(= | XS NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” North Port Police Department Internal Affairs /Division Level Investigative Summary To: Chief Melanie Bevan From: Captain Brian Gregory Date: March 22, 2025 Re: Bradenton Police Department IA-23-102 INVESTIGATION: Allegations: PGO 401 VI.A.1 Untruthfulness PGO 401 VLA.3 Falsification PGO 401 VIA.5 Uttering False Statements Concerning any Employee PGO 401 VI.A.14 Conduct Unbecoming Complainant: Chief Melanie Bevan (Bradenton Police Department) Employee(s)/ Civilian(s) Involved: Officer Patrick Mahoney (Bradenton Police Department) Allegations from Complainant: ‘The results of Internal Affairs (IA) investigation 22-108 revealed facts contradicting the allegations made by Officer Mahoney in his sworn affidavit and sworn audio recorded statement. These findings caused the generation of a separate investigation with Officer Mahoney as the subject. Captain Brian Gregory was requested to complete the investigation on behalf of the Bradenton Police Department due to a conflict with Bradenton Police Department's IA unit. AA Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.(= | i Cs NORTH PORT D)_ “Providing for a safe community” A. Witnesses: Chief Melanie Bevan (BPD) Sergeant Courtney Cruz (BPD) Reserve Officer Anthony Cerniglia (BPD) Captain William Knight (BPD) Officer Shawn Gow (BPD) Deputy Darryl Davis (Manatee County Sheriff's Office) Civilian(s) Former Reserve Officer Christopher Herron Former Sergeant Ross Johnson Former Assistant Chief Paul MeWade Former Detective Christopher Capdarest Documentation: Bradenton Police Department IA 22-108 ea FDLE — CJSTC 60, CJSTC 61, CJSTC 77 Bradenton Police Department — Oath of a City Police Officer Email from Attorney Caroleen Bre} B, Investigation: On February 16, 2023, Captain Brian Gregory concluded Bradenton Police Department IA 22-108. As a result of the investigatory findings, it was determined that allegations in Officer Patrick Mahoney’s sworn affidavit, which was released publicly, and sworn audio recorded statement conflicted with witness statements, BPD records, and FDLE records. ‘The allegations asserted by Mahoney were the following: met Resetve Officer Christopher Herron was not a sworn police officer with the Bradenton Police Department and carried out police functions without proper authorization. b. Former Reserve Officer Christopher Herron committed a battery against Officer Mahoney without any accountability c. Former Assistant Chief Paul McWade directed /ordered Mahoney to arrest Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he showed up at Eva Kelly’s funeral d. Former Assistant Chief Paul McWade ordered Mahoney and former Sgt. Ross Johnson to obtain Eva Kelly’s cellular phone. A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.a (= LX Cs NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” Mahoney allegations against Herron Mahoney made numerous allegations, in both his sworn affidavit and in his sworn interview from IA-22-108, that Herron was not a sworn police officer with BPD and committed numerous violations to include 4 amendment violations. Gregory requested corresponding documentation related to Herron’s status as a Reserve Officer with the BPD from Paul Driscoll. On August 29, 2022, Gregory received, via email, CISTC forms 60, 61, and 70 from Driscoll. On September 12, 2022, Gregory received, via email, a copy of Hetron’s Oath of a Police Officer for the BPD from Driscoll Contrary to Mahoney's allegations, Herron was sworn in by Chief Bevan as a police officer with BPD, on February 26, 2020. Herron was authorized to carry out all the duties of a police officer in the State of Florida. ‘The specific allegations, made by Mahoney, of law enforcement actions committed by Herron without authority as a sworn officer all occurred after Herron was sworn in as a police officer with BPD. Mahoney stated in his sworn affidavit that there were at least two occasions where Herron committed a battery against Mahoney. During the interview with Mahoney, Gregory asked Mahoney if he wished to prosecute Herron for allegedly committing a battery against him. Mahoney declined, stating he wasn’t that kind of a guy. On September 22, 2023, Gregory interviewed Johnson regarding Herron, Johnson was Mahoney’s and Herron’s supervisor during the same time period. Johnson never observed Herron committing a battery against Mahoney. Johnson never received a formal complaint from Mahoney against Herron, On November 16, 2022, Gregory interviewed Christopher Herron regarding the allegations made by Mahoney against him. Herron stated that he was swom in as a BPD Reserve Officer on February 26, 2020. He let his squad know he was being sworn in that day and his squad came up to Chief Bevan’s office to witness the swearing in. Mahoney was the only member of the squad not present. Herron stated that what Mahoney described in his, affidavit about Herron was outlandish. He believed that Mahoney was trying to make Herron look bad to make Chief Bevan look bad, On February 1, 2023, Gregory and retired Judge Holder interviewed Chief Bevan regarding the allegations made by Mahoney against her. Bevan stated she hired Herron as a Front Desk Officer/Call Taker and as a Reserve Officer. Bevan confirmed that she did swear Herron in as a reserve police officer which carried the same authority as a full-time police officer. Chief Bevan had known Herron for 30 years and has never known him to be regularly volatile or physically aggressive. Chief Bevan mentioned that Herron was hired at A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.e (= XX (= NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” the agency not only for his many years of experience with the St. Petersburg Police Department but for his experience with health and wellness. Herron had personal experience with a traumatic event at St. Pete that he was able to share with others. Eva Kelly’s funeral On September 7, 2022, Gregory interview Mahoney regarding his allegations in his sworn, affidavit, Mahoney had written in his sworn affidavit that “We were directed to arrest Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he showed up at Eva Kelly’s funeral.” (Mahoney affidavit line 37) Mahoney confirmed in his sworn audio recorded interview with Gregory that MeWade told Mahoney and Johnson “Hey, wear your Class A’s. You guys are gonna be pulling security at the funeral. And if he shows up, we want you to arrest him” (Mahoney page 6, lines 14- 15). Mahoney also stated in his sworn affidavit, “I recall Deputy Chief McWade specifically telling Detective Capdarest to just “find something” to arrest him for because he was not supposed to be at the funeral” (Mahoney affidavit line 38). On September 22, 2022, Gregory interviewed Johnson regarding instructions he may have received from McWade regarding Eva Kelly’s funeral. Johnson stated he was never ordered by McWade, or anyone else, to arrest Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he arrived at the funeral for Eva Kelly. Johnson recalled that the ex-husband was not welcome at the funeral and if he did show up to tell him to leave. Johnson confirmed he would have had to call the Sheriffs Office if an arrest were going to be made since the funeral location was outside of BPD. jurisdiction. On November 22, 2022, Gregory interviewed Reserve Officer Anthony Cerniglia regarding his involvement at Eva Kelly’s funeral. Cerniglia was, at the time, a Sergeant with BPD and in charge of the funeral detail. Cerniglia never heard or received any orders from MeWade to artest Eva Kelly's ex-husband if he showed up at the funeral. Cerniglia was told by MeWade that if the ex-husband showed up, they were to tell the ex-husband he was not welcome and ask him to leave. If the ex-husband refused to leave Cerniglia would contact the Manatee County Sheriff's Office for assistance. Cerniglia had no idea why Mahoney would make the statement in his affidavit that McWade ordered members of BPD to arrest the ex-husband if he arrived at the funeral. Cerniglia stated that would have never happened because they had no jurisdiction to do so. On September 13, 2022, Gregory interviewed Captain Knight. Knight stated there were arrangements made to have the Special Investigations Unit, which Johnson, Mahoney and Capdarest were members of at the time, to watch the entrance points of the funeral home. If Eva Kelly’s ex-husband were to show up they were to tell him that it was a private event and he was not welcome. Knight stated that the funeral home was in the county and no one at BPD would be directed to arrest Eva Kelly’s ex-husband in the county. Knight A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.a NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” further stated that he did not hear McWade tell Mahoney or anyone to find something to charge Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he showed up at the funeral On December 7, 2022, Gregory interviewed McWade regarding the funeral of Eva Kelly MeWade stated he never ordered anyone to arrest Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he arrived at the funeral. McWade instructed Cerniglia if the ex-husband showed up to contact the on- scene Manatee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) Deputies to ask the ex-husband to leave. MCSO was there to assist with traffic control during the funeral. On February 1, 2023, Gregory and retired Judge Holder interviewed Chief Bevan regarding the allegations made by Mahoney against her. Bevan stated she never ordered anyone to arrest Eva Kelly's ex-husband if he arrived at the funeral for Eva Kelly. Bevan believed that McWade would never have ordered that to happen due to lack of jurisdiction. Eva Kelly’s cell phone On September 7, 2022, Gregory interviewed Mahoney regarding his allegations in his sworn affidavit. Mahoney confirmed he drafted and signed the affidavit that was submitted by the PBA to Mayor Brown. Mahoney stated that he was ordered by former Deputy Chief MeWade to obtain Eva Kelly’s phone from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office custody. ‘Mahoney stated that getting the phone was under the context of BPD didn’t want Joe Kelly to know what was on the phone due to Eva Kelly having an affair with Shank. Mahoney acknowledged that it made sense to keep Joe Kelly from secing anything about Shank on Eva Kelly’s phone. Mahoney never made any attempts to obtain the phone and never intended to obtain the phone. On September 22, 2022, Gregory interviewed former Sergeant Ross Johnson regarding the interception of Eva Kelly's phone. Johnson stated he was never ordered to intercept Eva Kelly’s phone. Johnson received a phone call from Captain Knight with the request to get Eva Kelly's phone so that Joe Kelly would not see potentially emotional harmful information on the cell phone. Johnson was never able to intercept the phone. Johnson told his team, which included Mahoney, that they were not going to attempt to intercept the phone. Johnson told his team to be there for Joe Kelly and do whatever he needs to be done. Johnson never spoke to Davis about intercepting the phone. On December 7, 2022, Gregory interviewed McWade. MeWade did state on the day of Eva Kelly's passing, McWade arrived at Joe Kelly’s house. Davis also arrived on scene to complete the investigation. McWade had told Davis that they were concerned that there was information, texts or photos, on Eva Kelly’s phone of her having an affair with, at the time, Sgt. Shank of BPD. McWade based this possibility on the many officers who said that Eva Kelly was having an affair with Shank. McWade explained to Davis when the phone comes back to Joe Kelly he was concerned what Joe Kelly might become aware of so they A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.a (=X NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” wanted to slow down the delivery of the phone to Joe Kelly. McWade confirmed he was attempting to intercept or delay Kelly receiving Eva Kelly’s cell phone out of an abundance of caution due to Joe Kelly’s emotion state. McWade was concerned that Joe Kelly was going to open the phone and see something in there, and then Joe Kelly might go kill himself or kill Shank, McWade was trying to put counselors in place and have the Police Chaplain available prior to Joe Kelly receiving Eva Kelly’s cell phone. McWade never recalled speaking to Mahoney at Joe Kelly’s house regarding Eva Kelly’s phone, McWade never ordered anyone to steal Eva Kelly’s phone. McWade’s intention was to slow or control the timing of the delivery of the cell phone to Joe Kelly. Once MeWade learned that Joe Kelly had received the cell phone and gone through the phone, there was no longer a need to control the delivery of the phone. McWade’s objective was to make sute Joe Kelly was not alone when he received the phone and that support services were there for him if he did see any evidence on the phone that would cause him emotional stress. C. Summary and Recommendation: Mahoney allegations against Herron Former Reserve Officer Christopher Herron was sworn in on February 26, 2020 by Chief Melanie Bevan, During Gregory's sworn interview with Mahoney on September 7, 2022, Gregory specifically asked Mahoney if he would be surprised to know that Herron was a sworn police officer at the Bradenton Police Department (Mahoney page 9, lines 23-28). Gregoty asked the question “Were you ever aware that he was a sworn” and Mahoney replies “No”. Gregory further states “Okay. Would it surprise you if he was?”. Mahoney replies, “I know he wasn’t”, Later in Gregory’s interview with Mahoney, Gregory asked Mahoney how he learned Herron was not a sworn police officer at BPD. Mahoncy stated that he based his knowledge that Herron wasn’t sworn by information he obtained from Johnson. Johnson allegedly told Mahoney that Herron’s timecard reflected that Herron was being compensated by BPD for his role as a front desk call taker. Mahoney’s sworn affidavit and sworn statement with Gregory alleges many different violations regarding Herron carrying out police officer functions while not being a sworn police officer. Mahoney's claims are false. Furthermore, Mahoney’s affirmation in his sworn statement, even after being advised by Gregory of his inaccuracies, demonstrated that he continued to promote falsehoods. Eva Kelly’s Funeral Mahoney stated in his sworn affidavit (line 37) that he and Johnson were directed by MeWade to “attest the ex-husband if he showed up at Eva Kelly's funeral.” During Gregory’s interview with Johnson, Gregory asked Johnson “Were you ordered to arrest him A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.a o_ic NORTH PORT “Providing for a safe community” if he showed up at the funeral”, referring to Eva Kelly’s ex-husband if he showed up at the funeral (Johnson page 5, line 17). Johnson replied, “He never said, “This is a direct order,” or anything like that. He was just saying he wasn’t welcome at the funeral.” Johnson page 5, 18-19) Cerniglia, who was in charge of the funeral detail, never received instructions to arrest the ex-husband if he showed up at the funeral. When Gregory asked Mahoney if he knew that Cerniglia was the supervisor in charge of the funeral detail, Mahoney replied that he had no idea that Cerniglia was in charge of the funeral detail. It was apparent that Mahoney's interpretation of the message delivered by McWade was completely different than that of Cerniglias’ and Johnson's. Capdarest indicated in his sworn affidavit that he was ordered to attest Eva Kelly's ex-husband if he arrived at the funeral. Capdarest refused to be interviewed. Eva Kelly’s Cell Phone Mahoney claimed, in a sworn affidavit and sworn audio recorded statement, to have been “ordered” (Mahoney affidavit line 29) by MeWade “to obtain Eva Kelly’s phone from MCSO custody” (Mahoney affidavit line 29). Johnson stated he was never ordered by MeWade to intercept Eva Kelly’s cell phone. Johnson recalled the conversation with MeWade about trying to get the cell phone because there could be harmful information on the phone that may have an emotional impact on Sergeant Joe Kelly. However, Johnson did not have Davis’ phone number and never spoke to him about getting the cell phone Gow recalled being called by McWade regarding Eva Kelly’s cell phone. Gow stated he was never ordered to obtain the cell phone. McWade stated he never ordered anyone to obtain Eva Kelly’s cell phone. Mahoney is the only person who alleges, under oath, that he was ordered by MeWade to intercept Eva Kelly’s cell phone. Immediately after allegedly being ordered to intercept Eval Kelly’s phone, Johnson stated he told Mahoney and others that they weren’t going to attempt to intercept Eva Kelly's cell phone. No one was ever disciplined for not following McWade's alleged order to intercept Eva Kelly’s phone There appears to be a consistent pattern with Mahoney alleging, under oath, incidents that never occurred. This has been detailed in sworn testimony by several witnesses throughout the investigation. On March 16, 2023, Gregory attended a scheduled interview with Mahoney, Caroleen Bre), and Kaylin Humerickhouse. Prior to attempting to interview Mahoney, Brej and Humerickhouse were presented with the investigative findings to review. When Gregory started the recorder to attempt to begin the interview with Mahoney, Brej objected to multiple items in the investigation citing violations of F.S.S. 112.534. Bre} provided her objections, and the recorded session was concluded without conducting an interview with Mahoney A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.(= | EX Cs NORTH PORT “Providing for a sate community” D. “I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury, that, to the best of my personal knowledge, information, and belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed another to deprive, the subject of the investigation of any of the rights contained in ss. 1 and 112.533, Florida Statutes.” Ipvestigator A Florida Law Enforcement Accredited Agency.