Deputy blames faulty brakes for slamming into woman. An investigation shows he was distracted by porn

By Averi Kremposky, Justin Schecker

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    SORRENTO, Florida (WESH) — A Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy resigned from his position after officials say he crashed into a civilian’s car while looking at explicit photographs.

According to an internal investigation report obtained by WESH 2, Deputy Tristan Macomber was traveling southbound on County Road 435 in Sorrento on Nov. 6 when body camera footage showed him slamming into the back of a stopped vehicle ahead.

The impact was strong enough to deploy the steering wheel airbag in Macomber’s department-issued vehicle.

At the scene, the deputy told officials a vehicle ahead of him was stopped for a school bus with flashing lights when the crash occurred.

Macomber said he tried to stop, but the “brakes on his patrol vehicle locked up,” the report reads.

Furthermore, Macomber advised the patrol car’s speedometer had just been calibrated and the anti-lock braking system (ABS) light had been on since.

As part of the internal investigation, officials say they reviewed body camera footage the day after the crash. The official conducting the investigation wrote:

“I was able to observe in the top right of the screen that D/S Macomber was holding what appears to be a cell phone in his right hand.”

The report says the time between picking up the phone and the time of the crash was approximately one minute.

According to the report, Macomber said he was looking at text messages from his colleagues just before the crash.

Using body camera footage, the investigator was able to determine that Macomber was looking at pictures and not text messages. Macomber’s supervisor further confirmed that no pictures had been sent in their text chat during that time, the report continues.

Investigators would later get access to the sector’s group chat, which is where Macomber claimed the photos were.

“The group’s text messages contained no memes or videos,” the report reads.

During a later interview at the Office of Professional Standards, Macomber admitted to falsifying information in his original account, the document reads. Instead of looking at messages, Macomber said he was on his personal phone looking at “inappropriate pictures,” later clarified to be pornographic material.

In the same interview, Macomber did say his ABS light was on at the time of the crash, though he admitted that was “more of a deflection than a genuine reason for the vehicle crash,” the report says, adding that he’s seen this light on in other patrol cars before with no issues.

Macomber admitted to “lying by omission,” telling officials the pictures were the main reason for the crash.

In addition to violating a general order about using handheld electronic devices, investigators found Macomber in violation of general orders regarding departure from truth in giving testimony. Body camera footage shows that the deputy was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the incident, which is another violation.

Macomber resigned from his position while facing termination, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office told WESH 2.

It is unclear if the other driver involved in the crash was injured, but body camera footage shows the person as alert and conscious immediately following the crash. The driver verbally tells the deputy they are OK and follows directions to move their car out of the roadway.

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