Surveillance video shows officer point Taser at customer's
face
An Orlando police officer was suspended for 40 hours after
an Internal Affairs investigation revealed he violated several OPD policies and
procedures during an altercation inside a local Walmart.
According to documents and surveillance video obtained by
Local 6, the officer pushed a customer onto a jewelry counter and pointed his
department issued Taser at her head after the woman was told to leave the store
by the assistant store manager.
The customer, Stephanie Hayman, filed the complaint against
Officer Andre Howard after the December 16 incident. The OPD investigation was
completed on April 4.
The report states Hayman and two of her friends entered the
store around 11:30 p.m. Hayman allegedly began screaming obscenities toward the
father of her two children, who's also a Walmart employee. That's when
assistant manager Elisa Gertken told Hayman to leave.
Meanwhile, according to the report, another employee alerted
Howard, who was working extra-duty at the store, to the incident.
Although Hayman was complying and leaving the store, the
manager said she kept stopping, turning around and cursing.
In Walmart surveillance video, Howard is then seen grabbing
Hayman and pushing her onto a jewelry counter while pointing his Taser toward
the woman's face.
The assistant manager, Gertken, told investigators
"Howard pulled out his Taser, pointed it at Hayman's forehead and said,
'If you don't shut the **** up, I'll tase you.'"
Hayman said Howard continued to hold her collar as he
escorted her out of the store then called her a derogatory name and slammed her
into her car, but the video in the parking lot shows the officer kept his
distance.There was no audio on the surveillance tape and the officer denied
calling Hayman a derogatory name.