A Fort Lauderdale police officer with a history of careless behavior was fired for forging the signature of an alleged street beggar on a police report, records show.

Officer Daniel Zavadil, 43, is suspended without pay until his dismissal on Nov. 24, according to police records.

Investigators say Zavadil violated policies when he signed the name of a suspected panhandler on a notice-to-appear form once he realized the man forgot to sign it himself.

The officer, hired in 2005, has been written up in the past for filing incomplete reports, twisting the facts and blaming others for his mistakes.

``His conduct was unacceptable, demonstrated a complete lack of integrity and was unbecoming that of a police officer,'' wrote Capt. Rick Maglione of the recent accusations in an internal affairs report.

On March 17, Zavadil cited a man for allegedly panhandling at the corner of South Federal Highway and Southeast 17th Street. But Zavadil left without noticing that the man forgot to sign the form notifying him to appear in court.

Zavadil's supervisor, Sgt. Steven Greenlaw, pointed out the missing signature to the officer when he filed it. A few days later, Greenlaw saw the report had been filed again with a signature on it. He immediately called Zavadil, who admitted to signing the suspect's name.

``I was alarmed and concerned,'' Greenlaw said in a sworn satement.

A seven-month internal investigation was launched, and Zavadil was suspended with pay during that time.

Zavadil could not be reached for comment at his Weston home. During the investigation, Zavadil defended his actions, saying he had signed the report because he couldn't find the suspected panhandler when he went back to look for him.

It was an ``administrative fix,'' Zavadil said in a sworn statement.

Zavadil's work has long been a source of tension with supervisors, records show.

In January 2008, Capt. Victor London launched an investigation that found patterns of errors and omissions in Zavadil's reports, according to a complaint form. He disregarded policies and twisted facts to blame others for his mistakes, the report said.

In April 2008, another sergeant wrote him up for sending text messages on his cellphone while holding a loaded gun in the other hand at a firing range. Zavadil said that he was trying to turn off his phone.

Supervisors ordered extra training and performance plans for Zavadil, but nothing changed, London said in the complaint.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@