Tequesta
cop who was arrested had been investigated three times
The Tequesta police officer who
was arrested in August after police said he kicked his brother at Jupiter
Medical Center was investigated three times before, according to his internal
affairs jacket.
Christopher Broedell, 29, of
Jupiter was arrested early Sunday, Aug. 25 and was released from the Palm Beach
County Jail under supervision. A judge ordered Broedell to surrender his
weapons, attend alcohol treatment and stay away from drugs and alcohol.
Broedell, who is on
administrative leave without pay, arrived at the hospital that morning in a cab
with his brother. Broedell’s brother said Christopher Broedell was suicidal.
Officers reported he was intoxicated and placed Broedell in handcuffs. He later
jumped in the air and kicked his brother in the shoulder, police said.
In August 2007 Broedell didn’t
appear for a deposition and faced possible contempt of court charges. Broedell,
however, told the department he didn’t receive a subpoena for the deposition
and didn’t check the department’s court calendar. The department determined the
procedure for receiving and signing subpoenas wasn’t being followed, which made
it impossible to prove if Broedell did receive the subpoena. The system was
modified and the department found Broedell not at fault.
Also in August 2007 the
department investigated a complaint that Broedell was drinking with a teenage
girl at a bar. The complaint said Broedell was at Rooney’s Public House in
Abacoa with a 16-year-old girl. The complaint said Broedell said he was friends
with the girl — who was drinking a mixed cocktail known as Sex on the Beach —
after he arrested her boyfriend. The complaint also reported Broedell touched
her inappropriately on her backside.
The department investigated the
claims and said they couldn’t determine who gave the drinks to the minor and if
Broedell knew she was drinking alcohol. The department also couldn’t determine
if Broedell did inappropriately touch the complainant. Broedell was not found
to be at fault.
Broedell received a verbal
warning in 2007 after the department found he put a civilian in danger during a
police call. Broedell and other officers were called to a domestic disturbance.
The supervisor at the call decided to bring the victim into the home where her
2-year-old son was along with a “violent suspect” who had access to a gun. The
department determined that Broedell should have questioned the plan of action.