Officer Gregory Damon was caught on camera dragging a handcuffed woman into jail in November. In a press release, the Tampa Police Department said that he was fired for his actions. The woman was allegedly taken into custody for trespassing.
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Body camera footage shows the woman refusing to leave the parked police vehicle at the Orient Road Jail. She can be heard saying:
The Florida police officer proceeded to forcefully remove the woman from the vehicle. In the video, he can be seen dragging her by the arm across the concrete floor of the parking area. At one point he asks the woman to get up but she refuses for a second time.
The former officer is seen dragging the woman to the entrance before he seemingly buzzes for assistance. At this point, the footage provided by the Tampa Police Department gets cut off.
Florida police officer fired after dragging uncooperative suspect across the ground, agency states its prohibited The former Florida police officer, who joined the Tampa Police Department in August 2016, was fired from the department after a video of him dragging a woman across the ground from a police vehicle surfaced on the internet.
According to the agency, a revised policy in 2013 prohibited officers from dragging uncooperative suspects across the ground. If faced with resistance, they are to instead seek assistance from jail booking staff and other law enforcement officials.
In a press release, the Tampa Police Department came to a conclusion based on the available body camera footage that clearly showed officer Gregory Damon violating the policy.
Officer Damon responded to a call to the Tampa Family Health Center on November 17 because a woman was reportedly found sleeping outside the property. According to reports, she was refusing to leave. Officers have alleged that the woman was previously given a warning for trespassing on the same property in October.
According to Florida police reports, the woman was not injured in the incident. Investigators have further claimed that the accused woman repeatedly used vulgar and obscene language towards the officers. Ex-officer Gregory Damon, however, made rude and derogatory comments to her in return.
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Regarding the issue, Interim Police Chief Lee Bercaw said:
“Professionalism is not only expected, it is demanded, in every encounter our officers have with the public, regardless of the arrestee being uncooperative or unpleasant in return…This former officer’s actions were unacceptable and are not tolerated at this department, which is why we acted swiftly in initiating an internal investigation, relieving him of his duties, and ultimately terminating his employment.” The Tampa Police Department was made aware of Damon’s brazen violation of the policies by the supervisors at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the county detention facilities in Florida.
