MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A Marion County deputy was suspended after investigators found that she used a database to identify the owner of a vehicle spotted outside of her ex-boyfriend’s home, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators said that in June, Deputy Rikayla Berrien had driven by her ex-boyfriend’s home at night, finding another vehicle outside of the house.
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According to an investigative report, Berrien and the man had been in an on-again-off-again relationship that lasted from February 2022 until early 2023, when the man told her that he needed some time to “think about their relationship” and that “he had met someone new at work.”
After driving by her ex-boyfriend’s home that night, Berrien texted him that she hoped he was enjoying himself, adding that she was “foolish to believe they could continue their relationship” and how “she knew he would be a good stepfather,” the report reads.
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A few months later in August, the Office of Professional Standards received a complaint form detailing the ex-boyfriend’s belief that Berrien had run the license plate of the car in front of his home, investigators said.
When asked whether she had done so, Berrien told investigators, “Did I run her tag? 100% I did,” according to the report.
Berrien also said that she ran the license plate to find out who the person at the house was, explaining that the ex-boyfriend “was supposed to be working on their relationship, but it appeared he was seeing someone else,” the report states.
Berrien was investigated earlier this year after getting into a fight at an Ocala house party while off-duty, though it was eventually discovered that she had been defending herself, investigators said.
However, an administrative review shows that Berrien hadn’t notified any of her supervisors about the incident, instead asking her ex-boyfriend to report or flag any videos of the fight on social media.
The sheriff’s office told News 6 that Berrien was suspended for one day for misusing an electronic database and for two days for not reporting the fight.
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