Records: Cop has history of complaints

An Orlando Police officer arrested last month on a domestic-violence charge has had several citizen complaints lodged against him for aggressive behavior and racially charged language, records show.

Salvatore Polizzi, 42, is accused of pinning his estranged wife against a wall on Nov. 27 — the same day she filed divorce papers — according to Seminole County court records.

Polizzi, who was assigned to the International Drive Bikes Unit, has worked for the department for 11 years and accrued at least 10 citizen complaints — and several internal ones — during that time.

In 2012, a woman who was pulled over for a traffic stop said Polizzi used excessive force. She said the officer only gave her two seconds to get her identification out of her wallet. When she didn’t do so in time, Polizzi pulled her out of her car and handcuffed her on the ground.

Polizzi’s supervisor at the time wrote in an internal affairs report that Polizzi had been attending a “Stress Awareness” course, which supervisors can order or recommend for their officers. Ultimately, the investigation did not conclude Polizzi violated any department policies since there were no witnesses at the traffic stop.

Two years earlier, a man said Polizzi and another officer knocked on his door for an arrest, and when his son answered, the officers “grabbed him and smashed his face against the wall without announcing themselves.”

“They punched him in the face, and he was bleeding,” said the man, whose son was taken to a hospital for his injuries. The man claimed Polizzi had blood on his hands and put on a black glove when the officer noticed him looking.

But in that incident — as is often the case — the man did not submit a written complaint, which is required for the department to launch a formal investigation, spokeswoman Michelle Guido said.

Another complaint in 2009 shows Polizzi and other officers responded to a school altercation between a principal and a student.

According to the student’s mother, who is black, Polizzi said: “You people need to take care of your kids.”

She also said Polizzi told her, “You people don’t pay any taxes” and, “You can call Obama; he doesn’t tell me what to do.” Written statements were never returned to the department, and the case was closed a few weeks later.

The day after Polizzi’s recent arrest, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said the officer is under internal investigation.

“I’m very troubled and concerned by any allegations involving domestic violence and want to stress that this case will be thoroughly investigated,” Mina said.

Polizzi has been reassigned to desk duties during the internal review.