A federal lawsuit has been filed against four Osceola County deputies, alleging they violated a man’s Fourth Amendment rights by wrongfully detaining him during a vacation in Florida. The lawsuit, filed in the Middle District of Florida, accuses the deputies of mistakenly attempting to arrest Fred Tantalo, a visitor from upstate New York, while he was staying in Davenport in March 2025.

Incident Details

According to the complaint, the deputies were responding to an ‘attempt to locate’ request from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. However, the address they were given did not exist, leading them to mistakenly believe it was a different address. Tantalo, who was staying on the fourth floor of a vacation rental, was approached by the deputies who insisted he open the door to speak with them.

Body-camera footage shows that once Tantalo opened the door, deputies forcibly handcuffed him and pinned him to the ground. Tantalo described the incident as happening very quickly, resulting in physical injuries, including a torn rotator cuff that required surgery, and psychological trauma.

Response and Legal Action

After realizing their mistake, the deputies released Tantalo and apologized. Captain Kim Montes of the sheriff’s office stated that an internal affairs investigation was conducted, and two deputies were disciplined with 32-hour suspensions and retraining. The investigation noted significant differences between Tantalo and the actual suspect, including a 25-year age gap and a 70-pound weight difference.

The lawsuit, filed by Tantalo’s attorney James Slater, also names two deputies who were exonerated by the internal investigation. Slater argues that they failed in their duty to intervene and stop the unlawful detention. Tantalo is seeking monetary damages and a jury trial, expressing his reluctance to return to Central Florida for vacations in the future.

Original reporting: WESH Orlando — read the source article.