Trooper Donna Jane Watts' lawsuit names Treasure Coast police officers

Martin_County_sheriff's_office_20120504104312_JPG

Martin County Sheriff's deputies will hold the first of several town hall meetings today to talk about the latest crime spree in the area, dubbed 'pillowcase burglaries.'
Photographer: Courtesy Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Posted: 01/02/2013

An explosive lawsuit from a Florida Highway Patrol trooper names several Treasure Coast law enforcement officers, alleging they illegally accessed the trooper's private information.

Officers with the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the Port St. Lucie Police Department and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office were individually named in the 69-page lawsuit.

In October 2011, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Donna Jane Watts pulled over an off-duty Miami police officer for speeding in his marked patrol car. The police officer, Fausto Lopez, was later fired.

Her lawsuit , filed in federal court on December 21, 2012, alleges after that incident, dozens of officers violated her privacy by unlawfully looking up her personal information more than 200 times. The information accessed included her home address, picture, and Social Security number in the Driver and Vehicle Information Database, or the D.A.V.I.D. system.

Watts said fellow officers created a "life-threatening" situation that caused her to be in such fear for her safety, that she became a hermit.

The lawsuit named 25 law enforcement agencies and 88 individual law enforcement officers. The plaintiff seeks more than $1 million dollars in damages.

NewsChannel 5 reached out to each of the Treasure Coast agencies with officers named, to see if they received any reprimands or disciplinary action.

This story will be updated with more information.
 

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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