Leesburg High School. (Google Street View)
Two Florida school resource deputies were out of their jobs after a sheriff said they tried covering up an incident when one of them accidentally shot a high school worker with a Taser.
Master Deputy Raymond Mattiucci deployed his Taser on January 31 when Leesburg High School security monitor Jerome Scott asked him how far it could shoot, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported. Jones fell unconscious and broke his wrist, the Orlando Sentinel added.
FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICER WANTS HIS TASER EXAMINED
An internal investigation by the sheriff’s office found that Deputy Darrell Blanton then plotted with Mattiucci to cover it up. Mattiucci resigned and Blanton was fired, according to the paper.
Another school employee, Pamela Nash, was alone with Mattiucci and Scott in her classroom when she heard the “pop” of the Taser and saw Scott falling face first to the floor, according to the sheriff’s report.
DRAMATIC FOOTAGE OF INTENSE STANDOFF RELEASED BY POLICE
Mattiucci then called Blanton over his radio. According to Nash, another 15 minutes passed before Scott could speak again.
Mattiucci claimed Scott and Nash initially told him, “We got your back.” However, Nash eventually reported the incident to the school principal during the first week of February, according to the Sentinel. The principal reported the incident to the sheriff’s office.
“I can’t tell you how many times [Scott and Nash] flat out said we got your back,” Mattiucci told investigators. “I made a grievous error believing them.”
“These deputies failed to immediately report a serious incident to their supervisor and then compounded the issue by being less than truthful,” Lake Sheriff Peyton Grinnell responded.
