FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy who was caught on surveillance video punching a handcuffed inmate back in 2019 faced a judge in court, and his attorney said the incident was a case of self-defense.
Back in July of 2019, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony announced the firing of Deputy Kevin Fanti, who punched a handcuffed inmate at the county jail a month earlier.
On Tuesday, Fanti sat in a Broward County courtroom while facing a misdemeanor battery charge.
The 2019 surveillance video showed the handcuffed inmate, then 19-year-old Kyle Paul, in the receiving area of the jail.
The brawl occurred after Paul kicked a piece of paper toward the deputy.
“The defendant then picks up the piece of paper that was kicked over to his feet and comes toward Kyle Paul and strikes him in the upper body with a piece of paper,” said prosecutor Justin McCormack. “Kyle Paul lifts his handcuffed hands up to move the defendant’s hands away from him, and then the defendant starts … punching him.”
Fanti’s attorney, Jeremy James Kroll, said otherwise, that his client was only defending himself from the inmate.
“He’s taking his fist and simulating strikes or going about like he was going to hit people when they walked past him,” said Kroll.
Sherriff Tony in 2019 said that once he saw the surveillance video that was enough for him to have a call to action.
“There ain’t an excuse for it, there ain’t a policy I need to see to tell me that is wrong,” said Tony in 2019. “Too many of our good deputies’ reputation continues to be tarnished, because like in every organization that exists here on this planet, there will be a bad seed that will make it through the recruitment and application process.”
The defense team said Paul was acting erratically for some time before the confrontation, and that is why the confrontation happened.
The trial will resume Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.