Who is David Motz? Florida deputy harassed ex daily for a year, threatened to rape, murder her
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FLORIDA—A police officer is facing charges after being accused of stalking an ex and threatening to kill her if she reported the harassment to the authorities.
According to the alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, Motz threatened her that if she reported him and he lost his job as a result, she would "end up like Denise Amber Lee." Lee was a 21-year-old mother of two who was abducted, raped and murdered in one of the most bone-chilling cases in Florida. “The victim took this [threat] to mean that she would be kidnapped, raped, and murdered like Denise Amber Lee was in Charlotte County, FL,” the affidavit stated.
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Who is David Motz?
31-year-old David Motz, a sheriff's deputy with Charlotte County, was arrested and charged Wednesday, July 21, after he allegedly actively followed, threatened, and harassed his ex-girlfriend on a daily basis "for approximately one year," according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast. Speaking to the Daily Beast, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Motz was currently on administrative leave without pay pending an ongoing investigation. The deputy was ordered Thursday, July 22, to be held on a $1,500 bond in Charlotte County Jail and that he would not try to contact the victim in any way.
“It is a sad day as another law enforcement officer has tarnished our badge and has broken that sacred trust we work so hard to build,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said told reporters at a Wednesday press conference as he announced the charges against Motz. “We are tasked with enforcing the laws and protecting our communities. This does not put us above it.”
Abusive relationship
The alleged victim said she and Motz had an on-and-off relationship for about two years, and that he was abusive even before he began stalking her, according to the probable cause affidavit. The woman told authorities that during an argument in June 2019, Motz “pointed his department-issued Taser at her, turned it on, and threatened to attack her. “She added that she asked him how he would explain to his department how the discharge of the loaded cartridge happened and he then turned off the Taser and put it away,” the affidavit states. Motz reportedly began actively stalking her after the pair broke things off around April of this year. The woman told investigators she “repeatedly asked him to stop contacting her, but he ignored her wishes and continued to call, show up at her work, email her, and follow her to different locations in and around” North Port, Florida.
The woman, in a bid to prove the harassment, also provided her phone records, voicemails, and emails exchanged with Motz. “He has also dropped off gifts and deposited $1000.00 into her account,” the affidavit stated, noting that the woman returned the presents each time. At one point, the harassment became so intense that she constantly feared for her and her child's safety, believing Motz had the means and power to hurt her "at any moment" considering his law enforcement status. The affidavit obtained by the Daily Beast also noted how Motz would randomly show up where the alleged victim was in his patrol car while on duty.
“As law enforcement officers we should always rise above any standards set. That makes it even more disturbing when an officer of the law, who is put in a position of public trust, abuses it," North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said on Wednesday, July 21.