St. Petersburg Cop Disciplined for Posting DUI Photos on Personal Website

St. Petersburg, Florida police officer Robbie Arkovich is facing strict disciplinary measures after investigators discovered that he was posting pictures on his personal website that he took while on duty investigating a number of driving under the influence incidents.

Officer Arkovich's actions were discovered after an individual recognized pictures of his son, who was involved in a DUI related accident in May 2008, posted on Arkovich's personal website. The man contacted Police Chief Chuck Harmon and an Internal Affairs investigation of the website was launched. As a result of the investigation, Internal Affairs determined that a number of the photos posted in the "Photo of the Day" section of Arkovich's site depicted various police activities surrounding driving under the influence investigations. One of the more inappropriate photos depicted a man performing a field sobriety test on the side of the road while nude.

Following the completion of the investigation, Officer Arkovich admitted that he had been taking photos of his DUI investigations for about eight years. He argued that he planned to utilize the photos as learning tools for cadets at the police academy where he teaches and for local high school students where he gives presentations cautioning students to the risks associated with driving under the influence.

According to investigators, Officer Arkovich utilized his own personal photography equipment while on duty to capture the images of his and other officer's driving under the influence investigations. As a result of the Internal Affairs investigation, an administrative order was issued in August prohibiting Officer Arkovich from taking any more photos while on duty for non-work related reasons. In response, Officer Arkovich stated that he never intended to violate any department policies or procedures.

In February 2008, Officer Arkovich reached his 1,000th DUI arrest, the most department veterans can remember by a single officer. Arkovich was also honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in 1999 for his dedication to DUI enforcement.

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