Florida Highway Patrol says it has dismissed the trooper that tased a 16-year-old boy while waiting outside his girlfriend’s house last year.
FHP said the department dismissed George Smyrnios after concluding their investigation into the incident. They say Smyrnios is appealing his dismissal.
In June 2021, 16-year-old Jack Rodeman was tased by Smyrnios while waiting for his girlfriend outside of her home, where he had permission to be. Rodeman hit his head on a firepit as he fell after he was tased.
FHP released a surveillance video of the incident that you can watch below. Warning: This video contains strong language.
The surveillance video shows Rodeman outside of his girlfriend’s Three Oaks community home, waiting for her to answer the door after texting her. Trooper Smyrnios tased him after “he failed to comply.”
Rodeman was booked into juvenile detention for failing to comply with troopers but was later released.
Smyrnios said he started following Rodeman because the teen looked like a suspicious person. Smyrnios used the Taser against Rodeman after the teen didn’t respond to orders to put his hands behind his back. Instead, Rodeman stood and continued texting on his cellphone while saying he didn’t do anything.
WINK News reached out to the Rodeman family. They are waiting on advice from their attorney before commenting.
We also reached out to Florida Highway Patrol but have not heard back.
If you’d like to read the full and final report, you can do so below:
https://cdn.winknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20210566-Final-Investigative-Report.pdf