A former Martin County reserve deputy is claiming more than a dozen deputies misused a traffic database and violated his privacy to harass and intimidate him.
In the lawsuit, Spencer Udell claims that Sheriff William Snyder and 20 other deputies used the Driver and Vehicle Identification Database – or DAVID – to illegally gain information on him dozens of times over the last few years.
Udell says Martin County deputy Kevin Fritchie, who is married to Udell’s ex-wife, was involved. However, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office says they stand by the claim that all uses of DAVID were lawful.
Chief Deputy Glenn Theobald said they have yet to be served the lawsuit so they can’t speak specifics, but Theobald did add that Udell has had multiple run-ins with the law.
Court documents show Udell, who was fired from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in 2005, has been arrested multiple times on charges ranging from grand theft, trespassing and unlawful use of a police badge.
Theobald added that deputies who are found to have misused DAVID will face appropriate punishment. No trial date has been set.
