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Deputy seen on video berating tow truck driver punished with 40-hour suspension

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County deputy who was seen on video berating a tow truck driver as he took away her truck was suspended for 40 hours without pay for the incident.

An internal investigative report revealed Deputy Tracy Weiss held her badge and grabbed her gun during the April incident because she said she didn’t know if the driver would be aggressive.

Weiss was parked at the Starlight Ranch retirement community, which has a policy that forbids vehicles to block the sidewalk.

Previous story: Off-duty deputy caught on video in heated confrontation with tow truck driver

As the tow truck driver was hauling Weiss’ truck, she came outside, flashed her badge and had her gun, the report said. The driver caught some of the exchange on cellphone video.

Deputy: "I'm a cop. Drop my truck."

Driver: "You need to put your gun away."

Deputy: "You see a gun?"

Driver: "Yes. It's in your pocket."

Weiss told investigators she placed the gun in her pocket and had her badge for identification purposes, the report said.

She said she wanted to show she wasn’t “some crazy woman.”

The report said Weiss was suspended for 40 hours without pay for her conduct and she opted to have the time taken out of her 50 hours of accumulated vacation time.

“The penalty that was given to her, I find it, at this point, to be ridiculous,” said the driver, who asked not to be identified.

The driver said he has quit working in Orange County because of the incident.

“I just feel sorry for whoever else is going to come across her path,” he said.

The state attorney’s office declined to prosecute Weiss on aggravated assault charges.