The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has announced it’s suspending Detective Ardit Coma for two days as a result of a recent speeding and fleeing/eluding incident in Ormond Beach. Coma was arrested by the Ormond Beach Police Department for fleeing and eluding, but the charges were dropped shortly thereafter.
The decision to suspend Coma comes just days after the FCSO said it would conduct an internal investigation into Coma’s actions. There will be no pay during Coma’s suspension, and he’ll lose his agency vehicle privileges for 90 days. He’ll be losing out on $851.48 in wages and benefits during his suspension according to a statement from the FCSO.
According to documentation from Coma’s arrest, he was spotted traveling 88 miles per hour on US-1 in an area where the speed limit was 55 miles per hour. OBPD Sgt. Caleb Braun pursued Coma for some time, during which he allegedly weaved through traffic and drove around stop sticks that’d been deployed to disable his vehicle. Once stopped, Coma claimed he hadn’t noticed the police car behind him.
Two agency policies were cited by the FCSO in their decision to suspend Coma.
- “Personnel shall conduct themselves at all times, both on and off duty, in such manner as to reflect most favorable on the FCSO.”
- “Personnel shall operate official vehicles in a careful and prudent manner and shall obey all laws and all agency orders pertaining to such operation.”
After criminal charges against Coma were dropped, Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly released a statement in which he questioned the judgment made by Sgt. Braun to arrest Coma. “I personally reviewed the arrest report and was surprised that an arrest was made,” Staly said. He alleged that there was a lack of evidence that Coma was intentionally fleeing, while acknowledging that his detective was certainly speeding in an agency vehicle.
“Sheriff Staly believes in accountability and transparency, and Detective Coma accepted full responsibility for his actions and quickly waived a formal disciplinary hearing, which allowed us to resolve this matter quickly once all investigations were completed,” said FCSO Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge. “Our employees are held to a higher standard than the average driver, which is why, on top of whatever a court determines the traffic infraction fine to be, he faced additional discipline by the agency to include a suspension and loss of his take-home vehicle privileges. His actions hurt the image of our agency and the trust people have in the men and women who work hard to serve and protect our citizens. It is my hope he will learn from his mistake and move forward solving crimes and seeking justice for victims.”
Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey was quick to defend his sergeant’s arrest in the wake of Staly’s comments. “Our Sergeant acted in good faith and based his decisions on the totality of the circumstances observed at the time,” he said on Thursday. “We stand firmly behind our Sergeant. His actions were consistent with OBPD training and expectations, and the information available to him at the time fully supported the decisions he made.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
