The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says it has arrested and fired a supervisor accused of pointing a gun at someone's head.
The incident happened Thursday at the intersection of N. Nebraska Avenue and E. Annie Street.
It began when a man who was in a detention facility was accidentally transported to a mental health center despite not being on the list to be sent there. Deputies later realized the error and found him hiding behind a trailer, where they tried to confirm his identity.
That's when Sheriff Chad Chronister says Sgt. Janak Amin threatened the life of the man, who refused to identify himself.
"Sgt. Amin's actions, the violation of public trust and dishonoring of his oath to serve and protect is despicable," Chronister said.
According to Chronister, the man was scared for his life and did not make any aggressive actions toward any members of law enforcement.
In light of recent events, a reporter at the news conference asked if race played a factor in the aggression toward the man, who is Black.
"I don't believe for a second this had anything to do with race," Chronister said.
Although there is no video evidence of what happened, Chronister said fellow deputies and another supervisor intervened and deescalated the situation when they witnessed Amin's behavior.
They then reported what happened to the sheriff's office, which has a "duty to intervene" policy if deputies see wrongdoing within their own ranks. Employees recently had to watch a videotaped reminder of that policy.
Amin was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He had worked for the sheriff's office for 21 years before his termination on Friday.
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