Advertisement Deputy allegedly caught on video stealing from dead man's home Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A sheriff's deputy in Florida has allegedly been caught on home surveillance video stealing from a man who fell during Hurricane Irma and died. Deputy Jason Cooke was arrested and booked into jail last Thursday evening, charged with burglary and grand theft with a firearm. The judge set a $28,000 bond in order to be released from the jail on house arrest.Cooke is accused of robbing the home of 85-year-old Moe Rosoff. Rosoff fell during the hurricane and later died. The Sun-Sentinel reports it had been just 90 minutes since paramedics took the elderly man from his home when Cooke entered. He had allegedly found the garage code in the sheriff's dispatch log and used it to gain access to the home. The home's motion detection system alerted Rosoff's son to the deputy's presence. The family later turned the video in to police. They claim Cooke wandered around the house and stole money, jewelry and medication.The following is a statement from the family of Moe Rosoff:"Our family wanted to share this video with the public. We were outraged and disgusted when we viewed this. Via our IP camera, this is what we witnessed the morning our father passed away on 9/12. Officer, Jason Cooke, used official police department information to commit Burglary while armed during a State of Emergency and to commit Grand Theft of Controlled Substances after he received the garage door entry code over his police radio/log and broke into and burglarized our 85 year old dying father's Boynton Beach residence. He did so an hour and a half after our father was taken to the hospital because he had fallen and hit his head during a power outage in Hurricane Irma. "This video shows Officer Cooke entering our father’s house, in a gated retirement community, through the garage door and going directly to the Master Bedroom, where we believe he stole money and jewelry. He then goes to the kitchen where he steals several medications. He then proceeds to the 2nd bedroom and then as he leaves the house, he pops something into his mouth. The video was reported to PBPD on 9/20/17, 8 days after the incident occurred. PBPD, however, did not make an arrest until 10/19/17, almost 5 weeks after the crime. They made an exception to allow his arrest to be held in abeyance so that he could enter a 30 day drug rehabilitant program. We were told that Officer Cooke denied the crime at first, but after he was shown the video he admitted the crimes. Found in Mr. Cooke’s patrol car was a 2016 prescription bottle containing Vyvanse, a central nervous system stimulant, 47 pills of Tramadol Hydrochloride, a strong pain killer (with 3 different markings), Proclorperazine Maleate an anti psychotic drug and Carisoprodol (Soma) a muscle relaxant. Not all of these medications we think were taken from our father, leading us to believe that this was not Officer Cooke's first crime. The police report was prepared by one of Cooke's fellow officers on 10/3 but "blocked" from us until 10/20 and leaves out what we think is material and pertinent information, including but not limited to whose name was on the prescription bottle found in Cooke's patrol car and that money and jewelry were reported stolen on 10/16."If Officer Cooke was operating in his official capacity under these medications, it is our belief that he may have posed a significant threat to the public's safety since just a few of the noted side effects of these medications include confusion, impaired thinking, impaired reactions, abnormal behavior, tremors, drowsiness, altered state of consciousness and anger. In our opinion, had we not had this video, this cop would still be out there posing a threat of danger to the community he swore to protect and committing more crimes. It is our hope that the justice system treats this cop like any other criminal out there and that he doesn't receive further preferential treatment because he is a police officer. Officer Cook is out on bond and reported to be on PAID Administrative leave."