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Jury orders Pembroke Pines officer to pay $15,000 to couple she snooped on 167 times

Posted at 7:27 AM, Jan 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-10 09:54:32-05

(AP) -- Jurors in South Florida decided a police officer in a Broward County city owes $15,000 in damages to a couple she illegally snooped on more than 100 times over the past two years.

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The Sun Sentinel reports 41-year-old Pembroke Pines Police Officer Melodie Carpio admitted she used her job to look up information about her boyfriend's ex-wife and her new husband on confidential law enforcement databases.

The verdict was announced Tuesday after a one day trial in federal court in Miami.

Court records showed she snooped 167 times.

Carpio is personally liable to pay the civil judgment to Cindy Thibault and Claude Letourneau.

Attorneys Michael Glasser and Eric Rudenberg said they believe the verdict sends a message to law enforcement officers who abuse their power.

Pembroke Pines police disciplined Carpio after an investigation in 2016, but she kept her job.