Kissimmee police find 15 counts of excessive force and trespassing under grand jury

The beleaguered Kissimmee Police Department announced Friday that it had referred 15 cases of excessive force and trespassing to local and state authorities in response to a grand jury criticized its “culture of cover-up”.

The cases, which date back to 2015, involve officers who violated department policy but were not previously referred to prosecutors or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is against state law. A previously unreleased letter to Orange-Osceola County State’s Attorney Andrew Bain dated Oct. 7 points to the cases, the earliest of which — dated 2015 — involved Officer Matthew Baxter, one of two KPD cops killed in the line of duty in 2018.

letter, first reported by WFTV but the CPA officially fired Friday was sent a week before a grand jury released a scandalous report into the investigation into Officer Andrew Baseggio, which brought to criminal responsibility for brutally beating a man last year Among the jury’s findings was that many of the earlier reports of excessive force were filed as minor policy violations that resulted in more lenient discipline for the offending officers, even though this was not properly reported to authorities.

“The department recognizes the importance of maintaining public trust and is committed to continuous improvement, including policy updates and additional staff training,” the department said Friday. “We are focused on ensuring that all actions of the Kissimmee Police Department meet the highest standards of conduct, integrity and accountability.”

Before the grand jury’s findings were made public in mid-October, Bain’s office sent a letter to KPD Police Chief Betty Holland announcing a review of 11 current and former officers, including herself and a deputy chief, after questions were raised about their credibility in the Baseggio case. The result of the scandal was Holland’s resignation after more than a year on the job, he was replaced by Orange County Sheriff’s Office Major Robert Anzueto as interim chief.

Anzueto has since been tasked with cleaning up the department, starting with formal investigations into officers whose conduct is being questioned by the state attorney’s office. The two police officers mentioned in the Oct. 7 letter are Officer Michael Strickland and Sgt. Raquel Fernandez is among them.