Cops: Deputy Choked Wife Over PlayStation

A Lake County deputy choked his wife because she threatened to take away his PlayStation 3, Mount Dora police said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Gary French admitted during his internal affairs investigation that he lied to Mount Dora police during his criminal investigation.

French told police his wife put a towel around her neck and squeezed to make a red mark, but admitted during the internal investigation that he made that up. He confessed that it was a lie after the State Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute in the case.

The sheriff’s office will forward the information to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to see if there is probable cause to further investigate the deputy’s actions.

French has already been suspended without pay and, now, his authority to make arrests has been taken away. He will be transferred to the Lake County jail to serve as a detention deputy and will receive a written reprimand.