POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A traffic enforcement deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office resigned on Wednesday after he was arrested for allegedly stealing cash during a traffic stop, officials said.
Justin Register, 28, was conducting a traffic stop near Fort Meade when deputies Joseph Leon and Vito Mineo arrived as backup, the sheriff’s office said. The driver was arrested by Register for allegedly driving without a valid driver’s license when Leon noticed Register seize the driver’s phone and wallet, a release said.
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The driver’s daughter arrived at the traffic stop to take custody of his property, deputies said, but the driver noticed Register handed her $82 from his wallet, which was $300 less than what was expected. Leon found a paystub belonging to the driver for a check cashed for $400 after searching the scene for the money, the sheriff’s office said.
Register then went to his patrol vehicle’s trunk, unzipped a rifle bag, removed cash and then said, “Oh, here it is,” according to the sheriff’s office.
“I am disgusted by Justin Register’s dishonest behavior,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “We are going to hold him accountable for his disgraceful actions, and he should never be trusted to work in law enforcement again. I am proud of the two other deputies who came forward to report what they discovered.”
Register faces a charge of petit theft.
The investigation is still open and “far from over,” the release said. The sheriff’s office said it is planning to audit all of Register’s previous arrests and traffic stops with the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Register was hired in May 2018.