Don't let all the talk fool you. Don't let the story that Broward cop Paul Pletcher, in an apparent case of road rage, stopped a Hispanic woman, pummeled her with racial slurs, and destroyed her BlackBerry when she began recording him, convince you otherwise.
Don't allow the fact that even the Broward Sheriff's Office, a department notorious for allowing bad cops to kick around, fired this guy. Because really, Paul Pletcher is a party animal and he always keeps a vigilant eye for fun.
Pletcher, who was off duty the night he stopped motorist Neyda Osorio, went to trial this week in Broward County Circuit Court. He has deployed the brazen defense that he thought Osorio's phone, which she'd brandished to record him, was a lethal weapon. This despite the fact that there's little to no evidence to substantiate that claim.
As reported by Carlos Miller, here's their interaction that 2011 night:
"Give me the phone!""No talking to me like that."
"Give me the phone, now!"
"Don't touch me."
"Give me the phone!"
"Wait! Wait!"
But wait. Though things perhaps got a little out of hand -- when Pletcher allegedly threw Osorio's green card at her face, grabbed the phone, sped off into the distance, and hurled it out the window -- he wants you to know he's all about fun, baby.
For proof, look no further than these pics.
Legally, the 39-year-old Pletcher is in a bit of a bind. The seven-year veteran allegedly called Osorio a "stupid Latin" and told her: "Give me the phone now, or else you're going to jail."
If convicted of the burglary and assault charges, he faces 11 years in jail. And then, perhaps, the party will stop.
If you know more, send your story tip to author, Terrence McCoy.
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