An Indianapolis firefighter who attacked a man and shoved him to the ground last year will likely return to duty.
Firefighter Thomas Gatto, who was off-duty when the incident occurred in 2021, was charged with felony battery resulting in moderate injury and criminal recklessness, Fox59 reported.
Last week, Gatto pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a suspended six-month jail sentence, non-reporting probation, and $8,500 in court fees.
Witnesses said Gatto made fun of the 69-year-old who riding in a pedal cab with his son, calling him too old to walk,
The victim, a former Indiana state representative, needed stitches to close a cut on his face.
Photos taken by a bystander and testimony from the pedal cab driver were used to identify him as the assailant.
An Instagram story posted after the Colts game by Kasey Gatto, a woman in the group with Thomas, was also submitted to evidence. The photo was captioned: “GO HORSE! Side note-Don’t mess with us!” with a winking emoji and showed Gatto in the same shirt bystanders to the assault saw him wearing.
At the time of Gatto’s initial arrest, IFD immediately suspended him without pay for 30 days. After the suspension, he was placed on administrative assignment where he was not allowed to “respond in any capacity as an IFD firefighter to any location other than the administrative assignment to which he was placed,” the department told reporters.
On Sunday, the department issued a statement: “As we have learned, the legal process regarding his case was resolved on November 10th with no pending felony charge. IFD will review our policies to see if additional discipline is warranted. Pending that review and possible additional discipline, Private Gatto will return to active duty.”
