02-21-2009, 12:14 AM
PINELLAS PARK — A police officer who was Tased and arrested after a drunken bar brawl in St. Petersburg last month has quit his job rather than be fired.
At the time, the case raised questions of favoritism because St. Petersburg police had called the Pinellas Park Police Department to see if officers wanted to come get Sean C. Letona rather than see him taken to jail.
Pinellas Park declined, so he was taken to jail and charged with misdemeanor battery.
Letona quit Feb. 10 in a one-line written statement: "Please consider this my resignation, effective immediately."
Letona's decision came immediately after Pinellas Park police Chief Dorene Thomas informed him of her decision to fire him for violation of at least five departmental rules in a scathing memo that is a sharp departure from her usual restrained, understated style.
"Your behavior and very public arrest failed to keep your private life unsullied as an example to all,'' Thomas wrote. "You were not exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of our department, and you violated the public's trust and confidence in performing your duties as a police officer.
"You battered another person, failed to heed lawful directives of a law enforcement officer and forced that officer to employ force to subdue you. I cannot condone that conduct, nor can I continue in the employ of the city one who has acted in this manner.''
Letona, 30, a seven-year veteran of the Pinellas Park Department, earned about $44,900 a year.
His problems began late the night of Jan. 17 while off duty at Courigans Bar, 41 Beach Drive SE in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg police gave this account: A fight had broken out, but had been calmed and the combatants ushered outside.
As the crowd was dispersing, Letona began beating another man. Letona refused to listen to officers' instructions to stop, so they Tased him and charged him with misdemeanor battery. They also found a concealed gun in an ankle holster.
Thomas said an internal investigation — totaling more than 600 pages — showed that Letona admitted to being "buzzed," but not drunk while armed with the gun.
Thomas concluded that, among other things, Letona had violated departmental rules banning the carrying of weapons off duty without previous permission from the chief, inspection of the gun and demonstrating proficiency with it. He also violated a rule that forbids consumption of "alcohol while off duty to the point where (officers) are unable to respond as a police officer during an emergency situation."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article977663.ece
At the time, the case raised questions of favoritism because St. Petersburg police had called the Pinellas Park Police Department to see if officers wanted to come get Sean C. Letona rather than see him taken to jail.
Pinellas Park declined, so he was taken to jail and charged with misdemeanor battery.
Letona quit Feb. 10 in a one-line written statement: "Please consider this my resignation, effective immediately."
Letona's decision came immediately after Pinellas Park police Chief Dorene Thomas informed him of her decision to fire him for violation of at least five departmental rules in a scathing memo that is a sharp departure from her usual restrained, understated style.
"Your behavior and very public arrest failed to keep your private life unsullied as an example to all,'' Thomas wrote. "You were not exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of our department, and you violated the public's trust and confidence in performing your duties as a police officer.
"You battered another person, failed to heed lawful directives of a law enforcement officer and forced that officer to employ force to subdue you. I cannot condone that conduct, nor can I continue in the employ of the city one who has acted in this manner.''
Letona, 30, a seven-year veteran of the Pinellas Park Department, earned about $44,900 a year.
His problems began late the night of Jan. 17 while off duty at Courigans Bar, 41 Beach Drive SE in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg police gave this account: A fight had broken out, but had been calmed and the combatants ushered outside.
As the crowd was dispersing, Letona began beating another man. Letona refused to listen to officers' instructions to stop, so they Tased him and charged him with misdemeanor battery. They also found a concealed gun in an ankle holster.
Thomas said an internal investigation — totaling more than 600 pages — showed that Letona admitted to being "buzzed," but not drunk while armed with the gun.
Thomas concluded that, among other things, Letona had violated departmental rules banning the carrying of weapons off duty without previous permission from the chief, inspection of the gun and demonstrating proficiency with it. He also violated a rule that forbids consumption of "alcohol while off duty to the point where (officers) are unable to respond as a police officer during an emergency situation."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article977663.ece