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Resident alleges county employee used strangulation; commissioners advise pursuing law enforcement channels
Summary
A Wakulla County resident told commissioners he believes an individual named Foote strangled another person and urged the county to dismiss him; commissioners said the appropriate venues are the Sheriff's Office, the State Attorney and FDLE and encouraged the resident to file complaints with those agencies.
Bill Cataline addressed the board during citizens to be heard and alleged that a person he identified as Foote "admit[ted] to choking" Randall Dick and that the conduct amounted to strangulation. Cataline cited Florida Statute 784.041 and told commissioners he believed the conduct met county standards for immediate dismissal, saying "if Foote violated four of seven rules in the county procedures manual" dismissal should follow.
Cataline also disputed the handling and timing of photos in the case, saying a deputy'generated report showed inconsistencies and that he believed images had been altered. "I would have said 43 minutes and 41 seconds, not 1 hour," he said, and he asserted the lines on one photo were not his doing.
A commissioner responded that the board does not have law‑enforcement authority and that the resident should pursue the Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office; the commissioner suggested filing a complaint with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement if the resident believes local investigations were inadequate. "The people you need to convince of that is the Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office," the commissioner said.
Board members told Cataline the allegations as presented were matters for criminal investigators and prosecutors and that the commission itself could not determine a criminal finding. Cataline said he had already contacted local authorities and the State Attorney; the exchange ended with the board noting the procedural limits on county action and inviting him to return to future meetings if he wished to speak again.
The board did not take formal personnel action at the meeting.
