PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired for using excessive force and falsifying a report, officials said Friday.
Wayne Wagner, 28, was hired by the department on Oct. 20, 2014. He was terminated Friday.
Officials said Wagner used excessive force during a March 25, 2016, traffic stop. The stop occurred around 9:40 p.m. at 10021 4th St. N in St. Petersburg.
Wagner conducted a lawful stop, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. He instructed the female driver to exit her vehicle, according to the department.
“Investigators say that the female occupant exited the vehicle and took her license back from Wagner. When the woman turned to walk away, Wagner pushed the woman into the side of the vehicle and took her to the ground,” the spokesperson said.
The now-former deputy arrested the woman, charging her with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence. In a sheriff’s office report, Wagner wrote the woman ripped the driver’s license from his hands and shoved him in the chest, officials said.
Coward in a uniform.