Deputy Sheriff Accused of Leaking Video of Shooting at FLL to TMZ

Michael Dingman denies that he profited from passing along the footage of Esteban Santiago opening fire on passengers at FLL earlier this year.

A Florida police officer who leaked video footage of a recent shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) was arrested earlier this week, the Star Tribune reports. Michael Dingman, a sheriff’s deputy in Broward County, has been charged with making a copy of a tape of the incident, which occurred on January 6, 2017, and passing it to website TMZ.

Two days later, the site then published the video, which shows gunman Esteban Santiago firing upon passengers in the baggage area at FLL. Speaking of the leak, Sheriff Scott Israel said that Dingman’s behavior “took away from the amazing performance” of the rest of the law enforcement team in the aftermath of the shooting. “At the end of the day, this is about one deputy who chose to tarnish the badge,” he added.

There is no indication that Dingman profited from the leak of the video. While initially arrested on Wednesday, Dingman has since been released on bail. He is charged with contravening the state of Florida’s public record laws, covertly copying the video and finally interfering with evidence by wiping computer files from his cellphone by throwing it into his swimming pool.

According to the warrant issued for his arrest, Dingman is purported to have copied the surveillance footage to his cell from a computer screen. Dingman was eventually confronted by colleagues who demanded that he hand over his phone. He initially refused this request and provided a different device than the one used to record the video.

However, Dingman’s ruse was quickly discovered and the phone used to make the recording was only recovered when a warrant was issued to search his house. Dingman denies that he profited from passing the video to TMZ and deputy Jeff Bell, the president of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, the labor body representing the area’s deputies, has said that the 47-year-old will contest the charges brought against him.

“We feel very confident that his defense will address every single issue,” he said. Both TMZ and Dingman’s legal counsel have declined to comment.

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