Anthony Deleo

Anthony Deleo faces charges for an aggravated battery incident that allegedly happened during a 2019 traffic stop. Deleo is accused of brutally beating 30-year-old Christopher Butler, an unarmed naked man with a baton. Deleo was a St. Johns County sheriff's deputy assisting a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper with a traffic stop on a vehicle for failure to yield. Deleo approached the vehicle and tried to pull Butler from the car. once Butler was out of the car, several officers started yelling at him to get on the ground, but he instead stood up, facing away from the officers 'in a non-threatening manner.' Deleo then struck Butler with his baton and the trooper shocked him with a Taser while Butler walked away from the officers. Video shows Deleo hitting Butler 19 times with his baton and kicked him in the head and face for the next three minutes and 44 seconds. At the time, Butler was naked and unarmed. Video shows Deleo hitting Butler 19 times with his baton and kicked him in the head and face for the next three minutes and 44 seconds, the warrant says. Deleo made little to no effort to handcuff Butler, while video shows Butler offering little to no resistance while seated 'in a non-threatening manner.' Butler has limited use of his arm from the incident.