Taser Employed During Warrant Arrest

Park dispatch received a call regarding an intoxicated man at the grocery store in South Rim Village on February 22nd. The store’s manager reported that the man had fallen down inside the store and that he believed he was attempting to shoplift alcohol. Ranger Joe Florko was on scene within three minutes and confronted 45-year-old Michael Federoff. Federoff’s responses to Florko were incoherent and he failed to follow the ranger’s instructions, turning away from Florko and declining to stop. Federoff then turned, faced Florko, and began to reach for an obvious bulge near his waistline. Florko fired his taser from about 10 feet away, incapacitating Federoff, then held him down until backup arrived. Federoff was taken into custody without further incident. A search revealed that the bulge near his waistline was not a weapon but a beer can. An NCIC check revealed the there was a nationwide felony warrant out against him for a parole violation on a second degree murder charge. Federoff will be charged with being under the influence and interfering with an agency function. He’d been working at the park for two weeks when the incident occurred. Of note in this case was that the taser probes did not penetrate Federoff’s heavy Carhart jacket, but still worked, validating taser training. [