Florida deputy who ‘cooked’ motorcyclist alive faces charges a year after the incident
A motorcyclist wants taxpayers to foot $7million in medical bills after he was set on fire and nearly died at the hands of a Florida sheriff’s deputy’s taser.
Osceola County Sheriff’s deputy David Crawford was on Thursday formally charged by prosecutors with culpable negligence more than a year after tasering Jean Barretto Baerga as he pumped gas.
Barretto Baerga, 26, had been pursued by deputies after fleeing law enforcement who had responded to a report of a group of motorcyclists riding recklessly.
The fire, which was caused by Crawford’s stun gun, left Barretto Baerga seriously burned on nearly three-quarters of his body.
Crawford was also badly burnt in the blaze and is still on leave more than a year after the incident in February 2022.
‘They’re going to cost the taxpayers in Osceola County millions,’ Barretto Baerga’s attorney Mark NeJame said. ‘There should be consequences, because how else do we stop this type of activity from happening again?’
Jean Barretto Baergo last February in the hospital following the tasing incident that caused a fire, which left burns on 75 percent of his body
Deputy David Crawford has been formally charged with culpable negligence more than a full year after tasing Barretto Baergo.
NeJame said his client had burns everywhere but his face because of a mask, his hands because he wore gloves and his feet because of his shoes, according to Fox 35.
The second- and third-degree burns have caused $7 million in medical costs.
‘He barely survived,’ NeJame said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. ‘His life will always be in jeopardy because of the massive amount of scar tissue and damage that happened to his body. … He’s doing his best to get through his life with these cards that have been dealt to him.’
Body camera footage of the 2022 incident showed Crawford tackling Barretto Baerga at the gas pump without first announcing himself.
A second deputy, Christopher Koffinas, used his stun gun on the victim, at which point Crawford shouted at the back-up officers to turn off the gas pump.
Several seconds later, as Barretto Baerga lay in a pool of gasoline, Crawford pointed his taser and said: ‘You’re gonna get Tased again, dude,’ and then fired.
The blaze was instantly ignited and flames engulfed the biker.
Koffinas received a 40-hour unpaid suspension for firing his stun gun first, but is not facing any criminal charges.
NeJame, an attorney for Barretto Baerga’s, commended the charging decision from the State Attorney’s Office. He praised the office’s “ongoing professionalism and diligence on this matter.”
The charges were first announced by Sheriff Marcos López, but prosecutors have now formally charged the deputy.
Crawford was placed on leave after the incident and has not been fired, even a year later.
‘We feel it’s appropriate to let the criminal justice system determine if Deputy Crawford did a criminal act that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,’ sheriff’s officials said after the formal charges.
Crawford on fire following the tase. In horrifying bodycam footage, he is seen shouting and rolling on the ground attempting to put out the blaze on his legs
The charge against Crawford matches the one announced last year by Sheriff Marcos López (pictured). In the wake of the fire, López said at a town hall that he was not considering changing the tactics his force uses for similar future arrests.
In the wake of the fire, López said at a town hall that he was not considering changing the tactics his force uses for similar future arrests.
When charging recommendations against Crawford were announced last May, López said deputies believed Barretto Baerga fit a description of a man on a dirt bike who allegedly pointed a gun at a driver.
A weapon was not found on Barretto Baerga, although López claimed the victim may have ‘tossed’ the gun.
NeJame called on both the US Department of Justice and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the Sheriff’s Office – neither took on the case.
Attacking the protocols of the Sheriff’s Office, NeJame said: ‘If he (his client) was driving recklessly, charge him with reckless driving, but you don’t almost kill somebody and set them on fire.’
‘You cannot have law enforcement running amok. They’re supposed to be our protectors, not our ignitors.’