Indian Rocks Beach City Employee Accused Of Assaulting Co-Workers

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL -- Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies arrested a City of Indian Rocks Beach employee after they say he battered two fellow employees and assaulted four other employees with a city truck at city hall.

Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, deputies were called to the Indian Rocks Beach City Hall, 1507 Bay Palm Blvd., for a report of an employee attacking co-workers. By the time deputies arrived, the employee, 52-year-old Errol Gray of Wesley Chapel, had fled the scene in a city-owned flatbed truck.

Deputies stopped the Ford F-450 truck traveling south on Gulf Boulevard at 10th Avenue North.

They said Gray was uncooperative and resisted their efforts to arrest him.

Deputies later learned that Gray worked in the Public Service Department for the City of Indian Rocks Beach. He was meeting with a supervisor at city hall Wednesday morning when he was told he was being fired.

Witnesses said Gray became angry and began striking the 58-year-old male supervisor. He then approached a 50-year-old woman who witnessed the confrontation and struck her before leaving the building.

Deputies said several employees heard the commotion and ran outside where they saw Gray getting into the flatbed truck. He began driving west on 15th Avenue North, then made a U-turn and returned to the entrance of city hall where he drove toward four women who were standing in front of the building. The women fled to avoid being struck by the truck.

When deputies interviewed Gray, he admitted to battering two employees inside city hall. He also said he intended to drive the flatbed truck into the city manager's office in city hall.

The supervisor was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Gray was charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, one count of aggravated battery, one count of battery, and one count of resisting an officer without violence.