ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando police officer at the center of a controversial excessive force case has been fired, Channel 9 has learned. A sergeant with the department was also fired in connection to the case.
Officer Peter Delio is charged with felony battery involving a handcuffed suspect.
Channel 9's Kathi Belich broke the story of accusations that Delio used excessive force and ruptured the suspect's spleen, forcing doctors to remove it.
OPD holding cell video shows Delio charging knee-first at handcuffed suspect Robert Liese, who was arrested over a $60 bar bill.
Liese is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, and Delio is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds.
Raw: Handcuffed suspect kneed by OPD officer (Short version)
Raw: Prisoner kneed by OPD officer (Full version)
Delio told internal affairs investigators that he was trying to keep Liese from hurting himself after Liese head-butted the cell door.
Belich reported on how Liese lay on the floor with his hands and ankles bound for an hour and a half after his first request for medical attention. Dozens more pleas from Liese asking for treatment were ignored while officers could be heard talking and laughing outside the cell.
In the video, Liese can be heard asking Sgt. Michael Faulkner for medical treatment and Faulkner walked into the cell to investigate the force.
Even though Liese was in distress and on the floor with his wrists and ankles shackled, Faulkner challenged him, by asking, “What do you need medical attention for?”
Investigators later said Faulkner put Liese at great medical risk by not calling paramedics for an hour and a half.
Liese's doctor said his ruptured spleen and an aorta were bleeding internally, which could have killed him.
Liese is suing the department for more than $75,000.
Attorneys told the judge in court that prosecutors have offered no plea deal to Delio.Delio's sergeant, Michael Faulkner, who Channel 9 exposed for making inconsistent statements, was also fired for lying, Belich learned
WFTV
