A former Riviera Beach police officer will serve probation instead of jail time after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon charges stemming from an off-duty incident in 2023.
Russell Byrd was sentenced to one year of probation and signed a commitment never to serve in law enforcement again. The former police sergeant was charged two years ago after police say he struck a man in the head with his service pistol during a confrontation over a suspected package theft.
WATCH: Former officer will serve probation instead of jail time
Former Riviera Beach police officer avoids jail time in assault case
The incident occurred in October 2023, when Byrd was off-duty and believed a neighbor’s package had been stolen. He followed a car he suspected of taking the package, leading to a confrontation in a hotel parking lot where police say Byrd struck Andrew Patterson in the side of the head with his police-issued pistol…