ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Prosecutors in the trial of an Osceola County deputy accused of using a Taser at a gas station and setting a man on fire rested their case Wednesday in Orange County court.
(STORY CONTINUES BELOW)
Deputy David Crawford was charged with culpable negligence in the incident, which occurred in 2022 at a Wawa on Central Florida Parkway. Crawford and other deputies followed 26-year-old Jean Baretto-Baerga through Osceola County to the Wawa because he was allegedly driving his motorcycle recklessly.
Over a three-day period, prosecutors called multiple witnesses to the stand, many of which were also employees at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office who responded to the gas station Crawford.
Video from Crawford’s own body-worn camera shows him tackling Baretto, and him holding the Taser. Investigators found that another deputy used the stun gun first, and Crawford picked it up off the ground with gasoline pooling around nearby.
Deputy Joseph DeJesus, who testified for the prosecution, said he heard Crawford say “kill the pump” before the fire started.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Crawford knew the danger of the gasoline that had spilled around them and deployed the taser anyway on Baretto, who deputies say was resisting arrest. Crawford can also be heard in the body camera video warning Baretto that he was “going to be tased again.”
The final witness called to the stand for the prosecution Wednesday was an expert who works for Axon Enterprise, the company that makes and sells the Taser that was used in this case.
Bryan Chiles analyzed the weapon after the event, and gave his analysis as prosecutors walked the jury through the body camera video. He testified that the trigger was pulled and the Taser was discharged twice, which matches the testimony from other witnesses who said it was Deputy Christopher Koffinas’s Taser that was used, and Crawford had picked it up.
Koffinas did not face any criminal charges and was given a 40-hour suspension.
Prosecutor Olivia Walker asked about the risks associated with deploying a Taser around gasoline and if law enforcement is warned about that.
“Yes,” Chiles replied. “Essentially how it works when we make a sale the warnings are, I’m not sure if we print them and put them with license, but the warnings are given with each sale and they’re available online.”
Michael Barber, an attorney who is representing Crawford, said the body-worn camera never showed his client actually pointing the Taser at Baretto.
“What we see is that when my client picks up the Taser, because Deputy Koffinas had left it on the ground next to a resisting suspect with the safety off, my client picks it up and he puts the safety on, and he transfers it to his left hand as we see and then he goes off to the left, leaning to the left with it as it goes off camera toward the car because he was getting rid of it judge. He was throwing it away,” said Barber. “The witnesses, the experts, say we see no evidence at all that he intentionally did this. Not one witness.”
Both Crawford and Baretto were burned in the incident.
An attorney representing Baretto says he is watching the criminal trial with “great interest.” It became clear Wednesday that he would not be testifying in the case.
“It’s been over two years since the incident and Jeon is still struggling to maintain a normal life. He had burns over almost his entire body, save for his face, which was protected by the motorcycle helmet and the bottom of his feet that were protected by the boots,” said attorney Albert Yonfa. “As recently as two months ago he had more surgeries to try to restore mobility to his right arm. So, this is going to be a lifelong battle for him, not only physically but psychologically and mentally. You know, having been in an ICU unit for one year in the same bed, in a comatose state for most of that time.”
Yonfa said he is looking into filing a federal civil lawsuit.
Crawford faces up to one year behind bars or a fine if he is convicted on a charge of culpable negligence. The trial will continue Thursday morning when the defense calls their witnesses.
Jurors on Tuesday watched dramatic body-worn camera footage showing the moment Crawford used his Taser on Baretto-Baerga near spilled gasoline, which prosecutors say sparked a fire and left Baretto-Baerga hospitalized with extensive burns.
Osceola County Deputy Joseph Dejesus, who responded to the scene, testified Tuesday that using a Taser near gas pumps is against agency policy. Crawford’s lawyers have argued the stun gun, which started the fire, was assigned to a different deputy.
ClickOrlando.com will stream the trial live at the top of this story.
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