WESH
LAKE MARY, Fla. — Lake Mary’s police chief said Thursday that he wants the city manager to fire one of his officers, and WESH 2 News has the video the chief said is proof of wrongdoing.
Police said someone started recording video of a melee between Lake Mary Police Department Officer Chris Dye and a local bar owner in November.
Dye was accused of using excessive force during the arrest, but he was also accused of intentionally deleting a report critical of him during the incident.
In video exclusive to WESH 2 News, police said viewers will see Dye and Deputy Celinas Rios, of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, trying to handcuff a man by the name of Sean DeSilva, who owns the Bermuda Bar in Lake Mary.
Not seen on tape, police said, is Dye wrapping both hands around DeSilva’s throat and slamming him against a door before throwing him up against a pickup truck.
Dye had been across the parking lot from the bar talking to other law enforcement officers when they heard a disturbance there, police said. They rushed over, but things escalated.
The woman who shot the video apparently saw enough off-camera to file an excessive force grievance against Dye. Another man and the Seminole County deputy involved filed grievances, as well.
Dye’s problems mounted when he admittedly accessed his own report and deleted the deputy’s statements, police said.
According to the internal investigation, Dye first claimed he never even touched DeSilva. The video seemed to show otherwise, police said.
WESH 2 spoke with Dye over the phone, who said he has no comment and that lawyers are handling his case.
Reprinted with permission from WESH