DULAC, La. -- Two Terrebonne Parish deputies were terminated from the Sheriff's Office after video circulated online showing one of them challenging a handcuffed suspect to a fight.
According to Sheriff Jerry Larpenter, Joseph Paul Cehan III and Charls David Cook Jr. were both fired for "Conduct unbecoming of a Police Officer."
The video shows Cehan and Cook threatening 18-year-old Christopher Verdin Jr., a handcuffed suspect.
"You want me to take this f*** badge off and handcuffs off and see what the f*** you really going to do?" one of the deputies says in the video. "You ain't s*** punk!"
According to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, the incident started when deputies were called to 7077 Grand Caillou Road after Verdin's mother said her son was on crystal meth and that she feared for her life.
"She said that he hit their dog in the head with a crescent wrench," the statement from TPSO reads. "She said that Verdin also pulled a .45 caliber handgun from his waist band and fired two shots at the dog that was very close to her. The mother locked herself inside of the residence and said that Verdin left walking."
Deputies first encountered Verdin about one-quarter of a mile away from his home. Police say they found the .45 caliber handgun described by his mother tucked in Verdin's waistband along with an extended magazine.
Deputies handcuffed Verdin and took him back to his home, according to the Sheriff's Office. There, police say Verdin started kicking the patrol car door and spitting at officers, so deputies ordered him out of the car, but he refused.
That's when someone started recording.
"A citizen at the scene used his cell phone to video record this incident that only captures a portion of the incident," a statement from TPSO's reads. "The deputy choice of words was not very professional and does not reflect the integrity of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office."
A third deputy, a rookie, was given a letter of reprimand, according to Larpenter.
Christopher Lee Verdin Jr. was arrested for illegal use of a weapon, illegal carrying of a weapon and aggravated cruelty to animals. He remains in the Terrebonne Parish jail on a $75,000 bond.