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Tampa officer involved in shooting has twice been disciplined for policy violations

 
Published Oct. 14, 2014

TAMPA — The police officer who shot and wounded a robbery suspect Sunday has twice faced discipline for violations of Tampa police internal policies. In both cases, Officer Ronald Neipert was reprimanded for turning off his police dashboard camera and audio equipment, omitting portions of the incidents as they unfolded.

Neipert, who has worked for the Tampa Police Department as an officer for six years, is on paid administrative leave while the department and the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office review the shooting.

Reports in his department personnel file detail the previous violations, which took place in two separate incidents in 2011.

In one case, Neipert arrived to assist another officer with a traffic stop in which a car's passenger was arrested for a warrant. Witnesses reported hearing Neipert using obscenities and insults after the man became belligerent toward the other officer.

An investigation into the incident was complicated by the fact that Neipert turned off his dashboard camera before talking with the man, according to reports in the personnel file. The other officer, identified in reports as Officer V. Vans Evers, was also disciplined for turning off an audio recorder, omitting portions of the conversation.

In the second case, Neipert stopped a driver for a seat belt violation and found he was driving with a suspended license. During the stop, the driver sped away.

Neipert pursued the driver through city streets at speeds as high as 67 mph — a violation of the department's chase policy. As the pursuit was ongoing, Neipert also switched his dashboard camera on and off at three different intervals, according to the file.

The shooting happened about 1 a.m. Sunday after a woman called 911 and said she and a man with whom she was walking had been robbed at the Tampa Park Apartments at 1015 Lily White Court. Neipert arrived in the area and encountered John C. Carr Jr., who fired two shots at Neipert, before a brief chase ensued, police said. Carr stopped and pointed his gun at Neipert again, prompting Neipert to shoot him.

Hours after the shooting, Neipert posted a photo of the gopher from Caddyshack to his Facebook profile, an apparent reference to the film's theme song I'm Alright, eliciting several congratulatory responses.