City Looks Into Chief's Joke About Tasering Homeless Man: Report

SARASOTA, FL — A Sarasota police officer filed a complaint against Chief Bernadette DiPino for a comment she made about using a Taser on mentally ill homeless man, the Herald-Tribune reported.

The man, who is known by police, heckled officers during a Nov. 18 Sarasota Opera performance outside Sarasota police headquarters, reports said. He stood at a nearby park yelling things like “SPD sucks” and “SPD can kiss my a**,” though he didn’t make any threats.

As officers walked back into the building after the opera performance, DiPino reportedly said, “Anybody have a Taser they can give me so I can get rid of him?”

An officer who overheard the comment filed a complaint and the city’s human resources department was assigned to look into it. When asked about the incident, DiPino admitted to making the comments, reports said.

Sarasota Police Department spokeswoman Genevieve Judge told the Herald-Tribune that the police chief was counseled by the city manager about the complaint.

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