SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A Seminole County detention deputy has been arrested after authorities say he unlawfully recorded telephone conversations of seven sheriff's office employees.
Michael Ryan, a field training supervisor at John E. Polk Correctional Facility, was arrested on three counts of illegal interception of communication, a third-degree felony.
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The investigation began in December when Ryan told a sheriff's office lieutenant that he had recorded phone conversations where he relieved two detention deputies from their collateral positions as field training deputies, according to a release from Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Ryan told deputies he recorded the conversations because he believed the detention deputies would complain about being separated from their field training duties.
Deputies said the investigation found that Ryan had downloaded an app to record phone conversations on his sheriff’s office-issued phone and that he recorded the calls without consent. Three of the seven employees wanted to prosecute, prompting Ryan to be booked into jail on $9,000 bond.
Ryan was also terminated from the Sheriff's Office. He was hired by SCSO in 2009 as a detention deputy and became a sergeant in 2013, according to officials.
The criminal case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney and SCSO will forward its administrative investigation to the Florida Criminal Justice Standards.