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(CNN) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy was charged after a botched arrest in which an explosion allegedly set off by a Taser left the suspect with burns over much of his body, Osceola County officials announced Thursday.
During the Feb. 27 arrest of Jean Barreto, 26, at a gas station, an explosion erupted that burned 75% of Baretto’s body and injured several of the deputies, according to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez.
Deputy David Crawford, who discharged the Taser, is charged with misdemeanor culpable negligence, Lopez said at a news conference.
“Deputy Crawford was aware there was gas in the direct and immediate area,” Lopez said. “We know this because he says on bodycam, ‘Kill the pump, kill the pump, gas!’”
Despite acknowledging the gasoline, Crawford picked up a Taser that had been discarded by another officer, Lopez said, and “with the Taser in his hand, the fire ignites. According to the Taser log, there was a trigger pulled that coincides with the timing.”
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mark NeJame, an attorney for Barreto, called the actions of the deputy “egregious.” He said, “An elementary school child knows you don’t deploy electricity or anything that’s flammable around gasoline.”
Barreto, who has been hospitalized since the day of the incident, is also facing a number of charges, including fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement, reckless driving and resisting an officer without violence, Lopez said.
Deputies were attempting to arrest Barreto because he matched the description of a person who was reportedly brandishing a gun and committing traffic violations with a group of people on dirt bikes, Lopez said. Video captured a group of people on dirt bikes passing cars inside lanes, popping wheelies and riding on sidewalks.
The firearm reportedly being brandished by Barreto has never been located, according to the sheriff.
In surveillance video from the Wawa gas station in Orange County where the incident occurred, Barreto is seen filling the gas tank of his dirt bike.
Crawford sprints into view from the right side of the screen and tackles Barreto from behind, knocking over the bike and — according to Barreto’s attorneys — causing gas to spill from the pump. At least three Osceola County sheriff’s vehicles surrounded the pump.
As more deputies approach, an explosion occurs near the bike.
According to the report from the Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations, provided by Barreto’s attorneys, “the most probable cause of the fire was an electric discharge from the deputies deploying a department-issued taser device.” During the press conference, Lopez confirmed this was the cause.
Another attorney for Barreto, Albert Yonfa, said based on transcripts of logs from that night, deputies requested medical assistance for two officers burned on-scene, but not for Barreto.
“They had Jean Barreto in handcuffs, skin filleted on the ground, and never called 911 about him,” he said. “It was the EMS on the scene that called for a third vehicle to assist Jean.”
The sheriff’s office has not responded to these specific allegations, but during the press conference, Lopez stated that Barreto received assistance immediately after his body was “engulfed by flames.”
Another deputy on the scene “immediately grabs a fire extinguisher and immediately goes to the suspect,” the sheriff said. “The fire on the suspect is put out prior to putting the fire out on Deputy Crawford.”
As to why Osceola County deputies were attempting an arrest in Orange County, Lopez cited the fresh pursuit doctrine, which allows law enforcement to follow and apprehend a suspect in a different county if they notify law enforcement in that county.
Sheriff Lopez said that despite charges being filed, arrests will not be made on Crawford or Barreto while they recover from their injuries.
Crawford will be placed on administrative leave with pay until the conclusion of an investigation by the state attorney’s office. His attorneys are calling for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or the Department of Justice to take over the investigation.
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