A Melbourne police sergeant has resigned after receiving a blistering letter from the police chief about falsifying work hours and concealing his location while on duty. The resignation came after the department took steps to fire Sgt. Michael Schmid.At the Melbourne Police Department, Chief David Gillespie issued a strong letter to Schmid: "Your misconduct is disturbing and the falsification of hours worked is egregious. I have lost confidence in your ability to perform as a law enforcement officer and supervisor."An internal affairs report dated Aug. 31 details why the police chief is so disturbed. The report finds that Schmid misused a device in his patrol car called an automated vehicle locator, or AVL. The chief wrote, "...you turned off your AVL to conceal your location on numerous occasions."The AVL is a homing device that tells the department where the patrol car is at all times. It can literally save an officer's life. If the officer is incapacitated, help can still get there because the location of the car is known.The report did not confirm what Schmid was doing while his location was concealed, but it did conclude that he falsified his work hours. After the city began proceedings to fire Schmid, he submitted his resignation last week. The report found Schmid had violated general orders prohibiting conduct unbecoming an employee and lying. WESH 2 News was unable to contact Schmid; the Police Department did not respond to our requests for interviews.

A Melbourne police sergeant has resigned after receiving a blistering letter from the police chief about falsifying work hours and concealing his location while on duty.

The resignation came after the department took steps to fire Sgt. Michael Schmid.


At the Melbourne Police Department, Chief David Gillespie issued a strong letter to Schmid: "Your misconduct is disturbing and the falsification of hours worked is egregious. I have lost confidence in your ability to perform as a law enforcement officer and supervisor."

An internal affairs report dated Aug. 31 details why the police chief is so disturbed. The report finds that Schmid misused a device in his patrol car called an automated vehicle locator, or AVL. The chief wrote, "...you turned off your AVL to conceal your location on numerous occasions."

The AVL is a homing device that tells the department where the patrol car is at all times. It can literally save an officer's life. If the officer is incapacitated, help can still get there because the location of the car is known.

The report did not confirm what Schmid was doing while his location was concealed, but it did conclude that he falsified his work hours. After the city began proceedings to fire Schmid, he submitted his resignation last week. The report found Schmid had violated general orders prohibiting conduct unbecoming an employee and lying. WESH 2 News was unable to contact Schmid; the Police Department did not respond to our requests for interviews.