The Video That Got a Florida Cop Fired
From the archive: published Oct 22, 2008, 18 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A police officer from the Central Florida town of Eustis has been fired over a video now leaked on the Internet.
The short clip is said to show Dan NeSmith — a 22-year-old new to the force — using a police-issued Taser on a 15-year-old boy, seemingly just for giggles. But wait, there’s more: The incident, investigators say, happened at a birthday party. A 19-year-old’s birthday party. With lots of underage drinking.
Here’s the tape:
Detectives say half of the 50 people in attendance were under the legal drinking age. They believe the teen shown in the video had volunteered to be shocked, but it doesn’t appear that’ll help the fate of our rookie cop. NeSmith could face criminal charges if the parents choose to pursue them.