That makes the current case, the second time Nebergall has been accused of having sex while on duty. This time, the alleged victim says in July of this year, Nebergall grabbed her by the hair, kissed her, and made a comment about her breast, while pressing himself against her and telling her to touch and kiss his genitalia. He allegedly unzipped his pants and rubbed against her, leaving only because he said he didn't have a condom.
Internal Affairs documents show Nebergall was also once suspended for using abusive language toward his supervisor, kicked out of training for using profanity, and reprimanded for having more than 5 crashes involving his squad car.
The internal affairs file on Nebergall contains more than 2,000 pages. Since he began working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in November 2007, Nebergall has consistently faced complaints over his behavior while on the job.
In 2008, only a year after starting, PBSO suspended him for pulling his department gun on a fellow officer after that officer pulled a gun on him. PBSO ordered Nebergall to take anger management.
Later, in 2012, Nebergall was suspected of hiding evidence. An investigation centered on whether he threw a knife used in a stabbing on a rooftop, rather than processing it into evidence. Investigators say they never found that knife. But Nebergall was not disciplined.
But despite facing numerous complaints from citizens throughout his career, for use of force, aggressiveness and rude behavior, Nebergall was never disciplined in those incidents. Investigators say they never found evidence of wrongdoing.
When Contact 5 asked the president of the Police Benevolent Association, why, with all these allegations and complaints against him, Nebergall was allowed to keep working, he said Nebergall faced progressive discipline over the years and the punishment always fit the crime. The union is not representing him in the sexual battery case.
Just December 16th, months after the reported sexual assault, PBSO finally placed Nebergall on "unpaid" leave.
When asked for a statement on Nebergall's Internal Affairs file, PBSO says the discipline speaks for itself. They say he was not fired for any of those previous incidents because there is a process anyone disciplined goes through and termination was not needed.
When Contact 5 asked where PBSO would draw the line, they replied with their original statement following Nevergall's arrest December 8th:
"The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office holds its employees to the highest standards and never forgets about its duty to preserve the public’s trust. Unfortunately sometimes an employee makes a bad decision which leads to misconduct. This misconduct was reported, investigated and subsequently determined to be criminal in nature, resulting in the charges."
Additional Human Resources details from his file:
Nebergall served two tours of duty in Iraq. He served in the Army from 1998 until 2007 and is a member of the US Air Force Reserve. In 2002, Nebergall got into a fight with locals at a tavern in Germany.
In 1994, he was terminated at his job at Winn Dixie for burning a box of diapers. He once plead guilty/no contest to trespassing and having fake IDs on him in 1998.
He applied to the West Palm Beach Police Department in March 2007.
