A Central Florida man is facing a felony perjury charge after fabricating allegations against local deputies.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood recently wrote a letter to residents about situation, and he released body cam video to back up his deputies.
Here is the letter from Sheriff Chitwood:
We take citizen’s complaints seriously.
If you have a concern, we’re going to investigate it thoroughly and take action where appropriate. In some cases that could mean a deputy or employee is disciplined, fired, even arrested.
But if you knowingly make a false allegation that could ruin a person’s livelihood and career, you need to remember that the truth is going to come out.
Juan Rivera made a series of false allegations about @volusia.sheriff deputies, and now he’s facing a felony charge of perjury.
On a May 16 traffic stop for a broken tail light, Juan Rivera could have just cooperated with a deputy who was just doing her job.
Instead, he resisted, escalated the situation and wound up in handcuffs.
When he didn’t like that outcome, he filed a complaint alleging deputies slammed him against his truck, slammed him to the ground, and choked him.
The body camera video from multiple deputies on scene clearly shows those allegations were all complete lies.
Watch it here for yourself.
When we’re wrong, we’re wrong, and I will be out in front of the public to account for it.
But I am not going to stand by and allow false allegations to risk the livelihoods of my deputies or staff.
Because we all know how fast lies will spread on social media when left unchecked, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the truth is out there for those who are willing to see it.
Mike Chitwood, Sheriff
