Audio By Carbonatix
An Orlando police officer is under fire after hitting a man with his patrol car earlier this year and then leaving minutes later without ever reporting the incident. The incident was even caught on video, but the officer, Michael Fiorentino-Tyburski, remains on patrol.
The incident happened in January. Surveillance video obtained by WFTV show the pedestrian, 36-year-old Tetrish Nunn, attempting to cross a lightly trafficked one-way street. He gets about a third of the way before waiting for another car to pass. An Orlando Police Department car then make a right turn onto the street and hits Nunn. Nunn rolls off the hood, and tumbles back onto the side walk.
Fiorentino-Tyburski gets out of the car, and asks Nunn, who is believed to be homeless, if he is all right. According to WESH, Nunn replied, “Yes, I’m OK.” After about three minutes, Fiorentino-Tyburski leaves without ever reporting the incident.
A nearby witness however urged Nunn to call 911 after the officer left, and lent him her cellphone:
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“Did the officer say he was coming back? Or what did he say when he hit you?” the dispatcher said.
“He just hit me, you know what I’m saying? He blamed it on me and took off,” said Nunn.
The concerned witness then called for an ambulance because the incident caused skin on Nunn’s leg to break open.
OPD conducted an internal investigation. Ultimately they blamed the crash on Nunn because he did not have a signal to cross the road, however Fiorentino-Tyburski was blamed for leaving the scene.
The investigation continues, but the officer remains patrolling the streets.
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