Crime & Safety
Officer Tased Fiance, Friend Faces Disciplinary Action
The St. Petersburg Police Command Review Board is punishing an officer who authorities said tased a friend and his fiance with their OK.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — An officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department faces disciplinary action after he used his department-issued taser outside of work on two separate occasions. A review by Chief Anthony Holloway and the command staff found that Officer John Pace improperly tased his fiance with her permission, according to a department press release.
Authorities say Pace offered to tase one of his friends the second time, and the friend agreed. Both times, the officer was off-duty and at his home. He also gave an expired canister of pepper spray that the department issued to a friend.
The incidents occurred in 2017.
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The department said Pace's now-estranged fiance reported the incidents to the Office of Professional Standards toward the end of 2019.
As a result of the investigation the department has ordered Pace undergo:
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- A 160-hour suspension without pay
- Will meet with his supervisor every month, for 18 months to download his conducted electrical weapons to ensure proper use
- Removal from specialized units for 18 month
- Referred to the employee assistance program
Pace was sworn as a police officer in 2011.
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