BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Brevard County’s 2025 Deputy of the Year, Michael Fultz, has resigned from the sheriff’s office as the agency was poised to fire him for “egregious misconduct,” records obtained by News 6 reveal.
Sheriff’s office investigators obtained images of Fultz placing a gun in his ex-girlfriend’s mouth and pointing it at the back of her head during consensual sex acts, making an inappropriate Facetime call from his patrol car while wearing his uniform, and appearing to perform a “Nazi salute” in a photograph captured shortly before he was hired as a deputy, records show.
Fultz, 24, was also accused of using racially insensitive language and improperly accessing the agency’s Flock camera license plate reader system to look up his ex-girlfriend’s tag number.
When Fultz was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in February for allegedly speeding 111 mph on his motorcycle while off duty, the deputy was issued a civil citation instead of being arrested for a misdemeanor under Florida’s “Super Speeder” law.
After Sheriff Wayne Ivey signed off on an internal investigation in May and expressed his intent to terminate the Deputy of the Year, Fultz resigned.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the men and women I served alongside, my family, and the citizens of Brevard County for the embarrassment and negative attention my actions have caused,” Fultz wrote in a statement to News 6. “Becoming a deputy was a dream of mine, and I will always be grateful to Sheriff Ivey and BCSO for giving me the opportunity to fulfill that dream.”
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office hired Fultz as a probationary deputy in September 2024, a spokesperson said.
Seven months later, in April 2025, Fultz fatally shot a suicidal man who charged at him with a knife as the deputy responded to a disturbance at the man’s home, the agency reported at the time.
That incident prompted the sheriff to honor Fultz as the 2025 Deputy of the Year and award him the Medal of Valor during the agency’s annual award ceremony in March.
“Tonight we are proud to recognize an individual who, when faced with an immediate and life-threatening crisis, acted with profound courage and professional poise,” a video shown during the ceremony stated. “Deputy Fultz’s decisive actions, and extraordinary restraint under extreme pressure undoubtedly saved the life of a frightened mother while also protecting himself from grave harm.”
On the same day as the awards ceremony, records show Fultz’s ex-girlfriend sent an email to the sheriff’s office detailing numerous allegations against the deputy.
“My intention in providing this information is not to pursue personal retaliation but to ensure the agency is aware of conduct that, in my understanding, may conflict with departmental policies or professional standards,” the email stated.
The sheriff’s office immediately launched an administrative investigation into Fultz.
While the agency was unable to prove some of the allegations made by Fultz’s ex-girlfriend, records show Fultz acknowledged his involvement in many of the incidents she described.
A photograph, reportedly taken in 2023 before Fultz was hired as a deputy, showed Fultz’s mustache “shaved in what appears to be an attempt to mimic Adolf Hitler, and he appears to be performing a Nazi salute”, investigators wrote.
Fultz admitted to posing for the photo but “denied being racist and stated that the photograph was merely a joke”, records show.
Fultz, who is white, also confirmed the authenticity of text messages provided by the ex-girlfriend showing him repeatedly using the N-word.
“Deputy Fultz stated he grew up in a foster home with black parents and siblings, and the words became normal to use,” investigators wrote. “Deputy Fultz agreed that as a law enforcement officer, he should not use any words or slurs that are derogatory, even if that is not his intention. Deputy Fultz also denied ever hearing any other BCSO deputies use the word or making racially motivated jokes.”
Fultz confirmed images provided by his ex-girlfriend showed him putting a gun in her mouth and pointing it at the back of her head while they were having sex, records show.
Although the ex-girlfriend told investigators the sexual activity was “completely consensual”, the report states she later realized it was “alarming behavior, especially for a deputy sheriff.”
Fultz told investigators the gun used in the sex acts was his personally owned firearm, records show.
But sheriff’s investigators said the weapon resembled the agency-issued handgun assigned to Fultz immediately after the April 2025 fatal shooting.
“Deputy Fultz admitted to ignoring all firearm safety training that he had received,” investigators wrote.
The ex-girlfriend also gave sheriff’s investigators screenshots from a Facetime video call showing Fultz, in uniform, seated in his patrol vehicle.
Although she claimed the images showed Fultz performing a sex act on himself, sheriff’s investigators said the images were not clear enough to definitively conclude what Fultz was doing.
“Deputy Fultz denied ever masturbating on duty and claimed that he was only ‘pretending’ to masturbate while on the video call,” a report states.
Fultz’s ex-girlfriend told investigators that Fultz once discussed “watching her” on the agency’s Flock camera license plate reader system, but she did not know for certain whether he had tracked her vehicle’s location.
When sheriff’s investigators later audited the agency’s Flock system, they determined Fultz had searched his ex-girlfriend’s license plate on one occasion prior to the start of his shift, records show. The Flock search was documented as being for “investigation” purposes.
“Deputy Fultz denied checking her vehicle registration to spy on her or out of revenge but could not provide any reason as to why he queried her vehicle registration tag while off duty,” investigators wrote.
Although some police officers have faced criminal charges for misusing law enforcement databases for personal reasons, there is no indication that Fultz was criminally investigated. When News 6 inquired about it with the sheriff’s office, a spokesperson referred to the administrative investigation report, which does not mention a criminal probe.
Sheriff’s investigators learned Fultz was stopped by other law enforcement agencies on at least four occasions in two months while riding his motorcycle off duty. Fultz then failed to report those traffic stops to supervisors as required by agency policy, records show.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper said he documented Fultz’s motorcycle speeding 111 mph down U.S. 192 near Melbourne in February, the report states.
Under Florida’s Dangerous Excessive Speeding Act – commonly known as the “Super Speeder” law – law enforcement can arrest motorists who drive 100 mph or more in a manner that threatens the safety of other persons or property.
Instead of arresting Fultz for a misdemeanor offense, records show FHP issued the deputy a civil traffic citation for travelling 6-9 miles over the speed limit. Fultz later paid a $155 fine.
“Trooper (Joshua) Provencher was aware that Deputy Fultz’s speed, along with the traffic conditions which made his speed a danger to other drivers, met the statutory criminal requirements for the new ‘super speeder law’,” sheriff’s investigators wrote. “Deputy Fultz admitted the speeds at which he was travelling did violate the ‘super speeder’ law, and he was aware that BCSO and FHP were in a current campaign to aggressively curtail excessive and unlawful speeding.”
FHP did not respond to questions from News 6 about the traffic stop.
Fultz was stopped twice by the Melbourne Police Department for having an intentionally concealed license plate on his motorcycle but was not ticketed for it, records show. Fultz claimed the license plate had been hidden for a photo shoot.
After sheriff’s officials ordered Fultz to keep his motorcycle tag visible, records show Fultz was recorded by surveillance cameras leaving the sheriff’s office parking lot with no license plate attached.
Fultz submitted his resignation on May 27, after the administrative investigation was completed.
“The nature and severity of your misconduct has irreparably damaged the trust required to perform the duties of a deputy sheriff, and present an unacceptable risk to you, citizens, operations, reputation, and potential liability for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office,” Ivey wrote in a memo to Fultz.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson told News 6 there was nothing in Fultz’s job application or background check that the agency should have reviewed further before hiring him.
Fultz provided the following statement to News 6 in response to this story:
Statement Regarding My Resignation from BCSO
First and foremost, I want to apologize to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the men and women I served alongside, my family, and the citizens of Brevard County for the embarrassment and negative attention my actions have caused.
Becoming a deputy was a dream of mine, and I will always be grateful to Sheriff Ivey and BCSO for giving me the opportunity to fulfill that dream. Serving the citizens of Brevard County was something I took tremendous pride in. I worked alongside people I have an incredible amount of respect for, and I will always be thankful for the experiences and opportunities I was given. Receiving the Medal of Valor and being named Deputy of the Year are honors I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
I also have to own my mistakes. I was young, made some stupid decisions, and exercised poor judgment in areas of my personal and professional life. There are things I said and decisions I made that I am embarrassed by today and would handle completely differently. I take responsibility for the actions that were mine, and I sincerely apologize to the people I disappointed.
At the same time, I do not agree with every allegation or conclusion contained in the administrative investigation. The investigation originated from a complaint involving a former girlfriend following the end of our relationship, and not every allegation made during that process was substantiated. There is significantly more context surrounding the circumstances that led to the complaint than can be conveyed through an investigative report or news story.
Even after my resignation and departure from law enforcement, aspects of this situation have continued publicly, including comments about the effect the complaint and investigation had on my life and career. Some of those comments have been difficult to see, particularly when consequences that fundamentally changed my life have been treated lightly or as entertainment. I believe those statements and actions speak for themselves.
I could respond by publicly releasing private communications, screenshots, and other details or by making accusations of my own. I am choosing not to do that. I am not interested in turning this into an ongoing public dispute. My responsibility is to answer for my own actions, not anyone else’s.
None of that excuses the mistakes that were mine. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the original complaint, I was responsible for my own decisions. The investigation reached its conclusions, my career with BCSO ended, and I accept that outcome.
I deeply regret that my time with BCSO ended the way it did, but I will never regret serving there. I remain proud of the good I was able to do, particularly during the critical incident that ultimately resulted in my receiving the Medal of Valor and being named Deputy of the Year.
This experience has humbled me and taught me lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I cannot change my mistakes or the outcome of the investigation. What I can do is take responsibility for what was mine, learn from it, make better decisions, and move forward with my life.
I genuinely wish Sheriff Ivey, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the men and women who continue serving Brevard County nothing but success. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I was given to serve the citizens of Brevard County, and I am now focused on moving forward with the next chapter of my life.
Michael Fultz