Broward Sheriff's Deputy Paul Pletcher is on paid vacation administrative leave after a woman accused the deputy of making a racial slur, giving her the finger, then proceeding to steal her cellphone and driver's license.
Neyda Osorio, a Hispanic woman, called Plantation police after she says Pletcher -- who was off duty, but in his patrol car -- pulled her over near Broward Boulevard and State Road 7.
Osorio's attorney told CBS 4 the deputy made racial slurs towards Osorio before telling her "essentially to go back where she came from."
She told police Pletcher then flipped her the bird, which she returned right back at the deputy.
Osorio says she was then pulled over by Pletcher, who noticed that Osorio's friend was recording the confrontation on her cellphone.
Pletcher is accused of reaching into Osorio's truck and grabbing the phone, which was later found in the area in a couple pieces after a search warrant was executed by Plantation cops.
Osorio says Pletcher then grabbed her driver's license and green card, taking the license but sending the green card right back into her face.
That's when Pletcher drove away, and Osorio went to a nearby security guard and asked him to call 9-1-1.
According to the search warrant carried out by Plantation police, the video was recovered from the cellphone, and BSO investigators identified the deputy as being Pletcher.
Osorio's license is still missing, and Pletcher reportedly never contacted dispatch while pulling over Osorio.
This is the first time Pletcher has been investigated by BSO -- except for that time in 2007, when he was involved in a crash in his patrol car that proved to be fatal for a motorcyclist in Pompano Beach, according to his attorney. Pletcher was cleared of any wrongdoing in that event.
Pletcher joined the BSO in 2004, two years after his application was rejected due to his driving record, which included a 1995 citation for driving 105 mph in a 55-mph zone.
As of this point, no charges have been filed against Pletcher, and the video hasn't been released by the cops in Plantation.
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