ST. PETERSBURG -- An officer with just short of two years of service has been terminated, after high-ranking supervisors determined that he violated department policy and procedures.

Chief Anthony Holloway says Officer Matthew Cavinder, hired in March of 2020, responded to a call to serve a trespass notice to a panhandler outside a convenience store on 22nd Avenue South. Cavinder found that 64-year-old Timothy Grant was in a wheelchair, and had five outstanding warrants . Cavinder spotted Grant walking around the building, indicating he could walk. Cavinder and another officer tried to handcuff Grant. Holloway says Cavinder went immediately to tasering Grant, which goes against policy of "de-escalation."

Holloway says Grant was tased four times, using a "dry stun" method that places the taser against the body without prongs, causing a painful electrical shock.

The police chief says that Cavinder reported, wrongly, that Grant was resisting with violence. That charge was downgraded to resisting without violence based on the body cam video.

Holloway says neither Grant nor bystanders complained, but a supervisor did, leading to a command level review and Cavinder's termination. Cavinder has the right to appeal.

The report will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which could take Cavinder's law enforcement certification.

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