TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw issued a three-day suspension to an officer Thursday after his involvement in an incident at a bar in South Tampa last year.
On June 11, 2022, security at MacDinton's Irish Pub, located at 405 S. Howard Avenue struggled to remove people from the business at closing time.
Two Tampa police officers working extra duty at MacDinton's were called for by security to assist.
A woman identified as 22-year-old Coralys Torres Perez was violently resisting the two officers, striking one in the face.
Perez was part of a group that included 22-year-old Angelo Cruz and 26-year-old Deivis Torres Laino, who MacDinton's security attempted to remove.
Around 2:51 a.m. that same night, Sergeant Stephen Drabiniak and three other officers responded to calls for backup and found people in the group physically assaulting the two officers.
While outside the bar, Drabiniak ordered the group to leave.
Instead of complying with Drabiniak's order, Torres-Laino tried to force his way back into the bar and hit him in the process.
When Drabiniak attempted to arrest Torres-Laino, he continued to resist.
Following the incident, Perez, Cruz, and Torres-Laino were taken into custody and charged with trespassing and resisting.
On March 1, the Tampa Police Department Professional Standards Bureau received an anonymous complaint via U.S. mail containing a thumb drive with a 45-second video of the struggle between Drabiniak and Torres-Laino before his arrest.
In the video, Drabiniak's hand is seen on the neck of Torres-Laino for approximately eight seconds.
According to Tampa Police, the video does not provide full context.
The department said Drabiniak was attempting to get Torres-Laino under control using a pain compliance technique by applying pressure behind the ear and jawline. However, his technique was incorrectly done, resulting in his hand on Torres-Lanio's neck.
When we showed the video to Dr. David Thomas, a Florida Gulf Coast University Professor who was in law enforcement for decades and taught defensive tactics for 25 years, he told us, "The question is, was it excessive force? If the guy can move his neck and he can talk, not necessarily, but was he trying to apply a pressure point technique? Absolutely not."
Police said that Drabiniak did not choke Torres-Laino or impede his breathing at any point, nor did Torres-Laino complain or ask for medical attention. The video shows Torres-Laino talking while he was on the ground, which he testified to in court.
Once the department received the video, Bercaw immediately initiated an internal investigation.
The investigation determined that Drabiniak only submitted body camera video despite receiving a copy of the cellphone video.
He stated that he attempted to download it but gave up when it failed to download, which is a violation of the department's policy.
It was determined that he violated policies related to responding to resistance and failing to document evidence properly.
"While it's clear the officers were dealing with a chaotic and volatile situation, I believe in holding our officers to the highest possible standards, and that didn't occur in this case, and the officer is now facing the consequences for that," said Chief Lee Bercaw. "Quality Assurance is a pillar of this department. To ensure we are held to the highest standard, I encourage feedback, positive or negative, because community input ultimately makes us better as a police department."
This is the second time in two weeks the department released a video of an incident where an officer was disciplined.
The other case shows an officer taunting bystanders after an arrest in East Tampa.
Dr. Thomas said these actions appear to show TPD is being proactive when it comes to releasing information to the public.
"I think more than anything what they are attempting to do is show the public that what their officers do or don't do it matters, and they are going to hold them accountable."
