if he’d been interviewed yet and when the investigation was going to be concluded.”
At a third interview in March, Fonseca “admitted his actions were in violation of department guidelines,” and shortly thereafter tendered his resignation.
Fonseca said the surfacing of the report coincides with the election.
“I know why they — supporters of my opponent — are bringing it up,” he said. “I’ve done good work in the community over the past years.”
