FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One of two Broward Sheriff's Office deputies involved in the rough arrest of Delucca Rolle has been fired.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony announced the decision Wednesday morning during a news conference.
Upon the conclusion of an internal affairs investigation, the BSO professional standards committee recommended exoneration for Deputy Christopher Krickovich, Tony said.
“I disagreed with that recommendation,” Tony said. “He was terminated yesterday. He was terminated because we don’t have a policy in place that provides deputies the opportunity to slam people’s face, head into the ground.”
The incident in question took place April 18 outside a McDonald's in Tamarac, where a group of teenagers had gathered after school to watch a fight.
Cellphone video showed Krickovich slam then-15-year-old Rolle’s head to the pavement and punch him.
“To see that happen to a child, not even my child, in spite of color, race, gender, I think they should be held accountable for what they’ve done,” Clintina Rolle, Delucca’s mother, said.
Tony said Deputy Ralph Mackey received a written reprimand for not activating his body-worn camera.
He said the investigation involving a third deputy, Sgt. Gregory LaCerra, who was seen in the video dousing Rolle in the face with pepper spray, is still ongoing.
Jeff Bell, president of the Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association, said Tony's decision was politically motivated.
“When you have somebody at the helm who is claiming not to be a politician, but all he’s doing is acting like a politician, he needs to spend more time on learning on how to be a sheriff and acting like a sheriff instead of running over everybody’s due process,” Bell told Local 10 News.
Tony, who was appointed to the position by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is running for election in 2020.