GROVELAND, Fla. — A police officer involved in a confrontation with a man who called for help is being investigated, Channel 9 learned Monday.
Another officer’s body camera shows Groveland police Sgt. Charles Russell saying, “I have the right to be a f****** a******. That's what I am.”
Russell is under internal investigation. Authorities said he wasn’t wearing a body camera, even though it is required.
Russell is also heard calling the handcuffed man a gay slur during a "well check."
“So you want to be a (expletive) tonight? I'll be an (expletive) too,” Russell is heard saying in the video.
The man was not arrested. He was sent for a mental evaluation, then released because he claimed he may have taken pills.
In July 2015, Russell has been written up and suspended twice, including allegations of a setup, sexual harassment and domestic violence.
Channel 9 has found more conduct-related complaints that include fellow officers and dispatchers, two more internal investigations, and in May 2016, a reprimand for "discriminatory remarks" Russell received for referring to two officers as homosexuals in a Facebook post.
Former dispatcher Kim Noone said she filed a complaint with the city in January after she said Russell harassed her when she rebuffed his advances.
"There would be people coming to me telling me how he was calling me obscene names," Noone said.
Frustrated, Noone quit her job.
"He would be my supervisor. I couldn't even ask him for a break because he would ignore me," she said.
Nearly nine months later, the chief said in an email, the dispatcher's complaint was not ignored but is being investigated by an outside human resources firm.
Cox Media Group
