Florida Cop Demoted After Body Cam Showed Him Grabbing Female Officer By Her Neck

A 46-year-old Florida police officer has been demoted to a desk job and is under investigation after he was caught on video grabbing a 28-year-old female officer by the throat when she tried to pull him away from a handcuffed suspect.

In the bodycam footage that recently surfaced online, Sunrise police Sgt. Christopher Pullease can be seen choking the unidentified female officer before slamming her into a police van.

The ordeal unfolded outside a Shop & Save convenience store on Nov. 19, 2021, when Pullease and several other officers were arresting a man for aggravated battery after he had attacked people outside the store.

The officers appear to be having difficulty getting the handcuffed suspect into the police vehicle, according to the video.

As the suspect sat in the car, Pullease walks up to the man and engages in a verbal altercation with him. The scene soon escalates when the sergeant pulls out his pepper spray and aims it at the suspect.

The female officer intervenes and can be seen tugging on Pullease’s belt in a bid to get him away from the suspect.

In response, Pullease whips around and aggressively holds the officer by her neck and shoves her against another patrol car, according to the footage.

Sunrise Police Chief Anthony Rosa described Pullease’s behavior as “disgusting”. Rosa said Pullease escalated what should have been a calm situation with the suspect.

“Once the suspect was inside the patrol vehicle, the sergeant approached and engaged in a verbal altercation with the suspect in a manner that I feel was inappropriate and unprofessional. This supervisor escalated the encounter instead of de-escalating an emotionally charged situation.” the chief said in an official statement.

The chief released the video without any audio and refused to reveal details of Pullease’s verbal exchange with the suspect and his fellow officer.

“I’m not releasing the audio at this moment in time. However, once the investigation is done, I’m committed to being completely open and transparent and everything will be released,” he said.

When questioned about Rosa’s decision to demote Pullease to desk duty instead of pressing charges against him, the chief replied that more details of the incident cannot be released at this time of the investigation.

“So there’s some details of the investigation that I’ve not disclosed, that I’m unable to disclose right now, and if any of the information that comes up during the investigation rises to a level of criminal behavior or criminal conduct, then we’ll address it appropriately,” Rosa said in response.

The chief also praised the female officer for her decision to intervene in the situation.

“So I’m very proud of this police officer. She took some definitive action. I can only imagine what she must be feeling. She’s a newer officer, and he’s a very senior sergeant,” he said.

The female officer has been with Sunrise Police for just over two and a half years, whereas, Pullease is a 21-year-plus veteran of the force.