In the trial of Osceola Deputy David Crawford, jurors saw a dramatic video on Tuesday of him holding a stun gun to a suspect, who then caught fire. The defense lawyers tried to blame another deputy for the fire, but the jury did not believe them.
Jean Barreto, who was 26 years old at the time, was chased by officers and burned on three-quarters of his body in a fire at a Wawa gas station in February 2022. Crawford, 35, is charged with culpable negligence, a misdemeanor.
On video, the officer is seen tackling Barreto while holding the Taser. This happened just seconds before the fire broke out.
The main parts of the case against Crawford are the video, the data from the stun gun, and the statements of other police officers.
But the body camera tape does not clearly show Crawford firing the gun that started the fire. This meant that on the second day of the trial, Crawford’s lawyer could question the prosecution’s claims.
Deputy Joseph De Jesus, who testified for the prosecution in a courtroom in Orlando, said that he got to the scene of the crime just seconds before the fire started. As he rushed to help Crawford, he heard someone who was said to be Crawford yell, “Cut off the gas!”
He then walked past the officers who were trying to handcuff Barreto and toward the gas pump. Along the way, he heard Crawford say, “Dude, you are going to get Tased again.” Soon after, the gasoline caught fire, setting Barreto on fire and covering Crawford’s legs in flames.
“Would you ever use a Taser on gas?” This is what Chief Assistant State Attorney Ryan Williams asked. De Jesus said, “No, because that is against the rules.”
Crawford went to court on crutches, and his lawyer, Michael Barber, tried to shift the blame to Christopher Koffinas, another deputy who was at the scene of the crime, whose stun gun Det. Keila Ruiz said was the only one that was used.
Ruiz was in charge of the criminal investigation into the fire and found that Crawford had Koffinas’ stun gun in his hand at the time of the fire.
A report from the state fire marshal’s office says that on video, “you can hear the Taser device cycle” right before the fire started. There was no intent to start the fire.
Barber asked Ruiz about Crawford, and Ruiz said that Crawford never even took his assigned stun gun out of his pocket, let alone used it. Koffinas’ gun, on the other hand, was used twice. The first shot hit Barreto in the shoulder.
A rule from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says that stun guns can not be used on suspects who “could possibly be seriously injured by secondary factors,” like gasoline or other flammable substances. Koffinas was suspended for 40 hours after an internal probe, but he is not being charged with a crime.
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“So far your investigation has not given you any information that lets you say for sure if Deputy Crawford used the Taser on purpose.” Barber asked. Ruiz said, “Yes,” and she also said she had not filed charges against anyone else for what happened.
In the end, Williams asked Ruiz to speak again. This time, she talked about how the stun guns that each cop at the scene had were checked out. She said again that Koffinas owned the stun gun that started the fire.
“Usually it is downloaded into a computer and everything is timestamped,” Ruiz said about the information stun guns collect about how they are used.
This includes when the trigger is pulled. Then, she said, she looked at the whole thing from every camera angle to figure out who pulled the gun.
Williams asked her if she had figured out who used Koffinas’ stun gun, but Barber stopped him. Amy Carter, the judge, agreed, so Williams had to move on.
Williams also called Det. Anthony Kemeny to the stand. Kemeny looked into the fire for the Florida Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives. Kemeny said he could rule out other possible reasons, such as the dirt bike’s engine being too hot for Barreto to be riding.
Barber asked Kemeny why he threw out other possible reasons for the fire. He was not sure for sure that the stun gun started the fire, but he thought it was likely that the gasoline had cooled down the dirt bike’s engine first.
He said that the fire “would have happened almost immediately” if the heat from the engine had been enough to light the gasoline.
“The fire did not start right away after the bike stopped,” Kemeny said. “That lets any item start the cooling process.”
Even though Barreto’s lawyers asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to look into Crawford, it took a little more than a year before he was charged.
In defense of the chase, Sheriff Marcos Lopez said it started because a group of dirt bikers were reportedly pointing guns at people and making threats.
Lopez showed a video at the time of a chopper following Barreto into Orlando, running into traffic at times. The sheriff also said Barreto “tossed” a gun, but it was never found, and video from the helicopter did not show him throwing one away during the chase.
After Crawford was charged in May 2023, Lopez said of him, “Unfortunately, things like this happen, but the deputy will pay for his mistake.”
Lawyer Mark NeJame, who is in charge of Barreto’s case, called the chase “a grossly excessive, unwarranted, and horrific abuse of police conduct and authority.”
The family of Jayden Baez was also represented by NeJame’s team. Baez was killed by cops two months after the fire that hurt Barreto. Baez’s family has taken the Sheriff’s Office to court.
NeJame says that Barreto was on a memorial ride with a group of dirt bikes in honor of a friend at the time of the fire.
Deputies were called because someone was waving a gun. Lopez said Barreto matched the description of the person who was allegedly firing the gun, which caused the run.
Sheriff said his office thought Barreto should be charged with fleeing police, driving recklessly, and fighting arrest. The prosecutors chose not to bring a case against him.
NeJame said, “He just barely made it.” “The huge amount of scar tissue and damage that happened to his body means that his life will always be in danger.”
Crawford could spend up to a year in jail or pay a $1,000 fine if he is found guilty. The trial goes on until Wednesday, when the lawyers plan to rest their case.