ORLANDO, Fla. -- WFTV obtained an email Tuesday suggesting an Orlando police officer, who hurled an 84-year-old man to the ground and broke his neck, should be tested for steroids.
The emailwas written by the lawyer representing Dan Daley, Mark NeJame. NeJame is asking the officer who was involved in the incident to take a drug test. Daley remains in serious condition and is slowly starting to recover after Officer Travis Lamont broke his neck.
Last month, Officer Lamont responded to a call in the Lake Ivanhoe area. Daly and a tow truck driver got into an argument about his car being towed. Lamont said Daley was drunk and belligerent. He said he had to use force.
Now, NeJame is demanding a drug test.
"You just don't go from being calm to breaking someone's neck," NeJame said.
NeJame sent an email to the department stating Daley's injuries were caused by unjustifiable force and violence and brought up steroid use.
He wrote: "Officer Lamont's erratic, sporadic and aggressive behavior strongly suggests that he may have been under the influence or affected by the use of steroids."
Orlando Police Chief Val Demings responded to NeJame's letter, stating that demanding a blood or urine test from Officer Lamont would violate his rights and these were unsubstantiated claims.
"Other than your bare assertion of erratic behavior, there is no record, fact or evidence to support your claim that the officer was under the influence of steroids," Demings wrote in response to NeJame.
NeJame insists he is not accusing the officer of taking steroids; he just wants the testing done.
The Orlando Police Department said it did not want to comment on the case because of pending litigation.
