St. Pete cop used Taser on fiancée and family friend, investigation finds

ST. PETERSBURG — A police officer was suspended after an internal investigation found he used his Taser on his then-fiancée and a family friend.

The two gave Officer John Pace their permission to use the weapon them, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Pace was handed a 160-hour suspension without pay, removed from specialized units for 18 months and referred to the department’s employee assistance program, police said. He will also have to meet with his supervisor once a month to ensure he’s using his Taser properly.

Pace could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The Taser incidents occurred in November and December 2017, according to a police news release issued Thursday. Pace, a police officer since May 2011, was off duty and at home during both incidents.

In the first incident, Pace used the electroshock device on his fiancée. In the second incident, he offered to use the weapon on a family friend, who agreed, police said. In each incident, he used the Taser like a stun gun through direct contact, rather than firing the weapon’s prongs from a distance.

The officer also gave a friend an expired canister of department-issued pepper spray, police said. Pace’s fiancée, described by police as “now estranged," reported the incidents in October to the department’s Office of Professional Standards.