A Tamarac commissioner who called out a Broward Sheriff's deputy for an arrest that happened four years ago will not be disciplined for his remarks.
Last month Commissioner E. Mike Gelin confronted Deputy Joshua Gallardo, who was being honored with a Deputy of the Month Award during a city commission meeting.
"You probably don't remember me, but you're the police officer who falsely arrested me four years ago. You lied on the police report," Gelin told Gallardo. "I believe you're a rogue police officer, you're a bad police officer and you don't deserve to be here."
Gelin was arrested back in July 2015 on a charge of resisting/obstructing an officer without violence, according to an arrest report obtained by NBC 6.
The report, which was written by Gallardo, stated that deputies were responding to a battery victim who was lying in front of a Salvation Army bleeding from both ears. The report said Gelin approached Gallardo from behind and was recording the incident with his cellphone. Gallardo said in the report that he told Gelin that he could record, but he had to move to provide space for incoming paramedics. Gelin was arrested after failing to comply with Gallardo's requests and after pulling his hands away to put away his cellphone while he was being handcuffed, the report said.
The Broward State Attorney's Office later dropped the charge, saying in a memo that what was heard in the video Gelin recorded did not support what was written in the arrest report.
The September incident was an agenda item on Monday's city commission meeting, where in the end, Tamarac city commissioners decided to not vote to reprimand Gelin.
"We can improve police and community relations while increasing police accountability," Gelin said Monday.
