Tallahassee police officer fired after confrontation at jail

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The Tallahassee Police Department announced Monday evening that it has fired one of its officers after a confrontation with a handcuffed suspect at the jail.

TPD released the surveillance video of the incident on its YouTube page Monday evening. It is time-stamped at 4:42 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2022.

In a statement posted on Facebook, TPD says officers were transporting a man to the jail after arresting him for driving under the influence in the wake of a crash at Blair Stone and Centerville Roads.

“There was a heated verbal exchange between one of the officers, Charles Hansford, and the arrestee. While preparing to take the arrestee inside for intake, Hansford physically engaged with the arrestee, despite the arrestee being handcuffed,” the TPD release said.

Another officer on scene intervened and de-escalated the situation, TPD said, and there were no injuries reported.

Hansford was placed on administrative leave after the incident and “due to the nature of his actions and failure to follow TPD’s policies and procedures, he was subsequently terminated,” the statement said.

“We hold the men and women who wear this uniform to the highest standards,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said. “We take incidents like this very seriously and will hold those who violate the department’s policies responsible.”

Hansford has been with the department since 2020.

The state attorney confirmed earlier Monday that there is an active criminal investigation and Hansford is likely to face charges.

TPD says it plans to release video from the officers’ body cameras on Tuesday.

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State Attorney Jack Campbell says a Tallahassee police officer is “likely to face charges” in connection with an incident at the Leon County Jail last week.

Campbell says there is an active criminal investigation into a confrontation in the jail sally port early last Sunday.

The State Attorney says he has reviewed both surveillance footage and bodycam footage of the incident.

Campbell would not comment on what happened or name either the officer or the inmate.

WCTV has reached out to both the Tallahassee Police Department and the city’s communications director for comment.

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