Authorities say Braxton Haight demanded his police dog and a clean personnel file in exchange for withholding potentially damaging material.
LABELLE, FL — A Hendry County sheriff’s K-9 deputy was arrested on a felony extortion charge after investigators said he threatened to release potentially damaging material unless Sheriff Steve Whidden gave him his police dog and kept disciplinary action out of his personnel file.
Braxton Haight, 27, was arrested Nov. 3 after a recorded meeting with Whidden at the Hendry County Port LaBelle Annex, according to the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. The agency said the meeting followed a phone conversation in which Haight claimed he had material he would make public if his demands were not met. The allegations have not been proven in court, and authorities have not publicly released the material Haight allegedly possessed or the recording investigators made of the meeting.
The sheriff’s office said the case began when Haight left Whidden a voicemail asking the sheriff to contact him about an urgent matter that was in everyone’s best interest to discuss. When Whidden returned the call, Haight allegedly said he knew the sheriff was trying to terminate his employment with the agency. Investigators said Haight then told Whidden he had documentation he would release publicly unless the sheriff agreed to his conditions.
According to the sheriff’s office, Haight wanted Whidden to give him the police K-9 he handled and to leave his personnel file without disciplinary actions. The agency has not publicly explained what disciplinary issues Haight was facing or why officials were considering terminating his employment. It also has not said what would happen to the K-9 following Haight’s arrest.
Whidden arranged an in-person meeting with Haight at about 4 p.m. at the Port LaBelle Annex, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators prepared the office to record the encounter before Haight arrived. During the meeting, Haight allegedly said he possessed a recording of another sheriff’s deputy making a derogatory comment. The agency has not identified that deputy or disclosed the substance of the alleged comment.
Investigators said Haight referred to the material as “a little bit of insurance” and indicated that releasing it would make the sheriff’s office look bad. The sheriff’s office said Haight threatened to release the recording if his demands were not met. Detectives then took him into custody on an extortion charge. The agency’s account does not establish whether the documentation Haight mentioned during the earlier phone call was the same material he discussed during the recorded meeting.
Haight was accused under Florida Statute 836.05. The law covers certain malicious threats made with the intent to obtain money or another advantage, or to compel someone to take or refrain from an action against that person’s will. A violation under the portion of the statute cited in the case is classified as a second-degree felony. Whether prosecutors can prove the elements of that offense will be determined through the criminal justice process.
The sheriff’s office initially said Haight was being held at the Hendry County Jail on a $10,000 bond. A later Gulf Coast News report said he had been released after posting the $10,000 bond. One syndicated report listed a substantially different bond figure, but that amount conflicts with the sheriff’s office account and other local reporting. No verified court disposition or conviction had been reported as of the latest information reviewed.
Several questions remain unanswered, including what prompted the sheriff’s office to consider firing Haight, what was contained in the material he allegedly threatened to release and whether prosecutors have since filed a formal charging document beyond the arrest allegation. The sheriff’s office also has not publicly released the recorded meeting cited in its account. Haight remains accused of the offense and has not been found guilty.
Author note: Last updated November 9, 2026.