Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre is in hot water with the Florida Ethics Commission, which found he violated three of four codes — violations the sheriff vehemently denied.
Among the alleged violations, the Florida Ethics Commission said Manfre improperly used his Sheriff's Office car for personal reasons.
Manfre fought back Friday, saying he was not in violation of any ethics procedures or codes, but accepted responsibility for the ethics investigation.
"I am sorry and apologetic for the distractions that this has caused the community and the sheriff's office," said Manfre said.
The sheriff defended his actions, saying there was no policy in place stopping him from taking the car home so he can respond to an emergency right away.
However, he instructed his staff to change policies regarding take-home cars for the entire department.
"So now, we limit the out-of-county radius to three hours." said Manfre.
Another violation was for misuse of a credit card. The sheriff said he was not even aware he had violated any policy. The commission alleged Manfre used his county credit card for improper expenditures and was reimbursed for it.
"I was staying at a hotel. I gave my card, as each one of you do — a person in this community — to the hotel for the charges," the sheriff explained.
Manfre claimed he was never told he was violating any practices or procedures, because there were none in place, and his staff never told him he was in violation of any procedure. It took a state auditor to identify those violations.
The third violation claimed Manfre was using the under-deputy's home in Tennessee for personal reasons, and not filing gift documentation as required by law.
Manfre again said he did not violate policy, because he did not stay at the home for more than two days; had he exceeded that many days, Manfre claime,d the policy would have taken effect.
The sheriff said he will ask an administrative law judge to rule on the presumed violations, but admitted even if the judge rules against him, the penalties amount to fines.
"That's all you're talking about; you're talking about fines," Manfre said before going back to his office Friday.