OAKLAND, Fla — Oakland police officer Barry Stykowski was recently promoted to sergeant, but has since been suspended.
The chief said the suspension is to determine if he was truthful during the application process. He has called city management to call a meeting about it.
Stykowski was hired in Oakland just two days after he was allowed to quietly resign from Mount Dora with no discipline on his record.
Oakland’s police chief said that nowhere in the 900-page personnel file received from Mount Dora is the 22-page investigation, in which he was accused of stealing from taxpayers.
Mount Dora’s police chief said Stykowski stole time from taxpayers by claiming to be on duty as an officer when he wasn’t or extra-duty details at local businesses or organizations.
Records at police headquarters show it went on for at least five months between October 2023 and March 2024, allowing him to be compensated for two different commitments simultaneously.
Mount Dora Police Chief Mike Gibson said he was not fired because of the department’s dispute resolution process. That policy allows the agency to negotiate discipline and/or an exit strategy.
In Stykowski’s case, the separation agreement shows the city paid him more than $12,000 in accrued vacation time and sick leave, and allowed him to walk away with no discipline on his record, despite the 22-page investigation that determined he did misrepresent his time and attendance.
A GPS log showed his patrol car at Disney, Saint Cloud and as far away as Daytona Beach shores on more than one occasion while his time sheet showed he was on duty.
Gibson said this case could qualify as a crime, but it is up to the department’s discretion. He said he took the city and citizen’s benefits into consideration in determining to part ways instead of charging him.
Oakland’s chief said he did not know about this at the time, adding that Mount Dora sent sent an email two days after they let him go, stating he had no open cases or discipline in his file.
The state’s record shows Stykowski voluntarily separated from Mount Dora under circumstances not involving misconduct.
WFTV is waiting to find out if Oakland ever requested or received Stykowski’s discipline file.
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