Thursday 19 May 2022 11:40 PM Cops release footage of man before he was set on fire at gas station by ... trends now
Cops have released footage of the Fed Ex worker they say was a 'menace on the roadway' before he was set on fire at a Florida gas station.
Speaking to the press Thursday, Osceola County Sheriff Marco López called hospitalized dirt bike rider Jean Barreto a 'menace' before showing reporters helicopter footage of deputies' pursuit of the 26-year-old.
The conference also saw the sheriff reveal that the officer who fired taster that ignited explosion, Deputy Crawford, will likely face misdemeanor charges of culpable negligence for his part in the botched arrest, which left a still hospitalized Barreto with third-degree burns on most of his body.
The State Attorney’s office will decide on the charge, which was recommended to them by the Osceola County Sheriff.
'Watch this - you'll see what a menace this guy was on the roadway,' López told reporters before airing the footage.
The ensuing footage showed Barreto - who cops targeted after he allegedly skipped a traffic stop set up after a 911 caller reported a rider on a blue motorbike threatened him on the road with a gun - riding recklessly as deputies pursue.
Cops said they zeroed in on Barreto because he matched the caller's description and was on a blue bike.
Cops have released footage of the Fed Ex worker they say was a 'menace on the roadway' before he was set on fire at a Florida gas station
Previously unseen footage released by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office shows the moment the Taser ignites an explosion at the Wawa gas pump where Barreto had been pumping gas, leaving him severely burned
A photo shared by the attorneys with reporters shows Barreto's father praying at his savaged son's bedside, which Yonfa said he does everyday
'Passing cops, popping wheelies, going against traffic – he doesn’t care,' López said during the presser, narrating the footage, which shows a bird's-eye view of Barreto, performing stunts and going against traffic as the helicopter gives chase overhead.
'We deal with this all the time – sick and tired of this stuff,' the sheriff said as he showed the footage.
According to López, the video shows Barreto - who had been on his way home from a peaceful motorbike memorial ride in Osceola County - run approximately 13 red lights, perform 6 wheelies, and drive in the opposite lane of traffic 5 times.
At one point in the footage, the rider confirmed to be Barreto can be seen driving through a red light at a busy intersection, narrowly missing multiple cars.
'Imagine this 400-500 lb bike hitting the windshield of your mother, one of your family, López told onlookers during the screening of the previously unreleased footage.
The video then shows Barreto, who was followed by the cops several miles from Osceola County to Orange County during the pursuit, arrive at a Wawa gas station roughly a mile from his house, where he proceeds to fill his bike up with gas.
'Passing cops, popping wheelies, going against traffic – he doesn’t care,' López said during the presser, narrating the footage, which shows a bird's-eye view of Barreto, performing stunts and going against traffic as the helicopter gives chase overhead
Minutes later, the deputy facing charges, Deputy Crawford can be seen arriving at the scene, pulling up to the Wawa before exiting the vehicle and approaching Barreto from behind.
At this point, López said, deputies believed Barreto was armed.
Crawford then tackles Barreto from behind in the footage, where at which point, according to López, he began to resist the officer.
Eventually the officer gets Barreto to the floor as other deputies arrive on the scene.
During the struggle, however, Barreto's bike, which had been filling with gas, tips over, leaking the liquid onto the asphalt near the gas pump.
'The moment the bike tipped over, the gas cap was not securely fastened, and gas started pouring out of the vehicle,' the sheriff said.
At that point in the footage, one of the other deputies who arrived to aid Crawford produces his Taser and deploys it as cops continue to struggle with Barreto.
According to López, Crawford then yelled to his fellow officers, after noticing gas had been spilling on the ground beneath them. 'Kill the pump! Kill the pump! Gas!' the deputy said, according to the sheriff.
At that point, the deputy who deployed his Taser - a weapon that Lopez reminded attendees does not constitute lethal force - dropped the stun gun to the ground, apparently electing to restrain Barreto without it.
However, Lopez revealed, Deputy Crawford then inexplicably picked up the other officer's weapon, threatening to Tase an allegedly still-resisting Barreto.
According to Lopez, Crawford warned Barreto: 'You’re about to get tasered dude,' citing unreleased body-camera footage.
Seconds later, the sheriff said, the explosion occurred.
Footage shows the officers rush to put out the flames enveloping the writhing dirt bike rider with a fire extinguisher.
The deputy then revealed that his office would recommend to the state that Crawford, who was also hospitalized with third-degree burns after the incident but has since been released, be charged with culpable negligence - a misdemeanor - for deploying the weapon, citing the fact the officer remarked that there was gas on the ground.
Beretta, meanwhile, will face a charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, reckless driving, resisting arrest without violence and a felony charge for popping three wheelies on his motorcycle.
Deputy Crawford is reportedly on paid leave, pending the prospective
At one point in the footage, the rider confirmed to be Barreto can be seen driving through a red light at a busy intersection, narrowly missing multiple cars
The conference came just hours after Florida's State Attorney revealed the sheriff's office was recommending charges being filed against the deputy who set a Fed Ex worker on fire, 'cooking him alive', when he tasered him while he was pumping gas.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell revealed in a statement Thursday that charges were forthcoming for the deputy.
'This morning, we were advised by the Sheriff's Office that charges are forthcoming on one deputy and a suspect involved in the incident,' State Attorney Monique Worrell wrote.
The statement - released hours before the Osceola County Sheriff were scheduled to hold a press conference to discuss the February 27 incident for the first time - did not release the charges, nor did it name the deputy involved.
Jean Barretto, the 26-year-old man set ablaze, is also facing charges, the state says.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office has yet to produce a charge against 26-year-old Jean Barreto, who was tackled from behind, allegedly without warning, during the botched arrest.
'I’ve never seen law enforcement behaving this way in Central Florida and doing these types of things for anything from no offense to misdemeanor offenses,' said Mark NeJame, who with Albert Yonfa represent Barreto and his family.
'Never had a gun that day. Never brandished a gun. But yet is being vilified while he’s laying pretty much skinless in a hospital bed fighting for his life,' NeJame told reporters during a Wednesday presser.
A photo shared by the attorneys with reporters shows Barreto's father praying at his son's bedside, which Yonfa said he does everyday.
Barreto suffered third-degree burns to more than 75% of his body as a result of the incident, which transpired at an Orange County Wawa on February 27.
He has been in an Orlando hospital ever since, where his lawyers say he has undergone dozens of surgeries as he barely clings life.
Lawyers for Florida Fed-Ex worker Jean Barreto, who was badly burned in an explosion in February when a Florida deputy Tasered him while he was pumping gas are demanding federal and state officials probe into the case, as local Sheriffs continue to refuse to hand over information on the case
During the event, NeJame challenged the Osceola County Sheriff's Office to prove previous assertions that deputies had followed Barretto to the gas station after responding to a call about a group of bikers allegedly brandishing guns.
The lawyer - who shared graphic images showing the hourslong process of changing the bandages covering most of Barretto’s body - demanded the office produce body-camera footage from the incident, which they have so far refused to do.
NeJame said police have yet to provide records of what led deputies to follow Barretto several miles into Orange County.
'We got none of them,' NeJame said. 'You don’t have them.'
He went on: 'This is a good, young man working at Fed Ex. Why is this happening? What are they hiding, and why are they hiding it?'
He then demanded the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and US Department of Justice take over the case, and open an investigation into the handling
