Florida TSA officer faked burglary report to cover for being late to work, deputies say

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida woman is accused of faking an armed burglary report to avoid getting in trouble for tardiness at work, authorities said.

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According to WFTS, Polk County sheriff’s deputies on Monday arrested Tampa Airport Transportation Security Administration Officer Taleta Collier, 34, of Winter Haven, on charges of criminal use of personal identification and uttering a false document in connection with the incident.

In a Tuesday news release, the Sheriff’s Office said Collier, who had been enrolled in “a TSA employee improvement plan for excessive tardiness,” was late to work March 20.

“Once she arrived at work, Collier told her supervisor she was late because while she was at her parents’ home, a man armed with a knife attempted to burglarize her parents’ vehicle,” the release said. “Collier told her supervisor she drew her agency issued weapon and pointed it at the alleged suspect, causing him to flee.”

Collier, who was asked to send the incident report to her supervisor, texted her manager an incomplete “screen shot of a document that looked similar to a police report” on April 3, according to the release.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office later examined the image and “determined that it was an obvious fake PCSO report,” the release said, adding that the deputy named on the document wasn’t even in the country when the alleged burglary took place.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “I don’t understand why anyone would go to the extent of creating a fake police report to avoid a reprimand at work for tardiness.”

Collier was booked into the Polk County Jail and released on bond, according to Sheriff’s Office records.

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