MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A captain with the Martin County Sheriff's Office has retired amid an internal affairs investigation, which has now turned into a criminal investigation.
Deputy Ryan Grimsdale faces charges of two counts of attempted theft (misdemeanors) and one count of felony misconduct.
Sheriff William Snyder said on two separate occasions that Grimsdale signed up to work an off-duty supervisor detail. However, the captain never showed up and still charged the vendor. The shifts were for Martin County's Mudfest event near Indiantown.
Grimsdale has been with the agency for 30 years and is a personal friend of the sheriff.
"On a personal level, it's very painful for me," Snyder said. "I've promoted him twice. I consider him a friend. I'm not cutting him loose on an ice flow and saying he's the worst person ever, but it's very painful when someone I trust takes advantage of my trust, takes advantage of the taxpayers and takes advantage of the end user, someone who's counting on his services."
Grimsdale's retirement pension is in jeopardy pending this investigation. He has a lawyer and isn't speaking about the charges.
"It's just a stupid thing to do," Snyder said.
