A St. Petersburg, Florida police officer has been fired for using a taser four times on a 64-year-old man in a wheelchair last June.
Although the man, Timothy Grant, who is Black, had "five active warrants," apparently for drugs, he was not acting aggressive or violent with the officers, as shown in police body cam video (below). Instead, he was lying passively on the ground, asking why he was being arrested, when officer Matthew Cavinder threatened to tase him.
From Insider:
Chief Holloway said in the press conference that Cavinder, who joined the force in 2020, was fired following an internal investigation of the incident.
"We know for a fact that he tasered Mr. Grant four times," Holloway said in the press conference.
"He wrote a report, and he said that Mr. Grant was resisting with violence," Holloway said. "You all saw that tape. Mr. Grant was not resisting with violence."
Holloway said that Cavinder acted improperly as he immediately went to use his Taser rather than de-escalate the situation.
"I think I looked at that video over 20 times," Chief Holloway said. "Today, I still cannot explain to you why that officer went to his Taser. We train officers every year. Everybody at this police department is trained on de-escalation." …
"The victim didn't complain. The people at the scene didn't complain. It was the supervisor," Holoway said. "I want to commend my supervisor for seeing something wrong and taking care of it."
Although the officer was fired, he likely won't be charged (but of course), according to Insider, since "there was no clear evidence of 'intent.'"
Grant was charged with "resisting arrest without violence," and is still in custody for his previous warrants.
