A US police sergeant who ordered an officer to push a teenager off a roof would have been sacked had he not already quit, his department has said.

Shocking bodycam footage has been released of the incident in Kissimmee, Florida, which happened as officers chased an 18-year-old man accused of taking his girlfriend's car without permission.

The video shows officers telling the suspect to "come down" from a roof, before one says: "You're going to get Tased and you're going to fall. So, you better jump."

Image: Kissimmee Police Department launched an internal investigation into the incident

The sergeant on the ground then tells the officer on the roof: "Push him off the roof. Push him off. Just push him off. Push him off."

The officer then shoves the teenager, who falls about nine feet to the ground before he is then hit with a police Taser.


The police officers involved have been named in reports as Sgt Anthony Amada and officer Plenio Massiah.

Kissimmee Police Department launched an internal investigation and concluded the incident should never have happened, Florida TV network WFTV reported.

An internal affairs report ruled the officers "wrongfully put the man in danger" and the suspect - who has not been named - could have been seriously hurt.

Kissimmee Police chief Jeff O'Dell said Mr Massiah's decision to push the suspect off the roof "could have resulted in significant injury".

Mr Amada resigned from the department in June, having been disciplined for a separate case when the internal investigation started, according to WFTV.

The internal affairs report said he would have been fired over the incident because his order to push the man off the roof was "not indicative of a supervisor with 14 years of experience".

Mr Massiah had worked for the Daytona Beach Police Department before working in Kissimmee and records showed this is the first time he has been disciplined, according to WFTV.

According to the internal affairs report, Mr Massiah said he feared that a struggle between him and the suspect on the roof could have led to them both falling off.

The officer was suspended for eight hours over the incident, with the police department ruling that "members shall use only the degree of force necessary to affect lawful objectives".