Davenport mayor cites 2012 abduction as reason to use dead woman's handicap decal

Mayor Teresa Bradley releases statement through her attorney

DAVENPORT, Fla. – Davenport Mayor Teresa Bradley released a statement through her attorney Thursday, providing her reason for using a dead woman's handicap decal on her vehicle.

Bradley was arrested Tuesday after an undercover sting by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Dash cam video shows what detectives said is Bradley illegally using the handicap decal in a handicap parking space at City Hall.

Bradley's attorney said the reason she did this was out of fear of being kidnapped again.

Court documents show that Bradley was abducted at gunpoint in October 2012 while walking into her job on Lee Road in Winter Park.

Officers already had heightened patrols in that area because another woman was attacked a couple of weeks previously.

While on the phone with her husband, Bradley was pulled from the car and then thrown back inside, and driven to unknown locations before breaking free. The suspect, Farley Curry, was found guilty and is in prison until 2042. 

Bradley's attorney wrote an open letter to the citizens of Davenport, explaining this tragic incident in the mayor's past.

The attorney wrote that both the mayor and her husband felt no other options other than to use a deceased person's handicap decal, in order to prevent another attack.

Bradley's attorney had originally told News 6 that his client used her husband's handicap decal that he was issued for a vision impairment. 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said neither Mayor Bradley nor her husband have a legally issued handicap decal.

Bradley faces two felony counts.

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Inside ClickOrlando.com:

Read the full letter from Bradley's attorney


About the Author:

Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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