By Susan Jacobson
Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County corrections officer fired last year after a bus brawl has been rehired but demoted.
Michael Dean, formerly a lieutenant, is now a corporal. Under the terms of an agreement with management, he may not apply for another promotion for two years after the date he was originally disciplined — Oct. 10.
He also must forfeit pay and benefits he lost during his dismissal and accept a cut in salary from $25.72 per hour to $21.82 hourly. The rehire took effect Jan. 22 after Dean filed a grievance.
Dean was with a group of jail employees who were riding a charter back from the Guns N’ Hoses charity boxing match in Jacksonville April 13.
The driver described the jail employees as “very drunk and very rude” and said they trashed the bus.
Dean tried to punch corrections Sgt. Donald Casey, and Casey later threatened to stab Dean in the neck, an investigation showed. No one was hurt.
Dean, who has worked for the jail for about 14 years, initiated and escalated the conflict, investigators concluded. But once back at the jail parking lot, Casey got a gun from his car, tucked it into his waistband and confronted Dean, they wrote.
On May 23, Dean placed two anonymous phone calls to Casey to try to intimidate him into not testifying about the incident, investigators found.
Casey also is trying to get his job back, wftv.com is reporting.