Court deputies suspended for 'horsing around'

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Investigators say two Volusia County sheriff's deputies were suspended, without pay, after they were caught on a courthouse camera horsing around during a court hearing. 

FOX 35 News obtained the video of the incident, which happened October 17, 2017.  In the video, you see Deputy Steven Wells use a highlighter on Deputy Veronica Hadd's arm. She turns her hip with her gun on it toward Wells. Then, you see Deputy Wells wind up a towel and snap it in the face of Deputy Hadd.  About 20 seconds later, you can hear Deputy Hadd deploy her taser toward the ground.

The taser was loud enough, that people in the court proceeding looked over.  A few seconds later, Deputy Hadd can be seen pulling the towel out of Deputy Wells hands and throws it. Deputy Wells walks over and picks it up.

This is happening, all while they were supposed to be monitoring the courtroom, in charge of courtroom security.  

According to the Internal Affairs report, there were five attorneys, two court clerks, other deputies, a prisoner, the judge, and six people in the audience at the time.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood recommended the deputies both be suspended for 16 hours without pay in March.