Man accuses cops

‘I got beat up,’ defendant who ran from arresting officers says in court

FORT LAUDERDALE — A man accused of assaulting a Broward sheriff ’s sergeant alleges that police beat him.

Tyler Comegno, 24, of Oakland Park appeared in bond court Tuesday with a bruise under his left eye, and cuts and scrapes on his nose, cheek and forehead.

“I want photos,” Comegno said. “I got beat up from the cops.”

Shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, Sgt. Michael Paparella and backup deputies stopped a woman driving near Comegno’s home in the 200 block of Northwest 51st Court.

She and Comegno had previously been in a romantic relationship, and a court had ordered Comegno not to contact her after he was accused of domestic violence; part of one of his open criminal cases, according to police records and court testimony.

On Nov. 7, the woman filed a request not to prosecute, Comegno’s lawyer H. Scott Hecker said Tuesday.

The traffic stop was part of an investigation into the status of the woman’s driver’s license, the agency said.

While deputies were talking with the woman, Comegno came out of the house. He was told he would be taken into custody for violating the no-contact order, according to a police report.

“I read a probable-cause affidavit,” Hecker said. “The officer claims to have knowledge that there was a nocontact order but doesn’t have knowledge that there was a waiver of prosecution filed by the same young lady.”

Comegno ran into the house, Paparella followed and Comegno slammed a French door into the sergeant’s face, according to police.

Paparella’s forehead suffered a 3-inch vertical laceration that required more than 12 stitches, the report states.

On Monday, as deputies were searching for him, Comegno cut off an ankle monitor, the sheriff ’s office said.

Comegno was found in the 200 block of East Prospect Road, about a mile southeast of his home.

An arrest report said Comegno grabbed a deputy’s hand while trying to get away.

“Upon being taken to the ground, the defendant continued to not be cooperative and refused to place his hands behind his back for handcuffing” until he was forced to do so, a deputy’s report said.

Comegno faces charges of battery on an officer, violating an order for no contact and resisting an officer/obstructing arrest without violence.

Broward County Judge Michael Davis ordered a $150,100 bond Tuesday for Comegno, who is being held for violating pretrial bond conditions.

“If you’re able to make that bond and are somehow given bonds by your other judges, you’ll be under house arrest,” Davis said.