OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A sergeant with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office who had once been fired from the agency for speeding in his patrol vehicle was pulled over in February for driving his personal car too fast, News 6 has learned.
A fellow deputy claimed that Sgt. Gabriel Garcia was driving the BMW “more than 100” miles per hour on a road with a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour.
However, Garcia was issued a written warning instead of a speeding citation.
Under Florida law, motorists cited for exceeding the speed limit by 30 miles per hour or more are required to attend a mandatory court hearing.
Following an internal affairs investigation into the traffic stop, Garcia was suspended for what the sheriff’s office described as “unbecoming conduct”.
An agency spokesperson did not disclose how long Garcia was suspended or whether his prior discipline for speeding was a factor in his punishment.
The fellow deputy who stopped Garcia testified during the internal investigation that he could not prove the exact speed of Garcia’s vehicle because he did not have radar, the agency told News 6.
Garcia was driving a BMW westbound on Fortune Road in Kissimmee around 7:45 p.m. on Valentine’s Day when Deputy G. Rivera DeJesus conducted a traffic stop, video from the deputy’s body-worn camera shows.
“Why are you hauling ass?” asked Rivera DeJesus. “Why are you going that fast?”
“Trying to pass some cars, man,” replied Garcia.
“C’mon, man,” said Rivera DeJesus. “You know that’s not correct.”
The deputy returned to his patrol car and called a supervisor on the phone, video shows.
“Hey, sergeant,” said Rivera DeJesus. “So, on my way to a call, I see this BMW going like a hundred miles per hour. Swerving. Not putting on signals or anything like that. Not stopping at the stop sign. And he’s a deputy. From our county.”
The deputy told the supervisor that the driver was Garcia.
“That’s G.G.,” the supervisor replied. “What’s he doing? He’s driving crazy?”
“Yeah, he was going like more than 100 in that BMW,” said Rivera DeJesus.
“Okay, let me call you back,” the supervisor said.
At that point, Rivera DeJesus turned off the microphone on his body-worn camera. A sheriff’s office spokesperson said agency policy permits members to mute their cameras when not interacting with the public, such as when speaking with a supervisor.
About 15 minutes later, Rivera DeJesus issued Garcia a written “warning notice” for careless driving, records show.
“Under Florida law, law enforcement does have discretion on whether they will issue a citation or a written warning,” an unnamed sheriff’s office spokesperson told News 6 in an email.
The sheriff’s office launched an internal affairs investigation in February, the agency said.
During that investigation, Rivera DeJesus testified that he observed Garcia’s driving pattern from a side mirror and did not have a radar to confirm the speed, an agency spokesperson told News 6.
“Thus, there was not enough evidence to write a citation for a mandatory court appearance,” the spokesperson said.
Garcia was suspended for 16 hours without pay after the investigation concluded he violated agency policy governing unbecoming conduct.
“The sergeant... lost wages that was more than double the cost of a [careless driving] citation,” the unnamed spokesperson wrote in an email to News 6.
In 2019, Garcia was fired by former Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson for speeding in his agency-issued patrol vehicle, law enforcement sources told News 6.
Marcos Lopez, the current sheriff, rehired Garcia in 2021. Video posted on the agency’s Facebook page shows Garcia being sworn in.
An agency spokesperson did not respond to questions from News 6 about Garcia’s prior termination, including whether it was a factor in his most recent discipline.
You can watch the full body-camera video by clicking in the media player below: