One of the three Homestead Police officers who was fired amid allegations of police brutality reached a plea deal with prosecutors that will keep him out of jail.
Sgt. Jeffrey Rome pleaded no contest to two charges of misdemeanor battery Friday, and will have all other charges against him dropped under the deal.
3 Homestead Officers Fired After Internal Affairs Investigations
He was sentenced to one day of probation and will have to pay $1,400 in court costs.
Investigators said surveillance video showed Rome pepper-spraying a Hispanic man outside Celio’s Latin Quarter Bar twice, then following him up the street and spraying him a third time back in 2011. He was also accused of pepper-spraying a second man and assaulting a third.
Surveillance Video of Homestead Officer Facing Charges Released
Rome, Sgt. Lizanne Deegan and Officer Giovanni Soto were fired in March. Soto is accused of beating a Hispanic man outside the bar, when he punched him in the mouth and hit him again on the ground, according to investigators.
Deegan allegedly covered up the attacks and denied victims medical attention.
3 Homestead Officers Charged in Incidents Outside Bar
"You abused your power and preyed on those that you were entrusted to protect," Assistant City Manager Allyson Love wrote in the officers' termination letters back in March.
Police Union president John Rivera stood by the officers at the time of their firing.
"We have been working with both the State Attorney’s Office and the Homestead police chief to bring to light the true facts of this case," said Rivera, the leader of the Miami-Dade County Police Benevolent Association, in a statement. "We have had issues with these cases and their substance since the beginning; however, we are continuing to work towards what we believe will be a positive resolution for everyone involved."
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