Retired cop accused of threatening 75-year-old PCSO volunteer officer over parking citation: Grady Judd

LAKELAND, Fla. - A retired law enforcement officer is facing charges after deputies say he threatened a 75-year-old Polk County Sheriff’s Office volunteer officer while being issued a parking citation in Lakeland.

The backstory:

According to PCSO, on Tuesday a volunteer service officer with PCSO was at a Publix on County Road 540A, when they noticed a vehicle parked in a fire lane with a posted "No Parking" sign.

The vehicle was empty but still running, with its emergency lights on. About 15 minutes later, Marcus Baker, 60, left the store and began loading groceries into the vehicle.

When the volunteer officer approached Baker and asked for his driver’s license, deputies say Baker initially refused before complying.

Baker gave the officer multiple explanations for the illegal parking — including not feeling well, having a sick dog and having diabetes. He repeatedly told the officer he was a former law enforcement officer, having worked as a Polk County deputy sheriff from 1995 to 2005. Baker also worked as a police officer at the Lakeland Police Department and retired in 2021. 

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Baker did not have a state-issued handicap placard, and there were plenty of empty parking spaces in the parking lot, PCSO said.

After being issued a traffic citation, Baker became upset, yelling and threatening to harm the officer, follow him home and track him.

While the volunteer officer contacted deputies for assistance, Baker returned to his vehicle, made a U-turn, and slowly drove past the marked PCSO patrol car in what deputies described as an intimidating manner. Baker then stopped behind the patrol vehicle before making another U-turn and leaving the scene.

A witness told deputies they heard yelling and described Baker as aggressive and confrontational. The witness said she had seen Baker park in the fire lane before on several occasions.

Baker told deputies that he had been in an argument, but he initially denied parking in the fire lane or making threats. He later admitted to parking illegally and said he couldn’t remember what he said during the confrontation.

What they're saying:

"We expect our law enforcement officers and retired law enforcement officers to set a proper example through their lawful and appropriate behavior. He set the wrong example. We set the right example by holding him accountable," PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Baker was arrested at his home. He faces charges of threat to a public servant and assault on a law enforcement officer.

"He [Baker] started at the [Polk County] sheriff’s office, then he went to the Lakeland Police Department, then he retired. Now he’s back at the sheriff’s office – in the county jail, as an inmate. Shame on you Marcus," Judd said.