A Florida police officer was fired after using a Taser on a wheelchair-bound man during an arrest.
WPTV reported that officer Matthew Cavinder improperly used his Taser on suspect Timothy Grant during a June 20 arrest, according to St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway.
Body cam footage of the incident shows Cavinder using his Taser multiple times on Grant, who is sitting in a wheelchair, outside a St. Petersburg gas station. Cavinder and another officer are seen trying to help Grant, but Grant informs them that he cannot walk and drops to the ground.
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— JRodriguez (@JRodzMIA) January 27, 2022
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Cavinder repeatedly told Grant to put his hands behind his back as he asked why he was being arrested.
“You’re going to get tased,” Cavinder can be heard warning Grant just before pressing the Taser against his back and stunning him four times.
“We will not tolerate this type of behavior when we’re arresting someone,” Holloway explained during a Thursday press conference. “Instead of using both of his hands, he went right to his Taser.”
Cavinder wrote a report claiming that Grant was resisting arrest during the incident.
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“Mr. Grant was not resisting with violence,” Holloway said. “This will not and cannot be tolerated here at St. Petersburg Police Department, and as long as I’m the chief here, it will not be tolerated.”
Grant had five open warrants at the time of his arrest, according to the report.
