Ex-deputy will appeal his firing to new board

BROOKSVILLE -- A sheriff's deputy fired last year for using excessive force will appeal his firing to a citizens committee in three weeks.

Former deputy Tony Mazza will appear before the Career Service Appeals Board at 8 a.m. Feb. 5 to ask five citizens whether they agree with Sheriff Richard Nugent's decision to fire him.

Mazza lost his job after he gave a prominent local lawyer a black eye and a fractured rib during a traffic stop Oct. 28.

This will be the first hearing for the board, created after former Sheriff Tom Mylander in 2000 asked the state Legislature to pass a bill that gave employees the ability to appeal disciplinary action, said Lt. Joe Paez.

The board will listen to testimony about Mazza's firing and offer a recommendation to the sheriff, who ultimately will decide whether to change his decision.

Deputies are interested to see how this new process will play out and whether it has any effect on Nugent's decision.

Nugent was not available for comment Tuesday.

The board consists of two citizens chosen by Sheriff's Office employees, two chosen by the sheriff and one selected by the first four members.

Nugent said Mazza acted improperly when he arrested Joseph E. Johnston Jr., a 79-year-old former School Board attorney and the father of former Brooksville Mayor Joe Johnston III.

In October, Mazza, a corrections officer who was hired by the Sheriff's Office in March 2000, was working an off-duty detail for a Cortez Boulevard church, which paid Mazza for directing traffic.

Mazza said Johnston ignored him when asked to stop, so he jumped into his patrol car and stopped Johnston's silver Mercedes. Mazza said he was forced to subdue Johnston.

Johnston and other witnesses said Mazza threw Johnston on the ground and assaulted him.

"This guy's nuts," Johnston told paramedics who arrived at the scene to treat his cuts and scrapes, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Mazza should not have left his traffic assignment to pursue Johnston, Nugent said.

The hearing in February will unfold like a trial and will be open to the public. Both the Sheriff's Office and Mazza will bring attorneys, who will call witnesses. Then the five members will deliberate about the incident and decide on a recommendation.

Mazza's attorney did not return calls for comment, and Mazza could not be reached.

- Jamie Jones covers law enforcement and courts in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to jjones@sptimes.com.

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