Lee county deputy charged with battery

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Lee deputy who resigned after Twitter video showed him hitting teen charged with battery

Michael Braun, Fort Myers News-Press Published 6:16 p.m. ET March 19, 2019

A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy who resigned days after a video showed him striking a 17-year-old male who was handcuffed has been charged with battery.

The charge, a misdemeanor, was filed against Blake Grossi, 25, on March 11 and stems from an incident caught on video by a passerby on Feb. 14, that showed the former deputy hitting Bienvenido Gabriel Roman, 17, in the head with his elbow as the teen is handcuffed shortly after his arrest off Spring Line Lane.

The arrest was prompted by a Feb. 12 encounter between Roman and Grossi.

In the video, which was posted to Twitter, Roman can been seen having his eyes washed with a garden hose by another deputy in an effort to help him recover from being doused with pepper spray.

Blake resigned about a week after the video posted but the matter was still referred to the state attorney's office for review.

More: Report: Teen struck by Lee County deputy on video was wanted on multiple probation violations

The status of two other deputies shown in the video is unknown.

In the initial arrest report, Grossi said he spotted Roman driving a car on Fifth Street not far from his Fourth Street home in Fort Myers Shores.

The report stated there was an active juvenile probation violation for Roman, as well as a previous violation from Feb. 11.

Because all juvenile records are confidential, it is not known why Roman was on probation.

Grossi, who recognized Roman from the previous contact, tried to pull over Roman but the teen sped off at more than 100 mph, running multiple stop signs with pedestrians, other vehicles, a school bus and children in the area, the report stated. Grossi broke off the chase.

When Roman was found and arrested two days later, reports said he became physically combative and upset and began kicking the inside of a patrol car's back door. The arresting deputy squirted Roman with pepper spray and the teen stopped.

The deputy rinsed off Roman's eyes and the teen apologized for his actions, the report said.

There is no mention of the elbow strike to Roman's head by Grossi in the arrest report.

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter)

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