A deputy who accidentally set a motorcyclist on fire when he used his taser on him during an arrest at a Wawa gas station has been acquitted of all charges.
The mishap happened way back in February 27 2002 in Orange County when Florida deputy David Crawford had Jean Baretto burning alive when he tased the victim while he was pumping gas in what was later discovered as a wrongful arrest.
The botched arrest was a result of a case of mistaken identity/description. The police were attempting to arrest a man who was in a group of dirt bikers and was brandishing a gun and causing a nuisance on the road.
Officers from the Osceola County Police Department while in pursuit of the man, crossed into Orange County when they saw Baretto who was 26 years old at that time, in the gas station, and immediately swung at him, mistaking him for the suspect.
An explosion was said to have occurred and a fire started after Deputy Crawford used a taser on the victim repeatedly with gasoline on the pooling on the ground. Bodycam footage revealed deputy Christopher Koffinas first using his taser on Baretto and Crawford telling other officers to stop the gas pump which was spilling its contents after they had tackled the suspect to the ground.
Koffinas dropped his taser on the ground and seemingly went to put the gas pump off, then Crawford picked up the taser and fired at the suspect after sounding a note of warning.
The frenzy video continued with the officer urging Baretto to keep rolling on the ground as he burned and yelled in agony.
Watch the video below:
Though the officers immediately helped quench the flames on the man, they neglected to provide care afterward as seen by call logs when they did not call for medical assistance for him, but only requested for two other officers who were injured by the fire.
The prosecutors blamed the police for dangerously tasing Baretto and causing him excruciating harm after failing to de-escalate the situation and putting everybody at risk. The police in its defense said the fiery incident was an accident and that the deputy reasonably believed that Baretto had a gun.
Almost 3 years after the accident happened, Crawford was cleared of all charges by the jury – a judgment his attorney said was the “right conclusion”. The Prosecuting attorney too seemed satisfied with the outcome of the trial and commended the efforts and time the court took in investigating the case.
However, Baretto’s attorney noted that even though the deputy was innocent, Jean Baretto was also innocent and is still suffering as a result of his actions. The attorney also revealed that the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department knew that Baretto was not the person they were looking for, 10 minutes before they accosted him in the gas station – as discovered by the court.
Why the police continued remains a mystery and Baretto and his legal team are not ready to lay the matter to sleep. They are preparing to file a civil lawsuit against the deputy following the revelation discovered during this (criminal) trial.
The same day, Baretto was arrested by the Kissimmee police for physically assaulting a pregnant woman. He was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement, reckless driving, and resisting an officer without violence – though they were not filed in court.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Department noted the outcome of the case in a statement and said it also launched its own investigation into the matter.
