A "cold-hearted" Florida police officer was arrested and accused of stealing a dead man's credit card information and using it to make personal purchases, like fast food and eyelashes, authorities said Wednesday.
St. Cloud Police Officer Dianne Ferreira was taken into custody with her own handcuffs and booked on suspicion of theft of a credit card with intent to use, credit card fraud of more than $100 and use of ID of a dead person, Osceola County jail records showed.
Ferreira, 25, was on a routine call last month to a couple's home outside Orlando where the husband had died, officials said. That's where she allegedly took pictures of the dead man's credit card and used the information to make purchases.
"You got to be a pretty cold-hearted person to go to someone’s house where her husband or her loved one has just passed away and going to start taking snap shots of a credit card," Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez told reporters. "That’s pretty cold, you know, pretty ruthless."
Asked whether the suspect had any financial difficulties that could have prompted the $450 credit card theft, Lopez rejected any excuses the former officer might have.
“There’s no excuse. I mean if you’re going to get your nails and eyelashes and you're ordering food from Wendy's, I don't think your eyelashes justify a need and a financial situation," Lopez said.
Ferreira, who had been on the job since August 2021, has no criminal record.
"The information uncovered during this investigation shocked and appalled me," St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke said. "It directly violated everything expected of our law enforcement officers."
Goerke and Lopez said Wednesday that while the investigation is ongoing, they have no evidence the suspect swiped anyone else's credit card information.
Ferreira was booked early Tuesday evening and released a little before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday after having posted a $4,000 bond, a jail spokesperson said.
Jail records did not list Ferreira's attorney, and she could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
