MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A former Florida Department of Corrections officer has been formally charged with one count of battery on a detainee and one count of failure to report use of force, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Reinaldo Palenzuela, 28, resigned from the Department of Corrections on July 19, 2019, after working for the department for nearly three years.
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According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Palenzuela and another officer were moving the victim, Travis Whyte, into a dormitory at the Everglades Correctional Institution when he was told to stand in the corner of the sally port with his face in the corner.
Prosecutors said Whyte complied and Palenzuela slapped the victim in the back of the head with such force that it could be heard on surveillance video taken from the adjoining room.
Prosecutors said Palenzuela never reported the use of force against Whyte as required by Florida law.
“There can never be an excuse for an officer abusing his authority,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “I believe that there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges filed today. I wish to applaud Department of Corrections Inspector General Lester Fernandez and Inspector Ryan Nicholas for the fine work done on this case.”