Victoria Higgs shared Florida Cop Watchs video: Florida Police Enjoy Qualified Immunity, No Accountability At All. 4 hrs · Florida Cop Watch with Florida CopWatch and Fla Ctivist #MarionCounty Sheriff Chris Blair and three of his deputies are fighting back against allegations contained in a federal lawsuit that accuses them of an unlawful arrest that violated the civil rights of a husband and wife who were taken into custody outside a house party in April. A video of the April 5 incident that led to Jason and Stacey Pomales being arrested on charges of resisting or obstructing without violence went viral online. In June, plaintiff attorney Christopher Dillingham filed separate complaints on behalf of his clients seeking jury trials, compensatory damages, attorney fees and an injunction declaring a Florida law regarding resisting arrest without violence was unconstitutional because it grants law officers “unfettered discretion.” In two separate response briefs filed with the #Ocala division of the U.S. District Court this month, the Sheriffs Office and its deputies responded to the allegations, stating the deputies were not acting in bad faith or with malice but were acting in accordance with the course and scope of their employment. Furthermore, the briefs state, the defendants are protected from prosecution under Florida law. “The defendant officers are entitled to qualified immunity,” wrote Ocala attorney John Green in his brief. Green represents Deputies Thomas Singh-Newbanks and Jarrett Leedy, and Blair in his capacity as sheriff. Cpl. Lisa Azure is being represented by Orlando attorney Bruce Bogan. Under #Florida law, no officer, employee or agent of the state can be held personally liable or be named as a defendant in any matter relating to injury or damage suffered as a result of an act, event or omission of action while performing his or her job unless that individual acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or exhibited a wanton and willful disregard for human rights or safety. “They did not violate the plaintiffs constitutional rights nor did they take any actions which a reasonable officer under the same circumstances would have known were violative under established law,” Green wrote. Bogan, on behalf of Azure, filed a separate brief for his client where he also argues qualified immunity and asks the court to dismiss the complaint and award costs. “Defendant Azure affirmatively alleges that the plaintiff, Stacey Pomales, is guilty-in-fact of the crimes charged against her, resisting without violence, as stated in the charging affidavit, which serves as a complete defense to the plaintiffs malicious prosecution claim,” Bogan wrote in his brief. The State Attorneys Office reviewed the case but declined to press charges against the couple, citing there would be minimal chance of conviction at trial. In his brief, Bogan argues probable cause did exist for the arrest and seizure of a cellphone. The plaintiff also accused Cpl. Lisa Azure of changing her Facebook profile picture to a side-by-side photo of the couples mug shots. Bogan countered by stating that booking photographs are public record and since they are not statements cannot be interpreted as defamatory statements. The Sheriffs Office previously stated that as a result of the incident, all patrol members received in-house training, specific to review of this case, about how a deputy could handle such an incident differently. Source: ocala/article/20140925/ARTICLES/140929813 * * Accountability Check! Call Marion County Sheriffs Office at 352-732-8181 or tell them what you think here: fb/MarionCoSheriffs * * Local: Marion County Cop Watch | The Dillingham Law Firm PLLC FloridaCopWatch.org | Mobile: FLCW.org Affordable On-call Legal Protection: LegalShield.bz #FloridaCopWatch #EndPoliceBrutality Shirts: t.flcw.us Donate Bitcoin: 1QFo24pAYDXea4vrAsoKrtxaamZYu2kccW
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 23:30:40 +0000
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