Cop fired for searching bikini-clad 16-year-old

by Veronica Chapin
Patrolman Van Nelson was fired for allegedly searching a bikini-clad 16-year-old girl in the back of his vehicle on suspicion of drug possession. The teenager was driving home from a community pool when the officer pulled her over.

from - http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122000/met_4929789.html

Story last updated at 12:05 a.m. on Wednesday, December 20, 2000

Sheriff fires cop who searched bikini-clad girl Disciplinary board called for suspension

By Veronica Chapin
Times-Union staff writer

Sheriff Nat Glover fired an officer yesterday accused of improperly searching a 16-year-old Jacksonville girl wearing a bikini.

Patrolman Bruce Van Nelson continues to proclaim his innocence, saying he is being used as a scapegoat by the Sheriff's Office.

Van Nelson went before a five-member internal disciplinary review board last week and was questioned for hours about his July 25 detainment of the teen. She had been stopped while returning from a community pool.

Three members of the board recommended suspension, citing there wasn't evidence he forced the girl to expose herself during a weapons and drug search in the back seat of his patrol car. The other two members said his conduct was enough cause for dismissal.

Van Nelson, 32, will appeal Glover's decision and take the case to either an arbitrator or the Civil Service Board, said his attorney, Tad Delegal.

"The whole thing has been handled inappropriately the whole time," Van Nelson said of his case. "They are using me to build public confidence."

He said the department is trying to restore public faith after a recent grand jury indictment saying some officers were involved in a murder, robbery and kidnapping.

Glover was advised by an attorney not to comment because the case is going into an appeal process, department spokesman Harry Reagan said.

Van Nelson said he pulled the girl over after nearly being hit by her car. The teen, who was not cited, didn't have a license and was driving a car without her mother's permission.

According to an internal investigation, there was no eyewitness to the incident.

Van Nelson, who is married and has children, has been with the Sheriff's Office for four years. Prior to coming to Jacksonville, he served as a police officer in Jacksonville Beach.