St. Petersburg cop resigns before he was fired, department says

ST. PETERSBURG — An internal police investigation determined that a police officer should be fired for disobeying his supervisors, lying to internal affairs investigators, and making a false report, according to findings from the St. Petersburg Police Department's Chain of Command Board.

The investigation began Feb. 2 when Reynaldo Garnett Smith, 30, was cited for obstructing or opposing an officer without violence, a misdemeanor charge. Smith was accused of not cooperating with Hillsborough sheriff's deputies who responded to a domestic violence incident at his home. Smith also told his girlfriend not to speak with deputies, a report said.

The Chain of Command Board on Thursday concluded that Smith, who worked for the department for almost three years, violated eight department policies, including violating a supervisor's order not to have any contact with his girlfriend, lying to internal affairs about whether his name was on his girlfriend's apartment lease, falsifying a mileage report and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Smith would have been fired, the board's report stated, if he had not already resigned July 29.