St. Petersburg Cop Fired For Tasing Man In Wheelchair Who Was No Threat: Police Chief

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Police Chief Anthony Holloway terminated a police officer Wednesday following a review of a body cam video that showed the officer using a Taser on a man in a wheelchair.

Officer Matthew Cavinder, 32, had been employed with the St. Pete Police Department for about a year when the incident occurred at a Chevron store, according to his termination notice.

"We will not tolerate this type of behavior when we're arresting someone," Holloway told reporters at a news conference Thursday morning at St. Pete police headquarters.

Cavinder responded at 4:55 p.m. June 20 to 4890 22nd Ave. S. following a call from the owner, who wanted Timothy Greg, 64, removed for trespassing. Cavinder saw that Greg had five warrants for his arrest, Holloway said.

He informed Greg about the warrants and told him he was under arrest, according to the video. Cavinder and a backup officer who shadowed him helped Greg out of the wheelchair, but he refused to put his hands behind his back.

"What the officer did wrong — instead of using both of his hands, he went right to his Taser and he started tasering Mr. Greg," Holloway said. "We know for a fact that he tasered Mr. Greg four times."

The video shows Cavinder placing the Taser against Greg's body and pulling the trigger, sending electrical shocks through his body. The review said Cavinder accused Greg in the police report of resisting with violence.

"However, BWC (body worn camera) footage displays no violence offered by the subject verbally or physically," the report stated. The charges were reduced from resisting arrest with violence to resisting arrest.

Greg was not injured from the electrical shocks. He is now in custody on the five warrants.

Holloway said he looked at the video 20 times and can still not understand why Cavinder went to his Taser instead of using de-escalation tactics. He also said Cavinder had no prior disciplinary action with the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Cavinder's supervisor saw the video and sent it to Holloway, who then sent it to the St. Petersburg Police Command Review Board.