KINGS POINT — According to recently filed criminal documents, a Lake County patrol officer accused of inappropriately utilising the 911 system to harass a fellow cop who is also the mother of his kid stated to a commander that he “messed up” in abusing his access to the system. According to court records, patrolman Nicholas Katalinic was charged on Monday with felony stalking and misdemeanour telephone harassment.
According to a court document, “(the alleged victim) informed that Katalinic told her he was spiralling out of control and did not know what to do.” According to the charges, the lady informed the state police, who were investigating the claims, that she and Katalinic have joint custody of a 7-month-old kid and have been dating for roughly two years as of June 8. She said that after their breakup, Katalinic had been bothering her and may have even been stalking her.
On June 12, she said that Katalinic contacted and questioned her whereabouts as well as levelled other charges against her. The allegations stated that he allegedly said to the accused victim, “You do realise your car has GPS right?” at one point in the chat. “(The woman) said that the place Katalinic had claimed she was at was accurate.” Katalinic is currently on paid administrative leave, and the allegations will be sent to the Lake County Police Merit Board “for appropriate action in accordance with Merit Board rules and procedures,” according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
“Our officers’ safety and wellbeing are always our top priority, and that includes offering a safe and professional work environment,” Martinez added. Katalinic joined the sheriff’s office as a civilian employee on May 13, 2013, later joined the reserve police force, and on December 26, 2016, she was sworn in as a police officer, according to Martinez. According to state police, they started looking into the case on July 6 at Martinez’s request. The offences allegedly took place between June 12 and July 1.
The issue revolves around accusations that Katalinic repeatedly searched for homes close to his ex-girlfriend using the police Spillman system and contacted Lake County dispatch to find out where she was. According to a charging document, an investigator heard two calls made by Katalinic to the 911 centre, one of which he allegedly demands that the woman’s police car be put on duty.
The paper states, “Katalinic informs the dispatcher he was doing some extra (crap) right now, but not truly “working”.” The dispatcher is then asked by Katalinic to release the same vehicle from service. When a Lake County officer is put on duty, the GPS unit in their police vehicle is enabled and displays the vehicle’s current location, according to police, who said they discovered this from (Lake County Sheriff’s Police Chief Vince) Balbo.
According to a court document, the woman also related to investigators an occurrence on July 1 when Katalinic gave birth to their child and called to report the infant was having problems breathing. “(The alleged victim) advised that at the end of the call, Katalinic told (her) that he was going to ask (her) one more time and if she lied, she would not hear from him until 10:00 a.m. the next morning when he returned their child,” police said. “
(The alleged victim) advised that Katalinic told (her) that he was going to ask (her) one more time and if she lied, she would not hear from him until 10:00 “After telling Katalinic she was at home, (the woman) advised, Katalinic hung up the phone. She explained to us that she contacted 911 to have her daughter looked out because she was concerned for her safety.” According to reports, the lady informed authorities that Katalinic calls her up to three times per day when she is not pregnant with their child.
Police reported that the accused victim claimed Katalinic had been acting strangely throughout their connection and had demanded that she reveal her location with him on mobile apps. She claimed that because they share custody of their child, she persisted in speaking with Katalinic ” (The woman) claimed that she thought Katalinic was using her daughter to approach her “police reported. On July 19, 2022, “(the alleged victim) confirmed that she had felt intimidated and threatened by Katalinic’s activities against her.”
The Exemplary Service Award was given to Katalinic last year along with five other Lake County officers.
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