A Chicago police officer has been reassigned to desk duty after his arrest over the weekend in Polk County, Florida, in which he allegedly tussled with a security guard, used a racial slur, and got on the wrong side of a colorful Southern sheriff.
Dwayne Ocasio, 32, bonded out of jail on Saturday and returned to Chicago. News apparently traveled fast, as Ocasio arrived back in the Windy City to find he was stripped of his police powers. The former west side patrol officer has been reassigned to the Chicago police’s Alternate Response Section, which handles non-emergency calls.
Ocasio reacted angrily when the security guard asked him to move a golf cart that was blocking the road. Refusing to comply, Ocasio instead tried to bigfoot the guard, falsely identifying himself as a Miami police officer. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd relayed the rest of the story in a video statement recorded Monday.
“You know what this guy did?” Judd said. “He cussed the security guard, used a racial slur – that’s right – and then pushed the security guard.”
Following the dust-up, Ocasio, 32, returned to his hotel room. Deputies would track him there soon after, accompanied by the guard.
Judd said they knocked for 15 minutes before a woman finally appeared. When they asked to speak to Ocasio, she shut the door.
“After about 10 minutes of knocking on the door and saying ‘Polk County Sheriff’s Office,’ this guy from inside said, ‘who the blank is the Polk County Sheriff’s Office?'” Judd said. “He said, ‘I don’t give a blank what the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, or who the sheriff’s office is.'”
When Ocasio finally opened the door, the guard identified him as his attacker. Deputies then informed Ocasio that he was under arrest. He was transported to the Polk County Jail and charged with battery, according to jail records. Later that day, he posted bond and was released.
“Now he knows who the Polk County Sheriff’s Office is,” said Judd, who clearly had no interest in giving cover to his fellow lawman.
“I bet the people of Chicago are not happy with him using a racial slur and battering somebody and giving our deputies a hard time,” said the sheriff.
Ocasio’s alleged boorish behavior, coupled with his sense of entitlement, earned him little support online.
“Chicago cop Dwayne Ocasio learned the hard way: Florida sheriffs don’t play,” remarked one commenter, writing on X. “Unlike Illinois, this ain’t a blue state free-for-all.”
