The Sarasota Police Department whistleblower who made an anonymous complaint against Chief Bernadette DiPino warned city officials that if an officer or detective – and not the chief – had said they wanted to use a Taser on a mentally ill homeless man for creating a minor ruckus, “the comment would be met with a harsh punishment.”
“She has disciplined officers for verbal discourtesy for far more minor offensive or insensitive remarks to citizens,” the anonymous officer said in an email. “Very inappropriate for a leader to make light of such an individual publicly in front of officers, no less joke about a use of force against them for no reason.”