LARGO, Fla. (WSVN) — A routine traffic stop turned into a high-stakes situation after a wrongful detainment involving a father and his teenage daughter, resulting from a typo during a vehicle search, authorities said.
During the New Year’s Day incident in Largo, Florida, Pinellas County deputies mistakenly believed they had apprehended a car thief due to an incorrectly identified license plate number, which incorrectly identified his vehicle as stolen from New Mexico.
The traffic stop quickly escalated as deputies, with weapons drawn, commanded Jason Frederico and his daughter to exit their vehicle. Body cam and dash cam footage captured the confrontation, showing multiple deputies arriving at the scene with guns drawn and shouting commands.
“Can I ask what’s going on?” Frederico is heard pleading in handcuffs.
“Stop, down on your knees,” said one deputy.
The deputies then turned to his 16-year-old daughter, who suffers from epilepsy, intensifying the already tense situation.
“She’s a special needs child! What are you doing?!” Frederico exclaimed on body cam footage.
“OK, that’s fine,” said one deputy.
Video from another deputy’s body camera showed the teen getting detained. The deputy who conducted the traffic stop admitted to the error after realizing the license plate had been entered incorrectly.
“It could be user error,” said one deputy.
Recordings reveal deputies were frustrated with the mistake.
“This what I’m talking about, people on this shift not knowing what they’re doing,” said one deputy.
The deputy who made the mistake appeared surprised.
“Oh my God,” said deputy.
The Frederico family’s attorney, T.J. Grimaldi, commented on the incident.
“Mistakes happen, but lives are at stake when mistakes happen,” he said. “Check your own work to make sure that you’re not putting innocent civilians’ lives in danger. Because if they do one wrong move, they’re shot.”
Frederico reflected on the traumatic impact the situation had on his daughter.
“It’s traumatizing for her. It’s a sad situation,” he said.
A situation his attorney argues never should have occurred.
Meanwhile, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has refrained from commenting due to potential litigation.
“I know being a cop is hard today, but when you have, you know, a 16-year-old girl, myself, just going about your everyday business and it turns to this. I mean, it’s unfathomable,” Frederico said.
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