Deputy Suspended For Using Taekwondo Kicks On Inmate
DENVER (CBS4) - Another Denver deputy misbehaving has been caught on camera. The deputy has been suspended for using martial arts moves on an inmate.
The incident happened in the spring but the video wasn't made public until Wednesday.
Deputy Roberto Roena is in the midst of a 90-day suspension, not only for his behavior on the video, but also for lying about it in a follow-up report.
The video shows Roena demonstrating his taekwondo kicks and moves inside the Downtown Detention Center and at one point it turns in to a scuffle with inmate John Cardenas.
Roena is a taekwondo instructor.
A disciplinary letter outlining the incident says the inmate began to taunt the deputy after seeing his taekwondo. That's when the Roena turns his attention to the inmate and instigates the fight. As things escalate other deputies rush in to separate the two men.
According to the disciplinary letter, Cardenas told the deputy, "That's not a kick."
Initially Roena reported that the inmate became physical first. Later review of the video by the Internal Affairs Bureau revealed that Roena was in fact the person who started the altercation.
His suspension will be complete by early December.
