A Plant City Police Department officer’s Monday morning search for a missing juvenile did not go quite as expected, according to a press release from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The officer, who has not been named, was using his flashlight shortly before 1 a.m. to search for a girl who had run away from home. Ivan Moreno, 33, a deputy with HCSO who was off duty, saw the light from where he was sitting in the back yard of a home at the 2000 block of Walden Woods Drive and yelled at the PCPD officer to turn it off. The PCPD officer continued his search while Moreno continued yelling at him, even after the officer shined his light on his badge and PCPD uniform and identified himself.
Per the news release, Moreno moved toward the officer, bumped shoulders with him and tried to fight him. The PCPD officer said Moreno appeared to be intoxicated.
Moreno was arrested and charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor resisting an officer without violence.
“No one is above the law. Battery on an officer, even if it’s coming from another law enforcement officer, is completely unacceptable,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “This is an incident that should never have escalated to the level of physical violence. We do not condone the actions of this deputy, and he has been placed on administrative leave as we work through the details of this investigation.”
HCSO said Moreno has been a deputy since 2016 and has no prior internal affairs investigations.
