MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy was fired on Thursday after a reported off-duty attack on a gas station owner that was caught on surveillance video.
Deputy Jordan Perri’s employment with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was terminated Thursday, Sheriff David Charles confirmed.
“This does not reflect the values and standards of our agency which we demand of our employees,” Charles said.
Perri was first suspended on Sunday night when it was reported that he attacked the owner of the Marathon gas station at 207 East Main Street in Mount Sterling.
The owner of the shop, Ifran Saeed, said he was choked and beaten up by the off-duty deputy over a dispute about payment for clearing the gas station’s parking lot of snow.
Surveillance video shows a man, identified by Saeed as Perri, going around the gas station’s counter and putting his hands around Saeed’s neck. Other surveillance videos at the store show the man pulling Saeed out of the store, taking him to the ground, and pulling Saeed’s arms behind his back.
Saeed said he couldn’t sleep for several days after the incident and continues to have pain in his back and shoulder. When he spoke with LEX 18 by phone on Thursday, he said he was in the hospital waiting on the results of X-rays to identify the cause of the ongoing pain.
"I can't breathe, I can't swallow my food, my back hurts, my shoulder hurts, he did me wrong,” Saeed said Thursday. “I'm scared of the police now."
Saeed said that last Thursday he’d agreed to pay Perri to clear the snow from the gas station’s parking lot. On Sunday, Perri and another man returned to the gas station asking to be paid.
Saeed told Perri that the parking lot hadn’t been cleared and suggested they check the station’s surveillance cameras to see if the work had been done. At that point Perri got angry, came around the counter, and choked Saeed, Saeed said.
The video shows the man choking Saeed before forcing him out of the store, where the altercation continued.
Kentucky State Police confirmed there is an investigation underway, but could not give details Thursday evening.
Saeed’s nephew, Shahid Jabbar, said that he felt if the roles had been reversed, his uncle would have been arrested on the spot. Jabbar spoke with LEX 18 by phone as he filled in at his uncle’s station while he was at the hospital.
"Even though he's a deputy and off duty, he should always be in that mindset,” Jabbar said of Perri. “He's a police officer and he should act like one."
Jabbar said he thinks it’s a good thing that Perri is no longer with the sheriff’s office, but feels police need more training.
"He's the one who responds to crimes,” Jabbar said. “And if he's doing that it sets a bad example for everyone else."
Charles, the Montgomery County sheriff, said that this incident will be a teaching moment.
"I apologized to the gentleman that night for this occurring,” Charles said. “This does not reflect what we demand of our employees. This is not typical of our agency. We strive to be the utmost in professionalism.”
Charles said this type of behavior isn’t tolerated by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
“I hope and pray this does not reflect on other officers who are striving daily to give the utmost service to our community," Charles said.
