Hitler mustache and Nazi salute photos emerge as red state's 'deputy of the year' quits

Brevard County's 2025 Deputy of the Year resigned rather than be fired after admitting he posed for a photograph investigators said showed him performing a Nazi salute.

Deputy Michael Fultz, 24, quit in May as Sheriff Wayne Ivey prepared to fire him for "egregious misconduct," according to internal affairs records obtained by News 6 and published Aug. 20.

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office in Florida opened the investigation after an email from Fultz's ex-girlfriend, the records show.

In March, the agency had named Fultz its Deputy of the Year and given him its Medal of Valor for a fatal shooting in April 2025, the sheriff's office announced.

"Deputy Fultz's decisive actions and extraordinary restraint under extreme pressure undoubtedly saved the life of a frightened mother," the agency wrote in its award citation.

Her email reached the sheriff's office the same day as that ceremony, News 6 reported.

"My intention in providing this information is not to pursue personal retaliation but to ensure the agency is aware of conduct that, in my understanding, may conflict with departmental policies or professional standards," the email said.

Among the allegations investigators took up was a 2023 photograph, taken before Fultz was hired, that showed his mustache "shaved in what appears to be an attempt to mimic Adolf Hitler," they wrote.

Fultz admitted posing for it but "denied being racist and stated that the photograph was merely a joke," the records show. Fultz, who is white, also confirmed text messages showed him repeatedly using the N-word, News 6 reported.

"Deputy Fultz stated he grew up in a foster home with black parents and siblings, and the words became normal to use," investigators wrote.

He confirmed images showed him putting a gun in his ex-girlfriend's mouth and pointing it at the back of her head during sex, the records show.

Fultz said the gun was his own. Investigators said it resembled the handgun the agency issued him after the shooting.

"Deputy Fultz admitted to ignoring all firearm safety training that he had received," investigators noted.

She also gave investigators screenshots from a FaceTime call showing Fultz in uniform in his patrol car, according to News 6.

Fultz "denied ever masturbating on duty and claimed that he was only 'pretending' to masturbate while on the video call," the records show.

Fultz's ex-girlfriend told investigators he had discussed "watching her" on Flock, the agency's license plate reader system, which records where vehicles travel.

An audit found he searched her plate once before a shift, logged as "investigation," according to News 6.

"Deputy Fultz denied checking her vehicle registration to spy on her or out of revenge but could not provide any reason as to why he queried her vehicle registration tag while off duty," investigators wrote.

In February, a month before the complaint, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper clocked Fultz at 111 mph on his motorcycle, according to the traffic stop video.

State law allows an arrest at 100 mph or more when the driving threatens other people or property, and investigators wrote that Fultz's speed and the traffic conditions met that standard.

"I'm not going to take you to jail, Fultz," Trooper Joshua Provencher said.

Provencher wrote him a $155 civil ticket instead, telling a sergeant, "I don't want to ruin his job," News 6 reported.

"The nature and severity of your misconduct has irreparably damaged the trust required to perform the duties of a deputy sheriff," Ivey wrote in a memo. Fultz resigned May 27.

"I do not agree with every allegation or conclusion contained in the administrative investigation," Fultz said in a statement to News 6.