Officer searches arrested woman’s purse, then throws it away, Florida cop says
A Florida patrol officer is accused of stealing a woman’s purse after he took her to jail, authorities said.
Shane Metz, who had been working at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for nearly three years, was arrested March 27 on one count of petit theft after detectives learned he never gave the woman her purse back when she was released from jail, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Director Mark Romano said during an April 2 news conference.
He resigned from his position after being arrested, Romano said.
The woman told deputies March 20 that she had not gotten her handbag back after she was arrested by Metz in December 2024, he said.
An investigation revealed that Metz failed to put the purse into personal property and instead rummaged through it and later discarded it in the dumpster of an apartment complex, according to Romano.
Romano said they did not know if Metz took anything specific from the woman’s bag.
According to deputies, Metz is the fourth Jefferson Sheriff’s Office employee to be arrested this year.
“Our collective belief in openness, transparency and accountability outweighs any personal allegiance to JSO employees,” Romano said. “As we have said before, no one is above the law.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Officer searches arrested woman’s purse, then throws it away, Florida cop says."
