NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — A battle appears to be brewing between the Broward Sheriff’s Office and a former deputy who was found not guilty of using excessive force during a 2019 arrest that garnered national headlines.
The police union representing Christopher Krickovich, the former BSO deputy who was acquitted last week on battery charges for the rough arrest of Delucca Rolle outside of a McDonald’s in Tamarac, is now demanding that he be rehired and put back on the force.
The local chapter of the International Union of Police Associations sent a two-page letter, dated Sunday, to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony asking him to “reinstate Christopher Krickovich to the position of Deputy Sheriff immediately.”
In the letter, a spokesperson for the union wrote that Krickovich “complied with the law, BSO Use of Force policy and the training which he was provided.”
Krickovich was fired and went to trial after being accused of using excessive force when he was arresting Rolle, who was a high school freshman at the time.
The rough arrest was caught on video, including footage from deputy body-worn cameras, apparently showing Krickovich slamming the teen’s head to the ground.
“Violence is never pretty, but that’s not what these cases are evaluated on. They are evaluated on whether there was a threat and there was, and he acted appropriately,” said Jeremy Kroll, an attorney for Krickovich, shortly after his client’s acquittal.
But Tony disagrees, and in a statement issued Sunday, he said he stands by his decision. It reads in part, “The Broward Sheriff’s Office maintains an unwavering commitment to holding all employees accountable… Independent criminal investigations or convictions of former employees do not supersede BSO’s administrative policies, standards or expectations.”
A spokesperson for the police union said their next step in their efforts to have Krickovich reinstated is to bring in an arbitrator.
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