South Florida Deputy on Trial for Stealing Phone From Citizen Recording Him

by Carlos Miller
PINAC
Jan. 08, 2014

Broward County sheriff’s deputy Paul Pletcher was off-duty when he got into road rage altercation with another woman, so he pulled her over, stormed up to her truck and began berating her.

Her passenger pulled out a cell phone and began video recording, clearly capturing him saying, “give me the phone,” three times before reaching into the vehicle and snatching the phone.

Pletcher then drove off, smashing the phone in a nearby parking lot, where it was later retrieved by Plantation police officer, whom were responding to the woman’s call.

Pletcher was eventually arrested and charged with several felonies where he is facing 11 years in prison.

His trial began this week.

His defense: He thought the phone was a concealed weapon, which caused him to fear for his life.

That fear is evident from the recovered video, which captured the following exchange:

“Give me the phone!” he repeated, reaching into the car and toward the camera lens.

“No talking to me like that.”

“Give me the phone, Now!”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Give me the phone!”

“Wait! Wait!”

Despite the visual and audio evidence against him that he was committing strong-armed robbery, his attorney is still able to look the jury in the eye and state the following:

“”Paul Pletcher saw somebody who was driving erratically … Paul Pletcher took the position that when that cell phone was out and being used it could have been a concealed weapon.”

Pletcher has gotten away with stealing cameras from citizens before, so he is confident he will get away with this crime, especially considering it took authorities seven months to charge him after the 2011 incident and more than a year to fire him, which might explain his smirking mugshot and his celebratory Facebook page.

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Carlos Miller runs the website Photography is not a Crime.