Firings, demotions, suspensions among action taken in wake of investigation
Kissimmee Police Chief Charles Broadway swears in Kevin McGinley as his new Assistant Police Chief at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. (Photo/Ken Jackson)
The Kissimmee Police Department is ready to be open and transparent and to, most importantly, move forward.
That was the message from Chief Chuck Broadway Wednesday, when sharing its disciplinary outcomes and other actions in response to receiving the findings May 27 of an Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigation. That followed concerns the State Attorney’s Office raised in October 2024 regarding the conduct or truthfulness of several sworn officers in regards to use of force cases. OCSO released a 268-page report, that Broadway said he and KPD staff have poured over. (Check back with the News-Gazette and AroundOsceola.com as it combs through the report for details.)
“I feel great (about how the investigation has turned out). It’s disappointing to see the violations of policies and procedures. We will emerge stronger than ever,” Broadway said.
As a result of those charges and that investigation, prior Chief Betty Holland resigned, as did three other KPD employees. In addition, eight others were terminated, demoted or suspended for 24 hours; one was exonerated.
It all stems from the investigation into an April 22, 2023 incident, when Officer Andrew Baseggio allegedly entered a home without a warrant and used force outside of KPD’s policies that resulted in serious bodily injury to victim Sean Kastner. Evidence was uncovered that Baseggio spoke with witnesses about their testimony during the use of force investigation and wrote a falsified report to avoid an internal affairs investigation.
A State Attorney’s Office investigation into KPD uncovered what it called "concerns about the truthfulness and conduct of specific Kissimmee Police Department personnel,” specifically noting the testimony of 11 KPD officers and command staffers, including Baseggio and Holland regarding that case. The State Attorney’s Office report highlighted a number of "systemic issues" regarding the KPD's command staff, its internal affairs oversight, reporting of criminal justice standards and, "harboring a culture of silence."
Baseggio has pled guilty to felony battery, official misconduct and two charges of tampering with a witness, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7. His deal includes a sentence between 60 days and 24 months, along with probation.
In all, 11 KPD employees were implicated in the original investigation, and two more were implicated in the Orange County Sheriff’s report after Robert Anzueto was named the interim Chief in October.
That investigation hung over Broadway’s head when he was selected for the job and began command on April 1. He called the findings, and KPD’s responses, “A turning point (for KPD) to assure something like this never happens again,” at a press conference Wednesday.”
He announced the following discipline:
Bassegio and Holland had resigned prior to the investigation, and with Deputy Chief Alicea had already retired in September ahead of being terminated, after she was caught up in an investigation and was facing termination as the city alleged she used a homophobic remark about a lesbian female officer seeking a promotion.
Officers Jonathan Fernandez and Officer Milagros Sanchez, who were placed on administrative leave in October, have been terminated along with Michael Strickland, who was originally transferred out of the Professional Standards Section. Officer Darrius Benjamin, who was on the 2023 service call, was also terminated based on findings of another internal investigation.
Sgt. Mosies Diaz and Cpl. Justin Lunsford were demoted to the officer rank.
Lt. Omar Berrio, Cpl. Ta Keya Close and Sgt. Andrew Holmberg, later implicated in the Orange County investigation, were suspended without pay for 24 hours for what Broadway called, “Unsatisfactory performance.”
The 13th officer investigated, Sgt. Raquel Fernandez, was exonerated, as her communications with at least one other officer in the matter was, “Done in an effort to prepare her professionally for testimony, not to obstruct the State Attorney’s Office investigation.
Broadway’s remarks were intended to assure a community that KPD has a commitment to its own policies.
“That behavior we observed on the body cam is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he said. “I also want to make it clear that this was not a department-wide cover-up. The actions of a few who have been held accountable do not reflect the values, commitment, dedication and integrity of the men and women of the Kissimmee Police Department as a whole. We should not be here today.”
Broadway also used Wednesday to publicize the Department’s “core values” — courage, honor, excellence, integrity and service above self.”
“These are what we will hold each other accountable to,” he said. “Since stepping in on April 1, we have focused on continuing to restore integrity, accountability and purpose every single day, the changes we make reach to the core of how we lead, train and serve and protect this community.”
Broadway named an Assistant Police Chief, and Kevin McGinley, a long-time member of KPD and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office before that, was sworn in at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. Also at that meeting, city leaders moved forward with forming a Civilian Police Advisory Board, a panel of five to seven community members appointed by the police chief to make recommendations on policies and procedures and create a two-way street of communication between the police force and community.
“People externally get to look at procedures to make sure it they are the best fit for the community,” Broadway said after Tuesday’s meeting. “We didn’t do anything like this in Clermont, so I have some ideas that could really make this a good thing."
