Lawsuit: Tampa police officer used excessive force

A Lakeland man is suing the city of Tampa and one of its police officers, saying the officer used excessive force against him.

Beverley M. Bailey said he was punched by Officer Jason Brocato following a disturbance in Ybor City in August 2007.

Brocato received a written reprimand after an internal affairs investigation found he used excessive force and poor judgment during the incident, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said today.

In his lawsuit filed this week in federal court, Bailey said he had tried stopping a fight near Club Empire and was a passenger in a vehicle leaving the scene after someone had fired a gun.

Police blocked the vehicle from leaving and Bailey was handcuffed and led to a cruiser. He alleges that Brocato yelled at him, "You like shooting at police, you think that's fun?"

After Bailey denied shooting, Brocato pushed him toward the back of the cruiser and punched him, causing him to fall, the lawsuit states.

Bailey wasn't charged in the incident. He claims the other officers failed to protect him and didn't reprimand Brocato.

His attorney, Shirley Pellarchy, declined to comment today.

City Attorney Chip Fletcher also declined to comment.

According to police, officers believed they had come under fire from someone with an assault rifle behind Club Empire on Aug. 17, 2007.

Police said Bailey was the passenger in a Honda that sped away from the scene. The Honda was hemmed in but not before the driver, Christopher Ingraham-Richardson, rammed a patrol car.

Ingraham-Richardson got out and dared officers to shoot him, police said. Officers found an assault rifle and a shotgun in the vehicle.

Ingraham-Richardson pleaded guilty to fleeing and eluding police and obstructing or opposing an officer with violence; adjudication was withheld.

Brocato told investigators Bailey kicked the cruiser's door open as he was being placed in the vehicle, an internal affairs report states. The door hit Brocato on the leg and hand.

As Brocato pushed him into the vehicle, Bailey kneed the officer in the groin area, the report states. Brocato then punched Bailey in the face.

Brocato also was involved in a lawsuit against the city. The family of Musa Yazid said he was fatally shot by Brocato and another officer during a traffic stop in 2005.

Police said Yazid drove toward Brocato; an internal investigation found the use of deadly force was justified.

The city agreed to pay $150,000 to settle the lawsuit last year, records state.