ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Former St. Johns County Sheriff's deputy Anthony Deleo turned himself into the Flagler County Sheriff's Office Wednesday. Deleo has since posted bond of $10,000. He faces charges for an aggravated battery incident that happened last year during a traffic stop.
According to a sheriff's office report, Deleo beat a man with a baton in December during the traffic stop.
Deleo was a St. Johns County sheriff's deputy at the time, assisting a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper. The man who was pulled over was 30-year-old Christopher Butler.
Deleo was fired in January and the St. Johns County Sheriff Office filed charges against him for aggravated battery.
A warrant affidavit states Deleo was assisting a Florida Highway Patrol trooper with a traffic stop on a vehicle for failure to yield around 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 29, in the Winn Dixie shopping center at 2220 County Road 210. Deleo approached the vehicle and tried to pull Butler from the car, according to the warrant.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
The warrant says once Butler was out of the car, several officers started yelling at him to get on the ground, but he instead stood up, facing away from the officers "in a non-threatening manner." Deleo then struck Butler with his baton and the trooper shocked him with his Taser while Butler walked away from the officers, according to the warrant.
Video shows Deleo hitting Butler 19 times with his baton and kicked him in the head and face for the next three minutes and 44 seconds, the warrant says. At the time, Butler was naked and unarmed.
The warrant says Deleo made little to no effort to handcuff Butler, while video shows Butler offering little to no resistance while seated "in a non-threatening manner."
Butler was taken to the hospital for injuries consistent with the strikes captured on video, the warrant says.