A Florida deputy has been criminally charged after tasing a man who was pumping gas, thus setting him on fire and leaving 75% of his body burnt.
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Florida Deputy Charged After Tasing A Man And Setting Him On Fire, Leaving 75% Of His Body Burnt
It is reported that on Thursday (May 25), an Osceola County Deputy named David Crawford was charged with culpable negligence after a fiery incident at a Wawa gas station left a man named Jean Barretto Baerga engulfed in flames, leaving three quarters of his body burnt.
The entire ordeal happened over a year ago, and began after the deputy received a report of bikers in the area riding their bikes around recklessly. When the Florida deputy arrived to the gas station, he discovered Baerga, tackled him, and things escalated.
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Marcos López, a Sheriff with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, reported that Baerga was caught running through several red lights, and even drove up on the sidewalk, through some grass and into oncoming traffic before he pulled into the Wawa gas station.
When Deputy Crawford approached Baerga at the gas station, bodycam footage showed him walking up without announcing himself. He then tackled the suspect and yelled to his partners to turn off the gas pump.
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Deputy Crawford was heard yelling, “Kill the pump! Kill the pump! There’s gas!,” towards another Deputy, Christopher Koffinas, who used his stun gun to tase Baerga.
Things moved so quickly, Baerga ended up getting drenched in gasoline and then Deputy Crawford raised his own taser and warned the suspect, “You’re gonna get tased again, dude!” And sure enough, Deputy Crawford fired his weapon and ignited the gasoline, leading to an explosion at the pump that set fire to Baerga.
The suspect ended up receiving second and third-degree burns on about 75 percent of his body. His lawyer, Mark NeJame, also said that the only parts of his body that weren’t affected were his face, hands and feet. He’s also racked up a medical bill of more than $7 million; however, his legal team is actively pursuing a suit against the Sheriff’s Office to have it taken care of.
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NeJame said, “They’re going to cost the taxpayers in Osceola County millions. There should be consequences, because how else do we stop this type of activity for happening again?”
He added, “He barely survived. His life will always be in jeopardy because of the massive amount of scar tissue and damage that happened to his body. He’s doing his best to get through his life with these cards that have been dealt to him. If he was driving recklessly, charge him with reckless driving, but you don’t almost kill somebody and set them on fire. You cannot have law enforcement running amok. They’re supposed to be our protectors, not our ignitors.”
Since the incident, Deputy Crawford has been placed on administrative leave. Meanwhile, Deputy Koffinas reportedly received a 40-hour unpaid suspension for firing his stun gun, and won’t face any criminal charges.
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Why no mention of the guy aiming his gun at civilians prior to being apprehended?