Police Officer Resigns After He’s Caught Stealing From Hurricane Irma Victim

A Florida sheriff’s deputy has resigned and faces criminal charges after a surveillance video surfaced that seems to show him stealing pills from the home of a man who suffered a fatal injury during Hurricane Irma.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Cooke was not among the three officers who responded to Moe Rosoff’s home on Sept. 12 after Rosoff’s son called to report his father’s home surveillance camera had stopped registering movement, reports say. But he did show up to the home later, after Rosoff had been rushed to the hospital for head injuries he reportedly suffered during Hurricane Irma.

In the home security video, Cooke disappears into a bedroom then returns to the kitchen, where he opens a container and empties into his hand. He then stuffs the contents into his pocket.

Cooke then repeats the process with a second container before looking through cabinets and drawers. After disappearing from view into multiple rooms, documents say Cooke re-emerges into view with his hand over his mouth, as if he’s consuming something.

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Rosoff’s son reported the incident. Rosoff died at a hospital that same day the footage was taken.

“We were outraged and disgusted when we viewed this,” the family said in a statement.

Cooke entered Rosoff’s home, which his family says was located in a gated retirement community, with a garage code from the police log, WPEC reports.

The report says Cooke admitted to taking some pills that were Tramadol, a pain reliever, from the counter. Investigators say they recovered other medications from Cooke’s patrol car, although Rosoff’s family says some of the medications found in his car were not Rosoff’s.

“Not all of these medications we think were taken from our father, leading us to believe that this was not Officer Cooke’s first crime,” the family’s statement reads.

Cooke faces charges of armed burglary and grand theft of prescription medications during an emergency.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Teri Barbera said in a statement to CNN that the department “never forgets about its duty to preserve the public’s trust.”

“Unfortunately, sometimes an employee makes a bad decision, which leads to misconduct,” Barbera said. “We investigated and determined his actions were criminal in nature, resulting in the charges.”

Cooke resigned from his position as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, WPBF reports.

Cooke’s attorney, Stuart Kaplan, called his client’s actions “a perfect example of the opioid epidemic, with respect to medication,” and blamed the deputies “traumatizing” personal and professional life for his turning to drugs.

“The video speaks for itself, and it highlights the epidemic we’re dealing with,” Kaplan told Inside Edition. “People who have good intentions, good people, can get hooked on these medications.”