OVIEDO, Fla. – New body camera footage released Thursday shows the moment neighbors reported a threat made by the Oviedo mayor to police.
Oviedo police said they were called to Suncrest Court around 8:45 p.m. Monday after two residents said their neighbor, Mayor Dominic Persampiere, had threatened to shoot them.
[WARNING: Video posted below contains graphic language]
“Your wonderful mayor just threatened to kill my husband and I,” Jennifer Bain said in the video.
Bain told police her daughter recorded the threat on her cellphone.
Bain showed the officer a video of Persampiere at their doorstep saying, "You ever talk to my kid like that again, I'll get my gun and I'll come over there and I'll (expletive) kill you. Take my picture, here I am, record this. She lost her damn cat. Go ahead, put it on Facebook. You're both (expletive) (expletives)."
Persampiere explained after the incident that his daughter had been using her flashlight on her phone to walk around the neighborhood and find her cat, but the neighbors said they thought she was trying to sneak pictures of a shed they had recently put in their yard, since Persampiere's wife is the president of the neighborhood homeowners association and the shed could be considered a violation.
Bain told officers she asked Persampiere's daughter to stop taking pictures and stay off her property, and that she'd call the cops if she didn't.
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Persampiere said that when he was made aware of what they said to his daughter, he went to her defense and acted like any parent would.
"When my daughter was verbally assaulted while looking for her lost cat and then threatened with a K9-trained German sherpherd, I went into 'protective dad' mode," Persampiere said in a written statement. "For many years, this family has antagonized and threatened my wife in her role as HOA president. I will not accept them doing the same to my daughter."
In the body camera video released by the Oviedo Police Department, Bain said Persampiere's family has been harassing hers since they moved in.
Bain said the incident left her shaking because she feared Persampiere had a gun and would come shoot them.
The officer who investigated the incident did not think charges were appropriate in this case because Persampiere was not armed and the incident appeared to be part of an ongoing dispute between neighbors.
Persampiere said he admits he "could have chosen his words better."
"Even though I wear a certain title, I'm a human being just like everybody else," Persampiere said.
An additional report shows Bain went to the Oviedo Police Department Wednesday to show police a post on Persampiere's Facebook that she felt was harassing.
According to the report, the mayor had posted screenshots of Bain's Facebook page that showed her dog being trained by a professional, in addition to a photo of a sign in Bain's yard that warns others of the dog. In the posts, Persampiere claimed his daughter was threatened by Bain's dog.
Bain said the dog is a family pet and that she's not sure how Persampiere was able to see the posts, since Bain has him blocked on Facebook, according to the report.
Bain believes the mayor should be held accountable, and to higher standards.