ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orange County deputy arrested last year on allegations of street racing was found not guilty of reckless driving while the state dropped another charge against him.
Deputy Brian Espinal was taken into custody in August 2023 by St. Cloud police on charges of reckless driving and racing on the highway.
A jury on Tuesday found him not guilty of reckless driving. The state dropped the racing charge on Wednesday.
Espinal’s has been working in an administrative capacity with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office since his arrest. Sheriff’s officials said Friday that the department’s internal investigation will now commence.
The case began when, according to a charging affidavit, a St. Cloud officer was patrolling the area of 13th Street and Crawford Avenue and saw two motorcycles speed by him. The officer said he also saw the two motorcycle riders splitting lanes and cutting off other drivers on the road, causing them to break and swerve to avoid crashing.
[YOU CAN VIEW THE FULL BODY-CAMERA VIDEO IN THE MEDIA PLAYER BELOW]
The officer said he put on his lights and one biker, Espinal, pulled over while the other sped off.
Body-camera video of the arrest shows the interaction between Espinal and several St. Cloud officers. Espinal is seen in the video standing next to his motorcycle with a woman, who was his passenger.
In the video, the arresting officer shows Espinal’s ID to multiple officers, each reacting with surprise.
“Really?!” one officer can be heard saying in the video.
The ID prompts the officers to ask Espinal, “How many years you got on (the job)?”
“Three,” Espinal responded in the video.
The release from the sheriff’s office shows Espinal was hired by the sheriff’s office in September 2019 and worked in the Uniform Patrol Division.
In the video, the arresting officer said he estimated Espinal and another motorcycle rider were going roughly 80 to 90 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Espinal nodded his head and did not deny speeding, but said he did not know how fast he was going.
The officers ask multiple times in the video if Espinal knows the other motorcycle rider, who they believe he was racing.
“I don’t know him, honestly,” Espinal can be heard saying in the video.
The deputy explained in the video that the two met at a stoplight and admired each other’s bikes. He then denied racing the rider, claiming they just happened to be going in the same direction.
Espinal said he was just showing off for his date.
“I wanted to impress her, and I wanted to show off the new bike,” the deputy can be heard saying in the video.
After the bike is moved off the road, Espinal is placed in handcuffs and told he is being arrested for street racing.
“I wasn’t racing,” Espinal is heard saying multiple times on the video.