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PBSO Investigators: Deputy Arrested After Admitting To Stealing Rx Meds From Dead Man

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PALM BEACH (CBSMiami) – A deputy is under arrest after investigators were shown video of him allegedly rifling through a dead man's kitchen for prescription medications.

An outraged family released the video. They allege Palm Beach Sheriff's Deputy Jason Cooke, in full uniform, was rummaging around their father's home shortly after he was taken to the hospital.

Moe Rosoff lived at the home, where he hit his head during a Hurricane Irma power outage and eventually died.

The family claims Deputy Cooke stole Rosoff's prescription medication. They said he also snatched money and jewelry when he went into the master bedroom.

Deputy Cooke already had one court date. Investigators said the deputy admitted to stealing prescription pills at the home before, including at a death investigation scene.

The family released a statement, saying, in part, "We were outraged and disgusted when we viewed this."

They went on to say more medication was found in his patrol car.

Their statement continued, "Not all of these medications we think were taken from our father, leading us to believe that this was not Officer Cooke's first crime… if Officer Cooke was operating in his official capacity under these medications, it is our belief that he may have posed a significant threat to the public's safety."

The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office is not talking on camera, but released a statement that read, in part, "Unfortunately sometimes an employee makes a bad decision which leads to misconduct… we investigated and determined his actions were criminal in nature."

Deputy Cooke's faces charges of burglary and stealing prescription medication.

"This is an unfortunate situation and hopefully with proper guidance and counseling we'll be able to come out on a better side of this," said Cooke's attorney Stuart Kaplan.

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