SANFORD, Fla. — An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for the son of a Sanford police officer, who was caught on camera punching a homeless man, according to Police Chief Brian Tooley.
"I gotta tell you when I saw that video I was absolutely shocked," said Tooley.
Chief Tooley spoke out the first time expressing outrage at the video he says he first saw on WFTV.
RAW INTERVIEWS: State Attorney | Victim's Sister | Witness COP'S SON PUNCHES MAN (explicit) : Raw Video DOCUMENT: Read Incident Report
"Very disappointed an arrest wasn't made that night," he said.
In the amateur video, the homeless man is seen trying to break up a fight when the police officer's son, Justin Collison, sneaks up from behind and punches Sherman Ware in the back of the head.
Ware's sister, Tonnetta Foster, has been outraged about the incident from the beginning.
"Every time I look at it, I am so upset," Foster said.
"Oh! Oh! Peace the f*** out! Peace the f*** out!" Collison is heard screaming in the video.
Collison then found his next target, another bar patron, and attacked.
"Justin! Justin! What the f*** are you doing? Justin, get off him!" a friend of Collison screamed.
Eric Cassady watched it happen.
"Sherman grabbed me by the shirt and said, 'Look you don't need to fight,'" Cassady said.
He says Ware was breaking up the fight when the punch came out of nowhere.
"Sherman did not know it was coming, did not expect to get hit," Cassady said.
Collison was not arrested or officially charged by the Sanford Police Department, where his father works, or by the State Attorney's Office. However, Collison now faces aggravated battery charges, police said.
Since the video aired this week, the department put five officers under internal investigation. The chief admits the video forced them to put the criminal investigation into high gear.
That's why instead of waiting for the state attorney's office to finish its investigation, police issued the warrant Thursday.
Still, it leaves some wondering why it took so long and if Collison got preferential treatment since his father is a Sanford officer.
"If he did get preferential treatment, we're going to deal with that," Tooley said.
The NAACP is now getting involved.
Previous Stories: December 29, 2010: Cop's Son Caught On Camera Punching Homeless Man
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