Sandra Zikry and her family in front of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Count in Downtown Tampa.
A Hillsborough County Circuit Court judge exonerated Sandra Zikry on Monday of all three criminal charges: harassing a first responder, child abuse and misuse of a wireless 9-1-1 system.
She was arrested at the scene of her brother’s traffic stop by Deputy Alex Almaguer of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) in July 2025. The deputy claimed she broke Halo law, a verbal command that instructs civilians to stay 25 feet away from first responders.
After reviewing three separate body-cam footage, the judge determined that they “…never heard any 25-foot warning. Not one time,” according to a press release.
Zikry is disabled and was pregnant at the time of the arrest. Charges against her husband, who tried to inform the deputy of his wife’s conditions, are still pending but are likely to be dismissed, according to Zikry.
“My charges have been dismissed because I haven’t broken any laws, and the courts have acknowledged citizens’ rights to observation on public and/or private property,” Zikry said during her press rally. “Citizens have the right to contest and peacefully protest against unlawful arrest and a right to resist unlawful excessive force.”
Zikry said the excessive force Deputy Almaguer used on herself, her husband and brother during the traffic stop is against HCSO policy and procedures.
“There needs to be some accountability and proper training when it comes to knowledge and respecting people’s rights,” she said.
Zikry is not the only Florida resident to have complained about the deputy. Reverend Carl Soto, a disabled civil rights activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Restoration Inc., was pulled over by Deputy Almaguer in 2024 over a decorative license plate.
Sandra Zikry and her husband next to Reverend Carl Soto.
During Soto’s traffic stop, according to court briefings, Deputy Almaguer deployed a taser to Soto’s face, slammed him on the ground and arrested him with a knee placed on his back for “refusing to provide identification.”
Soto said he was not given a chance to comply and informed the deputy he had undergone spinal surgery 16 days prior, suffering permanent injuries from the arrest.
“There [are] blunt acts of constitutional violations that occurred during my traffic stop,” Soto said. “There is a title II section of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that explicitly stipulates that officers must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled civilians when administering lawful orders, to ensure that the civilian can safely follow the command.”
Soto’s federal lawsuit against the sheriff’s office is still pending.
Together, Soto and Zikry have sent a formal notice to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and criminally prosecute Deputy Almaguer and investigate the “pattern or practice” of HCSO process of investigation.
The local DOJ office has made a request to meet about the case, according to Soto.