FDLE: Former Port Orange police captain accused of stealing funds earmarked for injured officer

A former Port Orange police captain who oversaw criminal and internal affairs investigations during her employment with the department was arrested Wednesday, accused of stealing money from an account created to help a fellow injured police officer, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Kimberly Kilpatrick, 48, of Flagler Beach, was charged with grand theft and exploitation of a disabled adult, said FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.

Kilpatrick was booked into the Flagler County jail on $100,000 bail, Plessinger said.

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FDLE: Funds went to pay off loan, closing costs for home

Kilpatrick is accused of stealing $25,000 raised to pay medical expenses of Port Orange detective David Fouts, who was injured April 2016 while riding his motorcycle along U.S. 1 near Skyline Drive in New Smyrna Beach. Fouts' wife, Jennifer Fouts, 39, was killed in the crash.

David Fouts was off-duty at the time of the crash and suffered serious head and leg injuries, New Smyrna Beach police investigators said.

That same year, while still captain with the Port Orange Police Department, Kilpatrick opened a bank account for Fouts to deposit proceeds from fundraisers and donations to help pay the detective's ongoing medical expenses, Plessinger said.

But Kilpatrick used some of the money for herself, according to FDLE.

She retired from the police department in 2021.

According to Plessinger, Kilpatrick was arrested after a joint investigation by the Daytona Beach Police Department, the State Attorney's Office and FDLE.

Plessinger said that the investigation into Kilpatrick began in April after the Daytona Beach Police Department received a complaint about missing funds from the bank account established to help Fouts. FDLE took over the investigation due to jurisdictional issues, and because the investigation involved a former law enforcement officer, she said.

The investigation found that in two transactions in December 2016 and January 2017, Kilpatrick withdrew more than $18,000 and $7,500 respectively for her own use, Plessinger said.

The former captain used the money to pay off a loan and close on a new home, according to FDLE.

Not the first investigation

In September 2018, FDLE also began an investigation into Kilpatrick based on allegations that the former captain "forged" life insurance policy paperwork for David Fouts.

In a memo obtained by The News-Journal at the time, Assistant Chief of Police William Proctor told employees to cooperate with the FDLE investigator "into a criminal allegation against Capt. Kilpatrick" and reassured them that they need not worry about retaliation.

In October 2018, FDLE cleared Kilpatrick, and concluded that the probe "did not produce evidence" supporting the allegation.

On Wednesday, Port Orange police Chief Manuel Marino could not immediately be reached as he was in a meeting, said a code enforcement officer who said she was filling in for the chief's assistant.

In an email Wednesday, Port Orange police spokesman Sgt. William Harrison made a brief statement and referred questions to the State Attorney's Office.

"We were made aware of the arrest of former Port Orange Police Department employee Kimberly Kilpatrick, this morning," Harrison said.

On Thursday, David Fouts' attorney, Michael Lambert, said the former Port Orange police detective, who retired from the force on Aug. 19, 2016, remained disabled, although he can feed, dress himself and is ambulatory.

Due to the head injuries he suffered in the accident, Fouts was appointed a legal guardian by the court, Lambert said.

"His mental capacity has been substantially reduced because of the injuries he suffered in the accident," Lambert said. "That is the reason a guardian was appointed to oversee his finances."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Former Port Orange police captain accused of stealing funds