BSO Deputy Charged in Road Rage Incident

Cop smashed cell phone during profanity-laced incident: Report

A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy is facing battery, burglary, criminal mischief and theft charges for an off-duty road rage incident last year.

Deputy Paul Pletcher, 37, surrendered Monday and was released from the Broward Main Jail on $6,100 bond, according to jail records.

Pletcher, who has been with the department since October 2004, was suspended without pay, BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright told NBC Miami Tuesday.

Calls to Pletcher's attorney for comment Tuesday weren't immediately returned.

The arrest stems from a May 23, 2011 incident in Plantation, in which Pletcher was off-duty but was armed and driving his patrol car, according to a Broward County arrest warrant.

Pletcher got into an argument with a female motorist, allegedly berating her with profanity and yelling racial slurs and "inappropriate hand gestures" before pulling her over, the warrant said.

When Pletcher saw a passenger in her car recording the incident on a cell phone, he allegedly grabbed the phone and her driver's license and drove away.

The phone was later discovered smashed with pieces scattered over several blocks, but the phone's memory wasn't damaged and had captured the encounter, according to the warrant.

When the video was reviewed, officers were able to identify Pletcher, the warrant said.

Attorneys for the alleged victim, Neyda Osorio, claim Pletcher has abused his power before and say their client has been frightened by the incident.

"She is afraid to go to the people that we've all been raised to believe we go to when you're in trouble because they're the ones who did this to her," attorney Edward McGee said.

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