Florida deputy put on leave after grabbing boy, 17, by the neck

A Florida deputy has been put on leave after police footage showed him grabbing a 17-year-old boy by the neck before throwing the teen to the ground. 

Terrance Devon Reed III was taken to hospital after Sarasota County Deputy Neil Pizzo was filmed hitting him in the face at the Sarasota County Juvenile Assessment Center last Tuesday.  

This footage shows the deputy pinning Reed to the floor for around a minute before bringing him to his feet with the help of additional deputies. 

Reed is said to have become uncooperative while being held on charges of contempt of court, probation violations, possession of cocaine and selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church. 

He suffered cuts to his head during the altercation. 

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The clip, which is without sound, begins with Reed sat on a bench in the corner of the room.   

Pizzo appears left of the screen, pointing and seemingly communicating with Reed before walking towards him as the teen stands up. 

Pizzo then grabs Reed by the neck, slamming him against the wall before appearing to repeatedly slap the boy.  

A second deputy, Earl Matthews, then arrives for back up before Pizzo pulls Reed to the floor, continuing to slap him as he handcuffs him.  

Reed is then kept in that position for around a minute before three more deputies arrive to help lift him to his feet. 

Reed is seen being led from the  room in the handcuffs. 

Pizzo is now on administrative leave pending an investigation, The Herald Tribune reports. 

According to Pizzo’s report Reed was asked to remove his hands from his pants when he jumped from the bench with a ‘look in his eyes’. 

Pizzo wrote: ‘I walked over to Mr. Reed, and he stated, ‘(expletive) you, I’m (cold). I’m not going to do it cracker, I’d blow your top off.’  

Sheriff Tom Knight said: ‘I feel disappointment. I feel that I am disappointed in what I saw. In an abundance of caution I put him (Pizzo) on administrative duty. 

‘We are responsible for de-escalating the situation. Was the de-escalation practice put into play there? … If a deputy is trying to de-escalate and you go hands on and you have a confrontation, what did he attempt to do prior to the physical confrontation to prevent it from happening?’

Demonstrations across the United States started in late May after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Since then protests against racial inequality and police brutality have continued in response to several black Americans who have died in police custody.