A Winter Springs officer resigned after Kevin Finley's Tesla camera video led a judge to acquit him in a 2024 traffic arrest at gunpoint.

The video did what the paperwork could not. The police report said Finley's car lost traction and fishtailed; the Tesla footage, WESH 2 reported, showed it did not. Finley told WESH 2 he offered that video the day after his arrest. The chief has now apologized. A resignation ends the internal case, but Finley's planned lawsuit means the question of what the department knew, and when, is not finished.

A Winter Springs, Florida, police officer who held a driver at gunpoint in his own driveway in 2024 and accused him of fleeing has resigned, after the driver's Tesla camera footage led a judge to acquit him, WESH 2 and FOX 35 Orlando reported. Winter Springs Police Chief Matthew Tracht announced Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, that Officer Erik Schwartz is no longer employed by the city, WESH 2 reported. Tracht told FOX 35 Orlando that Schwartz resigned before an internal investigation into his actions was finished.

Kevin Finley told WESH 2 he was driving home after dropping his children off at daycare when Schwartz tried to stop him for driving through an intersection at high speed. Finley said he never saw the lights or heard the siren. FOX 35 Orlando reported the Tesla footage showed only a brief moment when the unmarked patrol car's emergency lights were visible before curves in the road and buildings blocked the view. When Finley got home, he said, officers confronted him with guns drawn. WESH 2 reported Schwartz's body camera recorded him telling Finley to "turn around, get on your knees" before handcuffing him for 33 minutes.

WESH 2 reported Schwartz told Finley on the body-camera video that he would not go to jail that day but would get a criminal citation for reckless driving, and that Finley was never charged with felony fleeing and eluding. FOX 35 Orlando described the case as a fleeing charge. Schwartz wrote in his report that Finley "lost traction and fish-tailed," WESH 2 reported, and the Tesla video showed that was not the case. Finley told WESH 2 he went to the police department the next day and offered the video. When the case went to trial in July, a Seminole County judge acquitted him before the case went to the jury, both stations reported. WESH 2 reported Schwartz quit amid an internal investigation opened after Finley filed a complaint at the end of his criminal case.

"Based on the circumstances surrounding this matter, the conduct did not meet the standards and expectations I have for the officers who serve this department and our community," Tracht said in a statement reported by WESH 2 and FOX 35 Orlando. "There is no doubt the situation could have been handled differently, and there are lessons to be learned from how it was addressed." Finley told both stations the chief called him to apologize. "It was two years too late," he told WESH 2. He told FOX 35 Orlando, "I stared down the barrel of his gun for no reason. You can't fix that with an apology." FOX 35 Orlando reported Finley has retained an attorney and plans to file a civil lawsuit. The story drew wide attention on X after it was shared by Elon Musk, FOX 35 Orlando reported.

Schwartz has not been charged with any crime, and the stations did not report a response from him. Finley's acquittal means the state did not prove the charge against him. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.