Orlando officer beaten during arrest while on crossing guard duty, agency says
An officer was hurt in a scuffle after a man banged on the window of his patrol vehicle Thursday afternoon while the officer was working crossing guard duty near the Rock Lake neighborhood, according to the Orlando Police Department.
The alleged assailant, James Mossetty, 33, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, hindering communications and resisting officers with violence. He is being held in Orange County Jail on a $10,300 bond.
The unidentified officer was sitting in his patrol vehicle near north John Young Parkway and west Harwood Street around 4:20 p.m. when Mossetty began banging on the vehicle, according to OPD spokesperson Officer Michelle Rogers.
The officer stepped out of his vehicle and ordered Mossetty to get on the ground while holding his Taser, body-worn camera footage OPD released Friday showed. Mossetty then balled his hands, taking what his arrest affidavit described as “a fighting stance.”
The video shows the officer commanding Mossetty to “get on the ground” multiple times before tasing him, though Mossetty remained upright. As another officer arrived on the scene, the first officer threatened Mossetty with a chemical spray.
“Get on the ground or you’re going to get sprayed!” the officer yelled on the video. “Get on the ground now!”
As the officer sprayed Mossetty in the face and grabbed him, Mossetty appeared to strike at the officer. The second officer was “visibly affected by the chemical agent deployed” by his colleague, OPD spokesperson Heidi Rodríguez said.
Mossetty struck the officer “numerous times, on the left side of his face, as well as the back, left side of his head,” according to the affidavit. The video also showed the officer hitting Mossetty with a baton.
“Get on the (expletive) ground now!” the officer repeated multiple times.
At one point while grappling with Mossetty, the officer fell to the ground and the second officer intervened as Mossetty attempted to grab the downed officer.
“On the [expletive] ground before I shoot you, [expletive]!” the first officer yelled after getting back up and grabbing his handgun.
“Just wait for units — they’re coming,” a dispatcher told the officer over the radio. The officer later told the dispatcher, “I’m starting to feel dizzy — he punched me in the head multiple times.”
After two more officers arrived on the scene, one officer was able to tackle Mossetty and the remaining officers worked together to arrest him.
The officer was taken to a nearby hospital with “no significant injuries,” Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolón said on Twitter. Mossetty was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries and taken to jail after he was discharged, the affidavit said.
The agency said Mossetty was arrested in October by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for battery on an officer, resisting an officer with violence, trespassing and assault on law enforcement.