DeLAND, Fla. – A former DeLand police corporal who threatened a suspect during a trespassing call has been demoted to officer and will be suspended without pay, according to department officials.
The disciplinary action comes after an internal investigation into former Cpl. Ken Ramkissoon's conduct at a 7-Eleven on Woodland Boulevard on June 24 around 1 a.m. Officials said probationary officer Allison Bainbridge, who has since been fired from the force, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, complained that Ramkissoon swore at and threatened suspect Stuart Aviles while responding to the call.
The complaining officer said Ramkisson told Aviles that he would, "beat your (expletive)," records show.
Police Chief Jason Umberger said Aviles has been unpredictable with law enforcement in the past and has been arrested 15 times in Volusia County.
In the incident on June 24, police said Aviles had been licking the storefront window and he previous evening he threatened a clerk with a brick.
Ultimately, Aviles and Gerald Davis were trespassed from the property.
Officials said Ramkisson did not have his body camera on at the time of the confrontation but Bainbridge's camera did record a portion of the incident.
That footage showed Ramkisson yelling, "You want me to beat your (expletive) (expletive)?" according to the internal investigation report.
Probationary officer Ben Wise who also did not have his camera turned on, said that Ramkisson was yelling at Aviles, but he did not believe he would actually hurt him.
During an interview with the department, Ramkisson admitted that he told Aviles, "I'll drop your (expletive)," although he said he didn't intent to hurt Aviles in any way, records show.
Officials with the police department recently came to the conclusion that Ramkisson violated department protocol related to conduct and use of body cameras.
"For his conduct, we determined that Ramkissoon has not performed at an acceptable level during his probationary period as a corporal. I expect all supervisors to lead by example," Umberger said.
Ramkisson will be demoted from corporal to police officer and will be suspended two days without pay for the conduct violation and a third day for the body camera violation, according to a news release.
Wise was also found to have violated the department's body camera policy. He will receive a letter of counseling.
Umberger called the conduct "unprofessional" and said it won't be tolerated.
"While this incident produced some moments of poor judgment for officers Ramkissoon and Wise, I believe they can learn from this experience as they have acknowledged their mistakes. I want to believe that their hearts are focused on serving the great residents of this community and I trust them with this responsibility," Umberger said.