ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando Police officer has been fired for his actions and words during two separate incidents in a matter of just two months.
The department said the actions of officer Taylor Marini were not only a violation of department policy, but of public trust.
In the first incident, officer Marini was investigating a possible burglary at a local apartment complex.
When Marini attempted to detain a man as a possible suspect, the man ran, and Marini deployed his taser.
The suspect fell and barely moved. When the suspect failed to comply with orders from Marini to roll over, Marini continued to tase him repeatedly.
A review of the incident found Marini’s repeated use of the taser to be a policy violation.
After the incident, Marini was transferred to the Orlando Airport unit, but within a month, he was in trouble again.
Investigators say Marini was on an extra duty job at a local Publix when he confronted a shoplifting suspect.
The man was accused of taking a soft drink without paying for it.
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The suspect, who identified himself as Alexander Glover, tried to leave the area as Marini had told him to do.
However, the suspect said Marini told him to stop. When he didn’t, the suspect said Marini grabbed and tackled him.
A supervisor reviewed the second incident and again found concerns with Marini’s behavior.
Marini charged Glover with assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, theft, and resisting arrest with violence.
According to records, Marini was fired because he lied on his report about the incident and his own body-worn camera video showed a different chain of events than what he described.
The department said he illegally detained Glover who did comply with Marini’s orders. It was only after the unlawful takedown that the resistance occurred.
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Marini was fired earlier this year. The police department did not comment on the firing beyond sharing Marini’s termination letter, which they said spoke for itself.
Marini had been with the department for four years.
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