tonight the blatant lies that he is accused of telling after firing shots at an unarmed man. good evening and thank you for joining us. >> that deputy has bonded out of jail and facing attempted manslaughter charges and his badge and gun taken away. >> abc action news reporter clifton french joins us live right now with what the sheriff has to say about how all of this unfolded. clifton. >> reporter: yeah. the sheriff saying his deputy was just flat outlying. he says this statement from another deputy and this dash cam video shows the entire truth. the recording of these gunshots is just a piece of the evidence piled up against now former deputy timothy verdin. he shot the man while handcuffed in the back of the cruiser last month.

the video and audio showing a completely different scenario. >> holmes was being mouthy. that's it. >> reporter: the sheriff walked through the entire investigation, showing pictures of the scene and a gun holster, proving his story was a lie. >> he has to have taken his hands, come around like this, been able to -- while handcuffed, do this, do this, do this and then get the gun out. didn't happen. >> reporter: all while being three and a half times the legal blood alcohol limb. >> reporter: on top of that, another deputy was on the scene who says that holmes never resisted. he turned away for only two seconds when the shots were fired. not enough time for a struggle, which the audio didn't capture anyway. >> this is all inconsistent with deputy virden's version of the events. >> reporter: tonight the sheriff is defending his own actions as well. on the morning of the incident he defended the shooting saying that the deputy was in fear of

the public information that he had at the time. >> this is a 180 but it is a 180 because the man lied. and, you know, i get it. and i hear you. and that's -- but that's what happened. >> reporter: and the sheriff also said today even if virden's story was true, it still did not justify him shooting an unarmed man who was in handcuffs. as for the deputy, like you said, he turned himself in earlier today. he has bonded out of jail. the sheriff telling us just a couple of hours ago that that deputy has been fired. reporting live in pinellas county, clifton french, abc action news. >> thank you, clifton. we have been working all afternoon to get reaction from both tompkins and deputy virden. >> what he saying tonight. >> reporter: not a whole lot. we spoke to a family member.

been home for several weeks from the hospital recovering. we took a look at his facebook page. has been active on social media while in the hospital telling his friends about the progress. he was stoked because he was being released. they were watching the press release or the press conference and they have also retained an attorney. one piece of news that might be comforting for the family is that the sheriff says that he plans to help tompkins' recovery. >> doing what is right is of paramount importance. tompkins has no health insurance as i understand it he can sue deputy virden and would most likely not recover the expenses. i'm communicating with dylan's lawyer and has offered to pay the expenses because i think it's the right thing to do under the circumstances. >> reporter: and this afternoon we did stop by deputy virden's saint pete home. a woman answered the door

had no comment. we are trying to work on who -- figuring out who that attorney is who is representing tompkins and we will let you know when we find out. for now we are live in gulf port, jake peterson, abc action news. >> gasparilla fever is in the air. >> it's just a few hours away and police are working hard to get the streets clear of cars and ready for the floats. >> carson chambers has things that you need to know before you go down there. carson. >> reporter: hey, guys. we are live at bayshore, the heart of the parade route. on down towards the way to platt street. that's where the police have their command center. they will be watching folks along the parade during the parade looking for problems. >> this is changing times. with the -- the era of terrorism now, you know, you

boston, new york, d.c. >> reporter: tampa's gasparilla parade is a training ground for police chiefs all over the country. >> i'm looking at how the crowd kind of reacts and how the police department is really managing that crowd. >> reporter: chief james smith is from oklahoma. but law enforcement counter parts from atlanta, north miami and memphis will fold into the crowd to learn from tampa police. and there will also be lots of officers in plain clothes. >> drinking is allowed on the parade route. there is a wet zone right on the parade route. outside of that in the neighborhoods and elsewhere it is strictly prohibiting. >> reporter: ticketing for cars starts tonight and then towing. boaters are asked to keep a sharp eye out on the water. >> a majority of boating beings is caused by not maintaining a proper lookout.

them. >> reporter: and one of the things that the tampa police are asking you to leave at home, if you got one for christmas, leave your drone at home. they don't want them on the parade route this year, especially because the airport is just across the way there and it would be illegal. live in familiar pa, i'm carson chambers, abc action news. >> thank you, carson. and, denis, the weather should be nice for the outdoor events. at least better than last weekend. >> weave. last weekend was cold and windy. there will be cloud cover tomorrow. but temperatures right now are in the 60s. i don't think clouds will be a huge issue. a milky look to the sky. that's the best way to describe it. either way temperatures will warm back up into the mid to upper 60s. here is the forecast for the invasion. again, the parade from 2:00 to 5:30, look for mostly sunny skies early on in the day. let's go partly sunny in the afternoon. either way, temperatures will be pleasant. right back in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees.

how is that going to affect everything? let's go to janelle for an update on that. >> reporter: all right, everyone. it's time to down the hatches. let's talk about the parade route. it extends up bayshore boulevard and turns on to ashley through downtown, ending right at cass. mows streets will be closed most of the day on saturday. if you're planning to park, use one of the city lots. we have six lots in downtown. lots and garages and two in ebor city. from there you can use the park and ride services. they are expanding the services for the gasparilla parade. extra street cars and buss and the trolley is a fun and festive way to get into downtown. now, on top of all of this, there is a big concert at emily

the big throw-down by the bay. police are asking those going to the concert to use an alternate around downtown. head east on i-4 and get on the connector here to the summit expressway. take that to 22nd street and take that through. bor -- that through ebor city. so many people will be in the area for gasparilla. i know this is a lot of information. i posted it on my facebook page at abc action traffic. >> also on saturday the reversible expressways will run westbound at 9:00 a.m. at 3:00 p.m., the lanes will be reversed to run eastbound a bay area mother remains behind bars in north florida charges. an amber alert was issued for her two children yesterday after police say she took them

have legal custody. they were found at a madison county hotel. the children are now in dcf custody. a transfer is in the works right now. after a full day delay, anxious travelers are finally on board the carnival paradise tonight. >> apparently the ship was stuck at sea for an extra day because of the heavy fog. it docked around 9:30 last night. passengers already on board were allowed to stay on the ship overnight. we caught up with some of those passengers this morning after they finally returned to dry land. they say their extra day at sea was chilly but the cruise line did everything to keep them comfortable and entertained. >> it was foggy. and it was cold. and we had to stay on board one more night. we were anxious to get home. >> we were at sea all day waiting for the fog to lift. the ship kept us entertained.

set sail on the shortened three- day cruise to nowhere. passengers will get a 50% refund for this trip. and a future cruise at 50% off. he just scratches to the point of bleeding. a little boy plagued by a skin condition many of us deal with. coming up, the extreme lengths his family is going to to get him some relief. plus, brand-new information into the news room on the jail escape in californiament tonight one of the inmates is back behind bars. the unlikely help they got from inside the jail. plus this -- >> reporter: a young girl terrified to walk to the school bus stop. >> do you see this. >> walking past this park is not going to be safe. >> reporter: we take you down the path that the school district is asking her to walk and why school leaders say for

>> they are still in the area. and also tonight a female teacher at the jail is charged with helping the men escape. tonight, the texas teenager who took off to mexico while on probation will remain in a ethan couch returned to texas yesterday after spending a month in jail in mexico. couch has been on probation since 2013 when he killed four people in a drunk driving crash when he was only 16 years old. the judge could still decide to transfer him to an adult facility. couch is expected in court next month. a family trying to heal their son's extreme skin condition. the 3-year-old boy suffering from severe eczema. as ashley yore shows us, his parents are hopeful that a new treatment could work.

and apple giggle, you would never know that the 3-year-old spends most of his life. >> tears. >> it hurts to sit in the bath to apply lotion, to dress, to be in the heat. he can't go swimming. >> reporter: he has an intense case of eczema and gets sores all over his body. dermatologists haven't been able to control it. >> the hospital said it's the worst case but it's just eczema and they just prescribe things we already had and sent us home. >> reporter: now she has hope. a doctor based in south africa and london is treating patients like him online. he says conventional treatments don't work for everyone. >> use topical antibiotics which is not widely recommended in the profession to clear the bacterial infection. when that is achieved, then you can get extremely rapid and positive results. >> reporter: the dermatologist says despite the distance, he has hundreds of patients in the

he dilutes steroids and antibiotics into a moisture for long-term treatment and taylors creams to each patient's needs. seriously infected. proportion of the antibiotic in the mixture. in five to nine days. something that would let him live pain free for the first time. >> i want that for him and for all of us at our house. it would be life-changing. >> reporter: and the doctor works with a family's physician in the u.s. to fill prescriptions. news. >> now the most accurate weather team in florida. abc action weather. >> and denis, what a difference >> yes. >> remember last saturday? >> oh, my goodness. >> you were out there. >> for the children's parade which is more my style.

>> it was cold. >> it was windy and a lot of fun. tomorrow the weather will be nicer. a beautiful shot there as we see sunny skies, temperatures today in the mid to upper 60s. still on the cool side. but i do think that tomorrow to 70 degrees. finally, right? after so many days of rain. most folks got between two to three inches of rain overall. right now under dry conditions a little breezy out there. still pleasant. this is what we're expecting folks to wake up tomorrow morning. 40s. still low 50s along the coast under mostly clear skies. now, by tomorrow afternoon, i still think we're going to see some clouds out there. it will not be a huge deal. it won't rain. but i do think it will veil the

here is the satellite picture. ivan was talking about this in the last hour. all of the cloud cover down to the south. eventually it will sort of creep up northward. and i do think that will happen. but you don't see any rain with this. i mean, you look at the bigger picture and things should stay dry not just tomorrow and sunday but i think through the early part of next week. so if you're going out this evening, beautiful. you're going to need your jacket and a sweatshirt because it is chilly for our standards and for folks visit us for gasparilla. i get it. it's colder up north but that's why we live here. we like it like that. temperatures primarily in the 40s in the morning. look at the models by the afternoon. not all that impressed with the cloud cover. remember whatever is out there it's thin cloud cover so it won't do anything. again, i would probably argue

anyway. temperatures near 70 degrees. but sunday morning, a few more tropical jet which has been so active all winter long is going to continue to stream moisture this way. eventually even a couple of a chance of showers late monday a better chance wednesday into thursday. right now that's the only time that we actually have rain in our 7-day forecast. so high temperatures on saturday, not too bad actually. about where we should be. we should be 71 this time of year. upper 60s to low 70s across the entire area. as you get away from the water, in polk county it could go 72, 73. a good weekend for pig fest and a very good weekend, again, for gasparilla as well. certainly compared to last weekend or the last couple of days for that matter. now, boating conditions. obviously really important for folks out there because there will be thousands of boats out there. not bad.

water a light chop to actually smooth. water temperature 57 degrees. so not too shabby. certainly compared to last weekend when we had gayle warnings and winds at 35 to 40 knots. there are your upcoming tides. sunrise 7:18. sunset at 6:09. here is a look at the 7-day forecast. high clouds out there the next few days. we go 69 on saturday. 73 on sunday. and look at monday. even with a few more clouds, we're back in the upper 70s. we're going right back near 80 on tuesday. that's the first in a while. then another storm system comes in. yes, of course it does. it's an el nino year. rain chances bump wednesday and thursday and getting colder >> thank you, denis. new allegations that point water crisis. coming up, the shocking e-mails uncovered and what it reveals about the contaminated water. the fall of o.j. simpson.

former years on the field? coming up the brain disease that one doctor believes simpson is suffering. >> reporter: the woman accused in the nearly deadly hit and run santos is now locked up in jail. what test results reveal she

>> and right now, shocking new allegations in the flint water crisis. >> according to documents obtained by progress michigan, state workers in flint were given clean drinking water months before anyone publicly admitted there was a problem with the water. rick snyder first admitted it might be contaminated with lead in october. water coolers were brought in to flint's state office building as early as january of 2015.

provided because of a different contamination issues. also tonight the world renowned doctor that inspired the movie concussion believes that o.j. simpson is suffering a brain disease related to his years on the field. he discovered cte and says he would bet his medical license that oj has it. right now the disease can only be formally diagnosed after death. but the doctor says that the signs include explosive, impulse i have behavior, impaired judgment, criminal behavior and even mood disorders. >> i'm trying to get help. i'm trying to get the transportation department to realize and understand the seriousness of this. next at 5:30, a bay area family says a little girl's walk to the school bus is too dangerous. what they're doing to inspire change. free help for new businesses.

>> i have to do everything that i can to make sure that she is safe. and walking past this park will not be safe for her. >> new at 5:30, a young girl facing what she says is a terrifying walk to the school bus stop. thanks for staying with us. i'm sarah rosario in for laura harris. >> that girl asked to walk several blocks alone where she has been approached by homeless people living in the park. her aunt has been working for a year to get the bus stop