LCSO deputy resigns following suspect “mistreatment”

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced via Facebook, that a deputy was resigning following an incident that showed the deputy elbowing a teen in the head while he was in handcuffs.

MORE: Lee County Sheriff’s deputy and teen who was elbowed had prior encounters

LCSO shared this statement on Wednesday in regards to the former Deputy Blake Grossi, who put in his resignation this week.

“On Thursday, February 14, 2019, I learned of an incident where a suspect in our custody was mistreated.

Regardless of what occurred prior to this incident, our deputies are held to the highest standards, we respect everyone’s constitutional rights, and we will not tolerate mistreatment of any suspect.

The deputy involved has resigned, and is no longer subject to our internal disciplinary process; however, this does not end our responsibility, the matter is being referred to the State Attorney’s Office for review,” said LCSO Sheriff.

According to the 2017 sheriff’s office handbook, if a deputy uses excessive force but no one is hurt, it’s still considered improper conduct. A deputy can use self-defense if someone is resisting arrest or to stop them from escaping arrest.