State finds police did not mishandle stalking case

MIRAMAR — The Broward State Attorney’s Office has determined the Miramar Police Department did not show preferential treatment in how it handled a traffic stop or 2010 stalking case involving a high-ranking officer, Dwayne Flournoy, now chief of the Hallandale Beach Police Department.

Five years ago, Miramar handled the incident as a misdemeanor stalking, but did not turn the case over to prosecutors — a fact which emerged after police union attorney Tony Alfero claimed in April that Flournoy was unfit to serve as chief.

In a letter to Hallandale Beach officials, Alfero accused Flournoy of several transgressions, including an alleged traffic stop in Miramar and the 5-year-old stalking case. Flournoy’s attorney, Joseph Gibson, has categorized the claims as a political vendetta against the chief.

Hallandale Beach has hired an outside consultant to investigate.

In June 2010, a female officer who works in Medley in Miami-Dade County accused Flournoy, then a police major, of stalking her. In court records, the woman accused Flournoy of peppering her with lovesick emails and showing up at her home on several occasions.

After the story came to light, Miramar Police Chief Ray Black ordered an Internal Affairs investigation into how the stalking case and alleged traffic stop were handled. The inquiry found no improper action, records show.

In June, Miramar Sgt. Rich Georgi presented the matter to the State Attorney’s Office for review.

Assistant State Attorney David Schulson found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the Miramar Police Department or its officers, records show.

In June 2010, the woman who accused Flournoy of stalking filed a complaint with Miramar police. The department took no further action because the woman “expressed a preference” for seeking a restraining order from the court, Schulson’s memo said.

The woman was granted a temporary restraining order in June 2010. The case was dismissed later that year when she was a noshow in court.

Schulson contacted the woman Aug. 11 to confirm she did not want Miramar police to do anything other than prepare an incident report to document her stalking claim.

At Miramar’s request, the State Attorney’s Office also looked into the way an officer handled a traffic stop involving Flournoy.

On Dec. 27, Officer Eloy Gonzalez was working on a DUI saturation patrol. He stopped Flournoy for driving 10 miles over the 45-mph limit in a Chevy pickup, Schulson’s memo said.

The officer chose not to give Flournoy a ticket as a professional courtesy.

“This matter should now be closed as there is no evidence of any criminal law violation by the Miramar Police Department or any Miramar officers,” Schulson wrote.