Daniel Daley Jr., 84, of Orlando, Florida, was in critical condition at a local hospital with a broken neck following a recent confrontation with a police officer. Two witnesses say Officer Travis Lamont, 26, overreacted when Daley, a World War II veteran who was drunk and upset over his car being towed, touched Lamont on the shoulder. Lamont reportedly flipped Daley over his shoulder and threw him to the ground, breaking a vertebra in his neck.

 

Police have defended Lamont. They claim the elderly man slapped Lamont’s shoulder, grabbed him around the neck and tried to punch him, forcing Lamont to take him to the ground.

 

Since Lamont joined the Orlando police force in December 2008, he has twice damaged his patrol car and once was reprimanded for wrongly arresting a man.

 

Daley was operated on Monday night and is expected to make a full recovery.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

911 Call: Orlando Police Action 'Over the Top,' Witness to Altercation Said (by Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel)

Accounts Diverge on Arrest of Senior Daniel Daley Suffered a Broken Neck after a Confrontation with an Orlando Police Officer This Weekend. (by Susan Jacobson and Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel)

WWII Vet's Neck Broken in Confrontation with Orlando Cop, Son Says; 84-Year-Old 'Might Die' (by Arelis Hernandez, Orlando Sentinel)

Oklahoma Police Taser Bedridden 86-Year-Old Woman (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)