Brevard County's 2025 Deputy of the Year quietly resigned in May, months before the public learned why. Michael Fultz stepped down from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office on May 27, 2026, just as the agency was preparing to fire him over what internal investigators documented as a stunning pattern of misconduct that included photos of a gun used during sex, a 2023 photo appearing to show a Nazi salute, racial slurs, and misuse of law enforcement surveillance tools.
Fultz earned the Deputy of the Year title and the department's Medal of Valor for fatally shooting a suicidal man who reportedly charged at him with a knife during an April 2025 call, coming just seven months after he was hired as a probationary deputy in September 2024, according to The Space Coast Rocket. Records obtained by News 6 confirm the Brevard County Sheriff's Office was poised to fire Fultz before he resigned, and that he had been accused of what the station described as egregious misconduct.
The timeline is what makes this case so jarring. The internal investigation was triggered on March 13, 2026 — the exact day Fultz accepted his Deputy of the Year honor at the agency's annual ceremony — when his ex-girlfriend emailed Sheriff Wayne Ivey's office detailing allegations against him, per the same Space Coast Rocket report. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office had publicized that ceremony just two days later, recognizing Fultz alongside Special Recognition Award recipient Corporal Melody Hunter as part of its annual awards program.
Photos Showed Gun Used During Sex, Investigators Say
Internal affairs records documented photos showing Fultz putting a gun into his ex-girlfriend's mouth and pointing it at her head during consensual sex, with investigators noting the weapon resembled the agency-issued handgun he was given following the April 2025 fatal shooting, the outlet reports. Fultz maintained to investigators that the gun pictured was his personal firearm rather than his service weapon, according to the same account.
Investigators also uncovered a 2023 photograph of Fultz wearing a mustache trimmed like Adolf Hitler and appearing to give a Nazi salute, along with text messages containing racial slurs and screenshots of him in uniform on FaceTime inside his patrol vehicle. Fultz claimed the 2023 photo was intended as a joke, per the same reporting.
Database Misuse and a Motorcycle Speeding Break
The internal file also found Fultz improperly searched his ex-girlfriend's license plate on the agency's Flock Safety camera database before a shift, falsely logging the query as an official investigation without any valid law enforcement purpose. He denied spying on his ex-partner during internal interviews but could not provide a legitimate reason for the search, the outlet's reporting states.
Separately, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper clocked Fultz on his motorcycle traveling 111 mph on US 192 near Melbourne — a speed exceeding the state's criminal super-speeder threshold — but issued him a civil ticket for only 6 to 9 mph over, letting him pay a $155 fine instead of facing criminal charges. Under Florida Statute § 316.1922, enacted through House Bill 351 and effective July 1, 2025, driving 100 mph or faster in a dangerous manner is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and mandatory civil fines starting at $1,000, as Hoodline previously reported. Fultz was also stopped twice by Melbourne Police for concealing his motorcycle license plate without receiving any citations, according to the Space Coast Rocket account.
Sheriff Says Trust Was Irreparably Damaged
In a formal statement within the internal affairs report, Sheriff Ivey wrote that Fultz's misconduct had irreparably damaged the trust required of a deputy. Fultz resigned on May 27, 2026, and issued a statement apologizing for poor decisions, though he said he disagreed with certain conclusions in the final internal report, the outlet notes. The sheriff's office did not publicly disclose Fultz's departure until investigative reporter Mike DeForest obtained the records roughly three months later.
Database misuse by law enforcement carries its own legal exposure under state law. Florida Statute § 119.10 and federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act regulations establish that officers who knowingly make unauthorized searches in government driver and vehicle databases can face civil fines up to $2,000, administrative termination, and potential first-degree misdemeanor criminal charges, according to News4JAX. It remains unresolved whether Fultz's Flock database search or his 111 mph motorcycle stop were referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission for possible decertification; records so far show only the reduced civil traffic citation.
The case adds to a string of recent scrutiny facing the Brevard County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Ivey. Hoodline reported in July that another Brevard deputy faced an internal affairs investigation after his patrol car hit a dog and drove off, raising fresh questions about oversight within the agency even as it continues to publicize its annual awards for sworn and civilian personnel.
