Clearwater Cop Fired After Accusation of Sexually Battering Tourist

CLEARWATER, FL — A Clearwater police officer has been fired after being charged with felony counts of sexually battering and falsely imprisoning a tourist he stopped for jaywalking.

According to Clearwater police, former Officer Nicolas Paloma, 29, was arrested Tuesday after being accused of stopping a 32-year-old woman on the Clearwater Beach roundabout for jaywalking on Sunday just after 2:30 a.m.

According to Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy, Paloma was on duty in the Clearwater Beach area when he activated the lights on his police vehicle and stopped the woman. He told her that she was jaywalking and could be charged with disorderly conduct.

During a news conference Tuesday, Gandy said Paloma then offered the woman a ride in his police vehicle. When she got into the front passenger seat, he requested that she have sex with him in exchange for the ride and for not citing her for jaywalking or disorderly conduct.

"He told her that he would take her to her hotel, and she could take care of the charges by doing things for him," said Gandy. "Officer Paloma even made efforts to defeat our ability to track his vehicle. For approximately 30 minutes, Officer Paloma transported the victim around to various locations on Clearwater Beach, engaged in sex acts with her before dropping her off down the street from her hotel."

Related: Cop Asked For Sex After Stopping Woman For Jaywalking: Clearwater PD

Shortly after, officers were called to the hotel for a report of two women arguing. The tourist was arguing with her friend over what had occurred with Paloma, and then told the story to the officers on the scene.

Gandy said he was alerted to what occurred when the officers reported the woman's complaint to their supervisor. Gandy ordered an immediate investigation by detectives from the Crimes Against Children and Families Unit.

He said detectives worked on the case throughout Sunday and Monday, and ultimately recommended that Paloma be charged. He was arrested Tuesday and taken to the Pinellas County Jail.

"What this officer did is reprehensible," Gandy said. "He's someone who took an oath to enforce the law, not break the law in an egregious way while wearing a badge and a uniform."

Initially, Paloma was placed on administrative leave but, on Thursday, Gandy announced he'd been fired. Paloma has worked for the department since 2018 and has no previous disciplinary complaints.

“I’m exceptionally upset about the betrayal of trust — the level of confidence that people have in our officers. It’s exceptionally damaging to our reputation and to the reputation of everyone in law enforcement,” Gandy said during the news conference. “It erodes the confidence in our profession and, on a personal level, I know how hard we struggle to maintain trust. So, for me, having to come here today was infuriating because I have to have this conversation. But it’s an important conversation to have.”

Gandy asked that any other women who may have had similar interactions with Paloma to contact detectives at 727-562-4385.

“We have to proceed with an abundance of caution,” Gandy said. “This is a guy who, under the cover of law, took this action, and we have to be very careful to ensure that we don’t have anyone else out there. We just don’t know at this juncture.”