Suspect shot with Taser by Seminole deputy talks with WFTV

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV has new information involving two Seminole County deputies who were  fired accused of lying about a traffic stop and failing to follow department policy.

Channel 9 obtained video of the traffic stop from May that got Deputies Erik Ducharme and Chris Clutter fired.

The deputies got out of their squad cars, guns drawn, demanding to see the suspects' hands, the video indicates.

In the video, it's hard to see if Robert Wilds and Channing Byrd complied, but the deputies told the 911 dispatchers they weren't cooperating and even requested backup, which can heard speeding to the scene with sirens on.

Wilds spoke with WFTV and said he thinks he knows what the real reason for being pulled over was.

"They aggressively cut off my friends to get behind me, and from that point there, I shot them the bird, which wasn't the smartest thing to do," he said. "At the moment in time, I was frustrated and aggravated with the whole scenario."

The officers pulled Wilds over and told him and Byrd to put their hands out of the car.

"We've got two at gunpoint, they are noncompliant," one of the deputies can be heard saying in the video.

Once backup arrives, Clutter can be seen clutching his Taser, but he also grabbed a shotgun from the trunk of his car.

As Byrd and Wilds are dragged out of their car, Clutter, still holding his shotgun, fired his stun gun without warning, hitting Wilds.

Wilds has a criminal past and served four years in jail for armed robbery, but he said he's been trying to live his life right since being released from jail in 2008.

"What were you thinking?" Channel 9's Daralene Jones asked Wilds.

"Who have I killed? What have I done? Why is this happening?" he said.

Deputies said they pulled Wilds over for not wearing a seat belt, but the windows on his car are tinted, so it's hard to see inside, Jones said.

In the end, Wilds was charged with resisting arrest with violence, but prosecutors dropped the charges after they saw the dash cam video.

"If your child was riding around, minding his own business, would you get frustrated? Would you get upset? People would probably have the same reaction I did," said Wilds.

Byrd talked with WFTV and said the ordeal is something he will never forget. He had not seen the video until WFTV's Kenneth Craig played it for him Monday night.

"My mind kind of went blank. I see my life flash before my eyes," said Byrd.

Byrd said he was scared, confused and said he feared for his life, and his friend's life.

"I just wanted to know what I was being arrested for," said Byrd. "I was frightened."

One of the deputies who arrived at that scene said he feared for his own safety as one of the other deputies waved the shotgun around.

The two deputies who were fired have hired attorneys. They have 10 days to appeal the firing.

"They got what they deserved," Wilds said.

WFTV