Ex-Broward deputy acquitted after video revealed him banging teen’s head to the ground
A jury on Monday found a former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy not guilty of battery after he was caught on video slamming a teen’s head to the pavement during a 2019 arrest.
Christopher Krickovich was fired months after the arrest of then 15-year-old Delucca Enrique Rolle — despite an oversight board recommending that he keep his job.
Krickovich now “absolutely” intends to get his job back and receive back pay through arbitration, his defense attorney Jeremy Kroll told the Sun Sentinel. “You better believe it,” Kroll added.
Clintina Rolle, Delucca’s mother, told WSVN 7 News she was distressed about the verdict.
“That means the video doesn’t even matter, like you can see something, but it doesn’t matter,” she said.
After the verdict, there was a brief and heated confrontation outside the courtroom between retired BSO Capt. Neil Glassman and prosecutor Chris Killoren, WSVN 7 News reported.
“They should know nobody is above the law and that we will continue to prosecute these cases to the fullest of our abilities, Killoren said.
READ MORE: Broward fires deputy over rough arrest of teen. Union says sheriff overstepping authority
Delucca Rolle was arrested on April 18, 2019, outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Tamarac where dozens of teens had gathered and police were trying to disperse a crowd.
Krickovich and other deputies were there because a fight had broken out the day before. When an officer went to arrest a different teen believed to be involved in the tussle, police say the teen dropped his cellphone near Rolle, who was a J.P. Taravella High School student at the time.
READ MORE: Cops were called to this McDonald’s 85 times in 8 months. Why did teen’s arrest go wrong?
Police said Rolle disobeyed orders when he picked up the phone. Gregory LaCerra, another deputy, pepper-sprayed Rolle before Krickovich, then 29 years old, grabbed the teen, banged his face to the ground and punched his head. Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony fired Krickovich in December 2019.
At a press conference, Tony called the actions of Krickovich “unreasonable” and unnecessary.
“We don’t have a policy that allows a deputy to slam someone’s head into the ground,” Tony said at the time.
In February of this year, an appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that LaCerra was protected by the state’s Stand Your Ground law, finding he was justified in feeling threatened during Delucca Rolle’s arrest.
Broward prosecutors later dropped the remaining charges against Krickovich and LaCerra — including the charge of falsifying public records, court records show.
Delucca, who was originally charged with assaulting an officer and obstruction without violence, had his charges dropped days after his arrest.
Staff writer Chuck Rabin contributed to this report.
