Sanford cops resign, another suspended over botched response to knife attack at gas station

Yahoo

22-05-2025

Two Sanford police officers resigned and another was suspended after video surfaced showing officers hesitating to rescue a gas station employee held by a knife-wielding man in a restroom, the police chief announced Thursday.
Body-worn camera videos that captured circumstances of the June 1, 2024, incident at RaceTrac on South Orlando Drive alarmed Chief Cecil Smith, who opened an internal investigation after footage was posted March 2 on YouTube by a vlogger.
The video showed officers Dominick Delorbe and Geovanni Castro waiting several minutes for backup outside a hallway leading to the restroom while a female employee trapped inside begged for her life. Two other officers later joined them and they then moved to rescue the woman. She was found clutching the blade of the box cutter held by Randal Lawton, who surrendered once police entered the restroom with guns drawn.
Lawton, 63, awaits trial on charges of aggravated battery and kidnapping and remains in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on a $50,500 bond.
Speaking to reporters Thursday during a news conference, Smith said Delorbe, the veteran officer at the scene, issued a letter of resignation before he could be fired for failing to respond to an active assailant. Castro, a probationary employee at the time, was issued a 60-hour unpaid suspension for the same policy violation because the investigation revealed Delorbe 'failed to provide the additional information needed' for him to act, Smith said.
A third officer, Francisco De La Rosa, seen in video footage joking about Lawton's mental state, resigned before the internal investigation. Smith said had De La Rosa gone through the investigative process he likely would have received a written reprimand.
Meanwhile, two supervisors who spoke with the officers after the incident, Miguel Francis and Chafic Nsouli, were disciplined with a 'letter of counseling' for not informing higher-ups, including the chief, of what took place. Smith said the supervisors initially were cleared by department investigators but he overturned that decision because he felt they should be 'held at a higher responsibility than the officers.'
'This was a mistake, and I think one of the most important parts about any leadership is that we accept the fact that there was a problem,' Smith said. 'We've seen that there was an issue and we've effectively put things into place to make sure that those issues don't happen again.'
News outlets were first made aware of the incident by a post from the account of EWU Bodycam, which describes itself as a news agency that publicizes body camera videos from law enforcement nationwide. Smith said at the time he didn't know of the incident until clips were posted.
'You don't want me to tell you what I said,' Smith said of his response to the YouTube video. 'It wasn't very good. It upset me.'
The March post from EWU Bodycam showed the officers hesitating as sounds could be heard of the woman screaming. However on Thursday, Smith clarified that audio of the 911 call had been dubbed over the body camera footage to create that effect. In fact, Smith said the officers did not hear that call at the time.
But the woman — whose name the Orlando Sentinel has not published because she's a victim of a crime — can be heard in the original body cam footage begging Lawton to free her as officers stood by wondering what to do next.
The original affidavit describing Lawton's arrest, filed long before the video surfaced online, never mentioned the lack of response by Delorbe and Castro to the ongoing attack. Instead, it suggested officers went in to rescue the woman when they heard her cry for help.
That's contrary to what was shown on video — with one officer describing the situation as a possible 'setup.'
'I hope he ain't killing her in there,' a customer said as he watched the officers. Rather than go in, one officer shouted: 'Sir, can you come out with your hands up?'
In the aftermath of Lawton's arrest, Delorbe and Castro spoke to other officers at the scene and were told they didn't need to wait for backup to apprehend him. Indeed, department policy requires officers take 'immediate action' based on available information.
Since the video's release, Smith's officers are redoing active assailant training, the second phase of which is set to begin in June.
He added that his department is working to ensure supervisors review body camera videos 'more often, more accurately and more in detail' while requiring similar incidents be reported to internal affairs or himself personally.
'There will be no more hesitations,' Smith said.