The key witness in a case of apparent road rage by a former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy took the stand Thursday to tell her side of the story.
Neyda Osorio testified she was driving her truck in May 2011 when Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Pletcher allegedly started swearing at her.
“I was very scared. I was very afraid. I thought he was not a policeman,” Osorio testified with the help of a translator.
Osorio continued her testimony saying Pletcher told her, “You stupid Spanish. Go back to your country you stupid beep, beep, beep, back to your country you stupid Spanish like, ugh.”
Osorio said the deputy then showed her an obscene hand gesture and she “showed him the finger back.” Pletcher was off duty, but armed and driving his patrol car when he ordered her to pull over. When Pletcher saw a passenger in her car recording the incident on a cell phone, Osorio said he “gets even more furious.”
According to police, Pletcher allegedly grabbed the phone out of her purse and drove off with it. The phone was later discovered in a parking lot. While the phone was mostly destroyed, the memory inside was not damaged and police were able to retrieve the video.
Pletcher was arrested in January 2012 and later fired from the BSO. He pleaded not guilty to charges of battery, burglary, and criminal mischief in relation to the road rage incident.
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This is the second trial for the former deputy. A mistrial was declared earlier this year when the mother of the judge was killed in a car accident during the middle of the trial.
