Screenshot SPPD video
The St. Petersburg Police Department fired an officer on Thursday, Jan. 26 stemming from a June 2021 incident where the officer used a stun gun on a 64-year-old man in a wheelchair. The man was allegedly panhandling at a gas station and had outstanding warrants for failing to appear at court hearings.
SPPD Chief Anthony Holloway convened the Command Review Board to review the incident. The board determined Officer Matthew Cavinder improperly used his Taser when arresting Timothy Grant at the Chevron Gas Station near 49th Street and 22nd Avenue South.
Grant was accused of trespassing and panhandling at the station.
The review board and Holloway announced Cavinder’s termination Thursday and released video of the incident.
“During the arrest, Cavinder, ‘drive stunned’ (tasered without prongs) Grant multiple times even though he was not physically resisting in a way that warranted being tasered. When Cavinder’s supervisor reviewed the use of force, including the body camera video, it was immediately forwarded to the Office of Professional Standards for internal investigation,” SPPD wrote in a statement.
Holloway said Cavinder acted improperly and against department training and policies when he used the stun gun on Grant, who is Black.
SPPD will send a report to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to determine if Cavinder can keep his state certification.
The police union representing St. Petersburg police officers has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Cavinder started with SPPD in 2020, according to SPPD.
