Alachua Police used a Taser on a Fort Lauderdale man Sunday after police said he got in an argument with his roommate over a Super Bowl bet.
Officers arrested 49-year-old Thomas Steven Pindell on charges of battery and resisting without violence, according to an arrest report.
At about 10:30 p.m., Pindell got into an argument with his roommate at the Quality Inn, located at 15960 NW U.S. Highway 441. His roommate locked him out of their hotel room, according to the report.
Pindell got the manager, and on their way back to the room, his roommate walked around the corner and said “You didn’t have to hit me,” according to the report. Pindell then attacked him and started punching him in the face.
Police arrived and saw Pindell hit his roommate in the mouth, according to the report. An officer told Pindell to put his hands behind his back. When he resisted, another officer put a Taser to his ribcage and warned him he would use it.
Pindell told the officers they wouldn’t use the Taser and that he would not put his hands behind his back, at which point the officer used the Taser.
Pindell told officers he punched his roommate in self defense because his roommate threatened to use a pocket knife. The manager said no one mentioned a knife, and the officers did not find one, according to the report.
Officers booked Pindell into the Alachua County Jail at about 11:30 p.m., where he remains as of press time in lieu of a $30,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/4/2014 under the headline "Police tase, arrest in Super Bowl bet fight"]
