Global Courant 2023-05-12 22:54:57
A “cold-hearted” Central Florida police officer was arrested Tuesday by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Dianne Ferreira of the St. Cloud Police Department, about 25 miles southeast of Orlando, responded to a routine “medical call” from 911 on April 3, according to a police report. The victim went into cardiac arrest and died.
While at home, the 25-year-old woman is accused of taking pictures of the deceased man’s credit card and then using it to make purchases, authorities say.
The man’s widow eventually noticed suspicious activity on the statement and contacted the police.
Purchases include seven mobile food orders, a hotel stay and a meal at Wendy’s. An attempt to buy eyelash extensions was thwarted after the card was reported stolen. About $500 in fees went through.
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Investigators obtained a description of the suspect’s car at one of the companies and later realized the tags matched Ferreira’s.
Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez said at a news conference Wednesday that the officer confessed to taking pictures of the man’s card and storing them on a device.
Ferreira was arrested and booked on suspicion of theft of a credit card with intent to use it, credit card fraud in excess of $100, and use of a deceased person’s ID. She was booked a few hours later early Tuesday evening with a $4,000 bond.
The officer was immediately fired.
“You have to be a pretty cold-blooded person to go to someone’s house where her husband or her lover just passed away and start taking snapshots of a credit card,” Lopez said. “That’s pretty cold, you know, pretty brutal.”
The officer’s boss, St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke, added: “The information that came to light during this investigation shocked and appalled me. It was a direct violation of everything that is expected of our law enforcement officers.”
