Video shows sheriff’s office melting badge of disgraced officer

A video showing a Florida sheriff melting the badge of a disgraced officer, Stephen Corbin, has made its way across social media on Friday.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood posted a video that shows him melting the badge of the disgraced deputy, a promise Chitwood previously made when Corbin was arrested last month after being accused of trying to engage in a sexual act with a woman in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“As promised. I said we would melt down the badge of a former deputy who disgraced our agency (Stephen Corbin). Here it is, with our current class of Deputy Recruits watching,” Chitwood wrote Friday.

Newsweek has reached out to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office via email for comment.

Corbin, 40, was arrested and charged last month with two counts each of bribery, battery, false imprisonment, and solicitation to commit prostitution after Daytona Beach police said he threatened to arrest a woman if she did not engage in a sexual act with him.

Following Corbin’s arrest, Chitwood released a statement on social media pledging to melt down Corbin’s badge, adding it does not represent the agency.

“To say I’m disappointed in his behavior is an understatement. His actions not only discredit his own name, but tarnish the Sheriff’s Office badge and the reputation of our entire organization. Like any profession, ours hires from the human race. We don’t have the technology to detect each person’s character flaws, assess their integrity or predict all their future conduct. We do have a responsibility to act decisively when someone’s character falls short of the public’s expectations. This person will not be a deputy sheriff in our community, and his badge will be melted down so it won’t represent this agency in the future,” Chitwood wrote in a Facebook post.

Corbin had been with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for 11 years when he was arrested. He resigned shortly after the sheriff’s office began the process of terminating him following his arrest.

Corbin who was in plain clothes and off-duty drove a marked Volusia Sheriff’s Office vehicle during the incident last month when he approached a woman in Daytona Beach.

According to authorities, the victim contacted police to report a sexual assault and said a man, later identified as Corbin, had approached her in the South Ridgewood corridor and told her to get in his patrol vehicle, adding that he threatened to arrest her if she did not engage in a sex act.

The woman negotiated her release from the vehicle and called Daytona Beach police. Corbin was arrested on May 15 and released from the Volusia County Branch Jail the next day after posting a $90,000 bond.

According to authorities, a second woman was also believed to have been assaulted by Corbin earlier in the day on May 13. That victim told officers that Corbin had stopped near the intersection of Cedar and Seagrave streets and told her to get into his car. When she was in the car, the victim said Corbin asked her if she wanted to make some money, but she told him she did not do that.

His arraignment is set for July 2 before Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn. According to court documents, Corbin’s defense attorney, Michael Lambert, entered a written plea of not guilty on behalf of Corbin on May 17 and entered a motion to dismiss the charges.

Newsweek has also reached out to Lambert’s office via email for comment.

The state attorney’s office has not made a filing decision yet on the charges.