Police Misconduct

Published on: February 25, 2014

Clay County Criminal Defense Attorney :: Clay Deputies Face Disciplinary Action after Wrong Teen Spends Month in Jail for Sexual Battery

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Three Clay County sheriff’s deputies are facing discipline after a high school student spent more than a month in jail charged as an adult in a sexual battery case all because he had the same name as the accused.

After a girl under the age of 12 told police she had sex with a Clay High student in the fall of 2012, investigators arrested a 17-year-old boy and booked him into the Clay County jail.

However, following a review of reports from the Green Cove Springs Police Department detailing the mother of the alleged victim having a verbal altercation with a boy that had the same name, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office began an internal investigation that revealed they had arrested the wrong teen.

The mistake was not uncovered until 35 days later when the teen received court documents detailing the charges against him.

According to reports, three Clay County deputies received formal counseling for the wrongful arrest and one deputy faces a 10-day unpaid suspension and a transfer from investigations to patrol.

Authorities claim that the Clay County deputies failed to confirm the suspect’s identity with a photo lineup.

Sadly, because of this error an innocent teen was arrested for a criminal offense that he did not commit.

A disciplinary hearing was being held for the deputies on Tuesday morning. The results have yet to be released.

Being investigated for a criminal offense or getting arrested in Clay County is not a fun or pleasant experience. The hours and days leading up to an arrest and those immediately following an arrest are highly important when it comes to protecting your legal rights. In most criminal cases, once an investigation has begun or an arrest has been made, there is no time to spare. A criminal defense attorney should be retained immediately to make sure police and prosecutors play by the rules. With that said, all criminal defendants have a right to legal counsel throughout the investigation process as well as during all criminal proceedings.

Published on: March 25, 2013

Florida Criminal Defense Attorney :: Law enforcement plays prank on prosecution

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Police are under investigation for jokingly filing in a witness statement in the name of a force dog.

Officers in the UK became exasperated when prosecutors asked for an account of a crime from a “PC Peach'” not realizing Peach was the name of a police dog. So they completed the form as if it had been written by the K-9, and signed it with a paw print.

The dog’s statement read: ‘I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.’

Published on: November 1, 2011

Florida Police Misconduct Criminal Defense Attorneys Whittel & Melton :: Fort Lauderdale Police Officers Alleged Misconduct Jeopardizes the Outcomes of Numerous Criminal Cases

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Four Broward County police officers from the Fort Lauderdale Street Crimes Unit are accused of serious misconduct involving dozens of criminal charges that are supposedly now at risk of being dropped or already have been dismissed.

Two of the detectives are accused of stealing cash from drug buyers and sellers, kidnapping a man, and lying about their cases. They are expected to be criminally charged soon, according to the Palm Beach Post.

While they are listed as witnesses against 112 defendants, 86 of whom are charged with felonies, prosecutors only expect to drop the cases where the men are the main witnesses.

According to the Broward Public Defender’s Office’s, 19 suspects have been cleared of felony and misdemeanor charges that relied on the testimony of any of the four officers. The dropped criminal cases supposedly included numerous allegations of trafficking in prescription pain pills, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, possession of firearms by felons and other lesser crimes.

Prosecutors are allegedly looking into other cases that could be affected.

The four officers have been suspended without pay since April 18. One man was supposedly cleared of any misconduct in October, but he has not been allowed to return to work.

The four officers came under scrutiny after two suspects were charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute on Aug. 24, 2010 at a hotel in Oakland Park, Florida.

Two officers allegedly signed an arrest form that said they arrested a driver and a passenger after they saw the two men drop crack cocaine on the floor of their vehicle in a hotel parking lot. The same two officers supposedly testified under oath that they handled the arrest and the other two officers showed up later. It was also noted that the two officers testified that they approached the car without their weapons drawn.

According to prosecutors, a video provided by the hotel tells another story entirely, which has supposedly diminished the officers’ credibility. The video allegedly shows that two officers approached the vehicle with their weapons drawn, the driver was in the car alone, the supposed passenger was in the hotel lobby and all four officers were at the scene from start to finish.
Charges against the two men suspected of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute have supposedly been dropped.

When a law enforcement officer is accused of engaging in police misconduct to make an arrest, the facts surrounding charges must be investigated thoroughly in order to best defend the criminal case. Police misconduct such as police brutality, excessive force, or wrongful arrest is a civil rights violation that if caught, can force the prosecution to drop any criminal charges stacked against a victim of police misconduct. Because officers are well aware their careers are on the line, in many instances they will attempt to cover up their misconduct by increasing the charges against a victim.

According to the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project, 4,861 claims of police misconduct were reported in 2010 involving 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers and 6,826 alleged victims. An estimated 11 percent of reports of police misconduct involved drugs in some way resulting in 343 officers criminally charged, convicted or sentenced as a result of misconduct involving drug laws. Last year an estimated $346,512,800 was spent on claims of police misconduct that included court costs, attorney fees and judgments and settlements.

It is important to know that Florida law recognizes police misconduct as a valid defense for certain criminal charges. It is crucial to contact the Florida Police Misconduct Lawyers at Whittel & Melton as soon as possible if you believe you were a victim of police misconduct so that you we can uncover any evidence of police wrongdoings before it is destroyed. We can educate you and your loved ones on what steps to take next, including filing a complaint against the officer and possibly pursuing a civil rights lawsuit for financial compensation.