DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. – The Daytona Beach Shores Police Department announced on Monday that two officers had been suspended after jailing their 3-year-old son in October 2022.
Investigations were raised after the Florida Department of Children and Families received a tip that two Daytona Beach Shores officers — Lt. Michael Schoenbrod and his wife, Sgt. Jessica Long — had handcuffed their son and placed him in a holding cell.
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Both parents admitted to placing the toddler in the holding cell in two separate incidents, as the couple had been struggling with potty training the child, state records show. The ploy was meant to scare him into using the bathroom properly, investigators said.
The couple also rebutted claims that feces had been smeared on the child’s face.
DCF ultimately determined that the most serious claims weren’t substantiated, and so there was no need for intervention, police said.
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Following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the State Attorney’s Office also decided to not prosecute the case.
However, the city’s Public Safety Director Michael Fowler found that both Schoenbrod and Long had violated department policy, and so they were both suspended for 40 hours, police said.
“Your decision to bring this personal and private matter to the public safety facility has however initiated significant scrutiny, both internally and publicly,” Fowler said. “Your actions have undoubtedly led to an erosion of the public’s trust in yourself and our agency.”
A release from the department shows that the couple has since served their suspensions.
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