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TGH surgeon accused of hiding bullet wanted as evidence

Tribune file photo (2005)

Authorities said David J. Ciesla performed emergency surgery on a fugitive, Thomas McCoy, at Tampa General Hospital shortly after the shooting occurred. Ciesla then kep the bullet, police say.

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By TOM BRENNAN and SAMARA SODOS

TBO.com

Published: July 16, 2009

Updated: 07/16/2009 05:44 pm

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David J. Ciesla

TAMPA - The head of trauma at Tampa General Hospital is accused of hiding evidence in a shooting investigation – specifically, a bullet he removed from a fugitive during surgery.

Investigators think David J. Ciesla wanted the bullet as a souvenir, Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Kristen Perezluha said.

Ciesla, 42, was charged Wednesday with one misdemeanor count of giving false statements to law enforcement and one count of resisting or obstructing an officer without violence.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 17.

On April 21, authorities say, Ciesla performed emergency surgery on Thomas McCoy, a fugitive in a fatal shooting that month in DeFuniak Springs.

U.S. marshals had tracked McCoy to a hotel on Busch Boulevard. He was shot in the shoulder and buttocks after he drew a gun on agents as they tried to apprehend him, authorities said.

Two FDLE agents spent four hours in the TGH operating room as McCoy underwent surgery, said FDLE special agent supervisor Bob Ura.

Ciesla told the agents that two .40-caliber bullets fired from a Glock pistol would have to remain inside McCoy, said Jim Madden, FDLE special agent in charge. Surgery resident Sergio Alvarez, however, had seen Ciesla remove a bullet from near McCoy's liver and hide it in his surgical glove.

Alvarez reported the incident to supervisors, who confronted Ciesla.

Ciesla eventually turned over the bullet to FDLE agents.

"We are very saddened by this incident," the hospital and the University of South Florida College of Medicine said in a statement today. "It is our understanding that Dr. Ciesla indicated that he had made a mistake and had apologized for his error.

"Dr. Ciesla is an extremely talented surgeon and in the 18 months he has practiced here has become an invaluable asset to the Tampa Bay community."

Ciesla is an associate professor of surgery and serves as division director for Trauma/Critical Care at USF. He also trains Special Operations Command medics to prepare them for service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As of April, his annual salary was more than $499,000.

"In cooperation with law enforcement, the university has and will implement corrective action," USF spokesman Michael Hoad said in a statement.

Hoad did not specify the corrective action and said USF would have no further comment "during the ongoing processes by law enforcement."

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