BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 The Florida Highway Patrol\u2019s Office of Professional Compliance has launched a review into a February traffic stop involving an off-duty Brevard County deputy sheriff caught speeding 111 mph on his motorcycle, News 6 has learned.<\/p>\n
Michael Fultz, who was named Brevard County\u2019s Deputy of the Year about a month after the traffic stop, could have been arrested under Florida\u2019s Dangerous Excessive Speeding Act, more commonly known as the \u201cSuper Speeder\u201d law.<\/p>\n
Instead, the FHP trooper who stopped Fultz issued him a civil traffic citation for driving nine miles per hour over the speed limit. Fultz later paid a $255 fine and was not required to appear in court, records show.<\/p>\n
[WATCH: Brevard Deputy of the Year caught speeding 11 mph not arrested under \u2018Super Speeder\u2019 law]<\/p>\n
When Trooper Joshua Provencher first spotted Fultz\u2019s motorcycle driving at a high rate of speed on U.S. 192 near Melbourne on February 9, it appears the trooper believed a crime was being committed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to jail,\u201d Provencher can be heard saying to himself as he began following the motorcycle, according to video from the trooper\u2019s patrol car obtained by News 6.<\/p>\n
After Fultz identified himself as a fellow law enforcement officer, the trooper called his supervisor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this guy. He is a deputy,\u201d Provencher told the FHP sergeant.<\/p>\n
After noting that Fultz was \u201cnot weaving\u201d but there was a \u201cdecent amount of traffic\u201d, the trooper expressed his desire not to arrest the deputy.<\/p>\n
Under Florida\u2019s Dangerous Excessive Speeding Act, law enforcement can arrest motorists who drive 100 mph or more in a manner that threatens the safety of other persons or property.<\/p>\n
First time offenders can face up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can avoid the 10-15, I don\u2019t want to ruin his job,\u201d Provencher told his supervisor, according to the recording.<\/p>\n
10-15 is police terminology for \u201cprisoner in custody\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to take you to jail, Fultz,\u201d Provencher told the deputy, the video recording shows. \u201cObviously you and I are buddies. I\u2019m not trying to show favoritism, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brevard County Sheriff\u2019s Office launched an administrative investigation into Fultz on March 14, the day after the agency named him Deputy of the Year.<\/p>\n
Records show Fultz\u2019s ex-girlfriend had sent an email to the sheriff\u2019s office detailing several troubling allegations against Fultz. She later told investigators about the traffic stop, which Fultz allegedly failed to report to his supervisor.<\/p>\n
An investigator with the sheriff\u2019s office later interviewed the trooper and the deputy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrooper Provencher was aware that Deputy Fultz\u2019s speed, along with the traffic conditions which made his speed a danger to other drivers, met the statutory criminal requirements for the new \u2018super speeder law\u2019,\u201d sheriff\u2019s investigators wrote. \u201cDeputy Fultz admitted the speeds at which he was traveling did violate the \u2018super speeder\u2019 law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fultz resigned from the sheriff\u2019s office on May 27 in lieu of termination after the sheriff concluded he had engaged in \u201cegregious misconduct\u201d that included performing a sex act with an agency handgun and misuse of the Flock camera license plate reader system, records show.<\/p>\n