SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Several Seminole County deputies were retrained after handcuffing the wrong man in an Oviedo shoplifting case earlier this year, the sheriff’s office said.
Around 10 p.m. on June 9, deputies responded to a home in the 2700 block of Teak Place, near Lake Mary, referencing an attempt by Oviedo police to contact a subject in a shoplifting investigation, according to a report.
Police told deputies there was probable cause to arrest a man over a shoplifting that allegedly occurred at a Winn-Dixie along Lockwood Boulevard, communicating to deputies that the man might be with his son at the home on Teak Place and tying in a vehicle of interest that the deputies did not report seeing there, investigators said.
Deputies were met at the home by a family, as well as by a man who confirmed his name was the same as the person being sought for questioning, according to the report. Deputies were not yet aware that the 70-year-old man they sought to question had the same name as his 47-year-old son, who had answered the door, the report states.
The man allegedly refused to step away from the home or to answer questions about the alleged shoplifting or about his birth date, according to the report. Deputies said the man’s wife placed herself between him and the officers, who then attempted to detain him, the report states.
Two deputies entered the home to arrest the man, whom they accused of actively resisting, according to the report. The man appeared to trip and fall in the doorway before being placed in two sets of handcuffs and soon complaining of back pain, mentioning a past back surgery, in telling the deputies that his back had given out and that his legs were numb, investigators said.
As Seminole County Fire Rescue responded to take the man to the hospital, deputies caught up with Oviedo police and learned that they had just handcuffed the wrong person, the report recounted.
“I made contact with (an officer) via phone to confirm once again that probable cause existed for (the man’s) arrest and to inform him, he was detained by Law Enforcement. I also confirmed with (the officer) (the man’s) full name and date of birth, at which point he informed me that the wrong information for the suspect was provided to Seminole County Deputies,” a deputy wrote.
Deputies were instructed to remove the handcuffs before the man was ultimately taken to Orlando Health Lake Mary, the report states.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office has since confirmed to News 6 that the deputies involved in the incident were reprimanded and received remedial training.
“The remedial training concerned State and Federal laws regarding detaining individuals for investigation and entering private residences,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The man’s attorney told News 6 that a lawsuit would not be filed for at least six months, per the Florida Sovereign Immunity Statute.
News 6 is not naming the man or his father due to how neither of them face any charges in the Winn-Dixie case.