Winter Springs Officer Resigns and Chief Apologizes After Driver Cleared by Tesla Footage

A Winter Springs police officer who held a motorist at gunpoint and handcuffed him in his own driveway has resigned, and the department's chief has apologized to the man, following a FOX 35 Orlando investigation.

Kevin Finley was accused of fleeing from police after an attempted traffic stop. He was acquitted after showing a judge footage recorded by his Tesla, which indicated he never saw the officer trying to pull him over. The case took nearly two years to resolve.

Finley said he was driving home after dropping his children at school when he came upon a vehicle stopped in a median. Thinking it was disabled or making a U-turn, he drove past it. He said he never realized police were behind him. The Tesla video showed the unmarked patrol car's emergency lights were visible only briefly before curves in the road and nearby buildings blocked them from view.

The officer saw it differently. When Finley got home, he said he heard sirens outside, reopened his garage door and found officers with their guns drawn. "This is like, a simple — argumentatively a traffic violation. And now I have a gun in my face and I'm arrested in my driveway and my neighbors are watching," he said. He told officers repeatedly that he had not meant to flee because he had not seen any lights or heard a siren.

Finley said the charges were serious. "Fleeing the police is a felony. Criminal reckless driving is a misdemeanor, but up to 90 days in jail," he said. After reviewing the video, the judge acquitted him before the case reached a jury.

Chief Matthew Tracht confirmed to FOX 35 News that the officer has resigned, before an internal investigation into his actions was concluded. Finley said the chief called him to share that news and to apologize, but he is unsure how sincere the apology is. "If it was sincere, this would have happened two years ago," he told FOX 35 reporter Marie Edinger, adding that he had been dragged through the criminal justice system and had his name and reputation damaged before getting any sense of relief.

In a written statement, Tracht said the department remains committed to serving residents with professionalism, fairness, transparency and respect. He said the officer's conduct "did not meet the standards and expectations I have for the officers who serve this department and our community." He added that the situation could have been handled differently and that there are lessons to be learned, and said he takes seriously his responsibility to hold officers accountable and to keep evaluating the department's actions and practices.

Finley said he doubts the department would have acted as it did without FOX 35's reporting, and thanked the station for giving people a voice. He said several people have contacted him since the story aired and was shared on X by Elon Musk.

Finley has hired an attorney and plans to sue for damages, seeking compensation for mental anguish and for the legal bills he ran up fighting a case he believes should never have been brought. "I stared down the barrel of his gun for no reason. I was put on my knees in my driveway while my neighbors were watching," he said. "You can't fix that with an apology."