Nightmare! The story of "J"
This is the account of one family’s encounter with law enforcement in Florida. It is about physical abuse by those sworn to protect us; abuse heaped upon a young teenager in the presence of his mother. Keep in mind as you read this story that it is just one of many similar stories of abuse of power and the fact that no one seems to care… until it happens to you.
 | March 29, 2003 "Oh, I've got the kid’s blood on me." |
| June 26, 2003 “Dear Governor Bush” |
| June 27, 2003 "...a gun and the license to hurt without retribution." |
| July 1, 2003 “The Governor trusts justice will be served…” |
| July 3, 2003 “Sad, but they just don't care that cops are abusive.” |
March 29, 2003 "Oh, I've got the kid’s blood on me."
At about 9:30am, Pasco County Sheriff’s Officer Perez rang the bell to my home and I answered it. He asked if my son, J, was home, and I told the officer he was at the home of his friend, Tim. Officer Perez asked if I knew Tim's last name or phone number. I asked the officer if I could have a moment to put on a bathrobe, and to please come inside. We spoke in the dining room and Officer Perez told me he just wanted to “ask” J some questions relating to an event that happened the day before at the W Apartments. He asked me if I knew anyone named Jessica or Sarah, and I responded that I knew a Jessica, but she lived in Spring Hill. When I asked what this was about, Officer Perez told me that my son was seen by three people kicking in a door at the W Apartments between 1:45 and 2pm the previous day.
I told him that my son doesn't get out of school until 1:50, and that usually if his dad cannot give him a ride home then he has to arrange a ride because his license had been revoked for a prior incident for which he is on probation. Officer Perez then asked if J had any previous trouble and I responded "yes".
“Oh,” said Officer Perez, “‘Cause I pulled his name up on the computer and I see a charge for pills.”
“Yes, that was in 10th grade,” I responded.
I then added that J called me on my cell phone at 2:30pm at work and my home number came up, and he also called his dad at 4pm on his cell and the home number came up.
Officer Perez said, "There was plenty of time for him to do it and get home."
Then, Officer Perez looked at a graduation photo collection on my living room table and asked "Is this him?"
I responded in the affirmative. I then gave Officer Perez Tim's phone number, as he had asked, and I told him since I didn't know the address I would gladly take him to the apartment myself, if he would give me a moment to put on outdoor clothes. Officer Perez waited in the patrol car and we left shortly thereafter.
When we got to the apartments, we knocked and Tim's father answered the door holding a coffee cup. The people next door were sitting on their balcony facing the grassy area where everything was to take place a few moments later, having coffee and breakfast, I believe.
Tim's dad called to J and said, "Your mom and a police officer are here."
J came to the door, still groggy from sleep, minus his shoes. Officer Perez asked J if he could talk to him, and asked if J wanted his mother to be around while they talked.
J told Officer Perez, "Since I am only 17, I need my mother here while you speak to me."
Officer Perez then asked J to tell him about what happened at the W Apartments yesterday.
J said, "I got a ride from school from these two girls and a guy. The one girl said she needed to stop at these apartments to get child care money from the father of her child. Since we were all squashed together I had to get out of the car so the girls could get out. When I found out that this was the apartment of a guy who still owed me ten dollars, I went to the door and knocked. There was no answer except a movement from behind the blinds in the window. I hadn't known where C lived before this, but now that I did I was going to ask him for my ten dollars back. I knocked again, loud, but C flipped us all the finger.”
Officer Perez said," I have three witnesses who said you kicked the door in."
J said, "I did not!"
Officer Perez said, "Oh everyone is lying but not you, right? Come on J, declare and I won’t arrest you."
I asked Officer Perez what "declare" meant.
J responded "I will not admit to doing something I didn't do."
At this point, Officer Perez said, "Okay, put your hands behind your back!" He cuffed J. J complied, but started to cry because he is on probation and this would violate him.
J started saying, "I can’t believe this mom, I am getting arrested for something I didn't even do, and now I'm gonna be screwed with probation."
J became upset (he was scared and had also not taken his morning medication yet), and Officer Perez held onto the cuffs behind J's back and told J to get down on the ground.
J said," No, I don't want to get on the ground, I am not doing anything!”
Officer Perez tried a few times, unsuccessfully, to tackle J to the ground, as I and Tim's father watched in horror. Finally Officer Perez threw J to the grass on his stomach, has his left knee in J's lower back, and his right hand squashing into J's head. J has very short cut hair and I could see blood on his scalp from where Officer Perez's fingers were already. J was thrown into an ant hill, and tried to turn his face to the other side so the ants would top walking into his nose and eyes.
When he did this, Officer Perez said, "Stop moving your head or I'll pepper spray you!" At this point I was down on the grass next to my son and told Officer Perez, "He is trying to move from the ants!"
J said the same words at that point.
Officer Perez's comment to me was "Back off mam, I am trying to do my job."
I never interfered with the process of his job, but he was being excessive and brutal to my son who was handcuffed, on the ground and getting threatened with pepper spray. J was now extremely upset. I tried to talk to him, from the ground, telling him this was just a misunderstanding and we would get it straightened out. Officer Perez then called for backup. Tim's dad came out with J's shoes, and finally Officer Perez allowed J to sit up, still cuffed. I began to talk to him, talking things from his pockets and putting them into his cap which I had lying face up on the grass, in plain sight of Officer Perez. Little by little J calmed down, and another heavy set, grey haired officer came by and gently escorted J to the back of the patrol car.
I kept asking where they were taking him, what was going on. All I got was," Land O Lakes Jail". I asked if I could run home and get his medication, since he had no yet had it, and was told “No.” By the time J was in the back of the car, Officer Perez had walked to the trunk of his vehicle and one of the other officers at the scene - heavy set grey haired man (name unknown), Officer Conte and Sergeant McAllum - asked him what Officer Perez had on his hands, as he opened his trunk to get out wipes.
Officer Perez said, "Oh, I've got the kid’s blood on me."
I believe Sergeant McAllum went to his car and got a bottle of liquid soap, put it on the trunk and it slid down the trunk. They laughed saying how he must have just gotten the car from the shop because it was so slippery and highly waxed.
At this point, Officer Perez asked Officer Conte if he should write this up as “…one count or two…” now that J had added "resisting arrest" - as Officer Perez kept telling me when he was on the ground on top of a cuffed J.
Officer Conti told him, "It's your call, but I would do just one."
I kept asking the police officers if I could please go home and give them the bottle of pills for J and they could give J his medication, or if they could take it with them to the jail. Each time I was told “no” and then told that the jail has a full pharmacy and he'll get whatever he needs there. J was very upset in the back of the car, and I asked if they would let me try to talk him down calmly.
I told Officer Perez, “You know, I have been trained by Pasco County in CPI interventions and take downs, and you did not have to do what you did to him.”
Officer Perez's reply was “That's nice," and he kept on writing.
I never got anyone's card or any paperwork telling me where they were taking my son. I asked if I could follow behind in my van and was told “no”.
At one point, Sergeant McAllum peeked into the car from the front seat and told a crying, handcuffed, angry J in the back seat, "Oh, you WILL calm down or I will pepper spray you."
He then told one of the other officers to go get some kind of foot ties, which the officer never did.
If the officers do and say all this while a parent is physically right there, what, in God's name, do they do to the juveniles who have no one around while they are arrested? I pity them. I understand that police work is a thankless job, but you do not have to inflict pain and punishment in the carrying out of your duty.
When J reached the Juvenile Center, he told me later, Officer Perez dragged him out of the car by the cuffs, and slammed the back of his head into the trim around the door of the patrol car. Later on that day, when we were in the hospital emergency room, there was plain evidence of a large bump just where J said he was slammed.
Additionally, when we got J home from the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) he had bruises, lacerations on his face, forehead, behind his ear, and three separate cuts on his scalp which he did not have prior to meeting Officer Perez. I also spoke with Nicole at JAC and she told me J was calmly speaking with her. When I asked if he was given his medication she did not know anything of what I was talking about.
She told me, "We never give meds here. It takes about 24 hours to get a pharmacy order done. The officer should have let J take his meds."
Yeah, well I guess someone failed to inform Officer Perez of all he should and should not be doing in the commission of his "duty". — SC
June 26, 2003 “Dear Governor Bush”
Subject: Pasco County
Dear Governor Bush:
I realize what a busy man you are, so please allow me to get right to the issue. Here in Pasco County we have a situation of which you are probably unaware. It concerns some of your most "vulnerable citizens" - the youth of our state. Keeping them free from harm and training to be productive citizens are clearly "pressing needs", do you agree? Yet, here in Pasco (and most probably other counties), those who are sworn to Protect and Serve are taking the law into their own hands and brutalizing their charges.
My son was falsely charged with supposedly kicking in a door to an apartment in March of this year, by a troubled teen with a long record of problems.
The next day an officer appeared at my door to "question" my son about the matter. When the officer told my son to "declare and I wont arrest you", and I asked for, and got, clarification as to what "declare" meant. My son said he would not admit to doing something he did not do. The officer, Officer Perez of the Pasco County Sheriffs Dept. asked him to put his hands behind his back (in my presence) and arrested him. This was just the beginning of the nightmare.
While handcuffed and complying with directives from Officer Perez, my son was thrown to the ground, had Officer Perez's knee in his back, all the while my sons face was pushed into an ant pile. When my son attempted to turn his face because the ants were going into his nose and eyes, Officer Perez tightened his grip on the handcuffs, and threatened to pepper spray him in the face and called for back-up. The litany of abuse continues, and by the time we were able to retrieve my son from the Juvenile Center, he had multiple bumps and contusions and scratches about his face, neck and head. My son told of being taken from the patrol car and being slammed head first into the top of the car doorway.
I immediately took my son to the local hospital, reported the abuse there, and then the following work day reported the incident to Professional Ethics part of the Pasco County Sheriffs Office. They took the report, but can do nothing, they tell me, until the case is settled.
This is where we are today. The troubled teen who made the false charge has recanted and dropped the charge. However, the State Assistant District Attorney - Paul Gionis (727-847-8158 Ex. 7397) is continuing to prosecute the "case". He tells us that Officer Perez is going through on the charge of "resisting without" that he tacked on to the charge of criminal mischief which he first arrested my son for.
Mr. Bush, I was present for the entire "questioning" that Officer Perez did of my son, and the incident where he threw my son to the ground, kneeled on his back, man-handled him and threatened to pepper spray him. I heard the other responding officers ask Officer Perez what he had on his hands after putting my son into the patrol car and heard Officer Perez respond, "Oh, it's the kid’s blood" and they joked about it and asked who had “Handiwipes” in their trunk. I heard the officers commenting to each other about how shiny the cars were and that they must have just come from the garage. As you can imagine, this was a parent’s worst nightmare come true.
Now we are going to Court July 9th at 2pm here in Pasco County to defend my son against an officer’s charge of "resisting without" for a prior charge which has been dropped. I am not in the legal profession, so I am not astute about these issues. But please tell me how this happens. Charges were falsely made, subsequently dropped, and now we still have to hire an attorney (which we cant afford, but don’t qualify for public aid, either) and defend our son against an Officer of the law.
My son recently graduated from high school at age 17, is working full time 6 days a week in my husbands' construction company, and has applied to college in the fall. All he wants to do is put this horrid nightmare behind him, but it just won’t go away. I still have the "investigation" by the Professional Ethics Committee of the Sheriffs Dept. to follow through with - although I do not have much faith in the Sheriff’s Office chastising one of their own.
Please Mr. Bush, is their any way you can assist us in resolving this matter? I would gladly furnish you with any documents relating to this that your office requested, including my eye witness report of all the events leading up to the point where Officer Perez drove to the Juvenile Detention Center with my son (only because they would not allow me to follow in my own van). I now realize that no matter what the police told me, in order to protect my son’s physical well being, I should have followed anyway.
Please sir, I know you have helped others in the past. Your office even interceded and placed a handicapped child in my Special Education classroom last fall when the mother had no where else to turn. I am now in that mothers place and I ask for your assistance. I eagerly await a reply.
Thank you for your time and consideration. — SC
June 27, 2003 “…a gun and the license to hurt without retribution.”
Thanks, Cathy [Corry, justice4kids.org]. Today I hired an attorney that we are all comfortable with, who we can afford, and he is filing for a continuance on Monday, so I guess J's "trial" will not be on July 9th at 2pm, as scheduled. What a mess this system involves, EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO LONGER A CHARGE AGAINST YOU!!!!
Now we have to defend against the secondary charge filed by the arresting "brute" of "resisting without violence". Thanks for your immediate suggestion to have J tested in the hospital for drugs (everything came back negative, of course). My attorney said that was a definite plus for our side, in proving to the judge that J was not a teen high on junk at the time of his "arrest". He (the attorney) said it sounds like this cop was into some macho thing of "I am an officer of the law and you, since I arrested you, are nothing but a piece of s---." I told the attorney he pegged Officer Perez right on the head. And, since J was bigger than the officer, Perez must have felt intimidated and in an effort to appear superior, only succeeded in acting brutal. What a shame people who are sworn to serve and protect feel such intimidation and inferiority that they must stoop so low! This does not speak well of police screening exams, which hopefully, all applicants must take before being issued a gun and the license to hurt without retribution.
Once we have this part of things over with in court, and J has cleared this hurdle of the "resisting without" charge, next we are going to personally sue Officer Perez and in conjunction, the Pasco Sheriffs Office for having officers in the field who are out of control and dangerous to the public. I will not let this rest until I have that man's badge!!!!! And you can most certainly put that on your web site, if you so desire. I will keep you posted as to when the trial of the century will be held. You and the group are more than welcome to attend, naturally. — SC
July 1, 2003 “The Governor trusts justice will be served…”
Thank you for your letter to Governor Bush about your son facing criminal charges. He understands the pain family members must experience in these situations and has asked me to respond.
As you may know, the decision to charge a person for crimes is made by the state attorney, a locally elected official. Deciding whether or not to charge a person is based on the best interests of justice and on the quantity and quality of the evidence of criminal activity. The Governor cannot intervene in such decisions.
If you believe a person is
innocent, or not guilty of all charges, you may wish to obtain the services of
an attorney experienced in criminal defense. If a person cannot afford an
attorney, a public defender may be
appointed.
Please be sure the attorney is provided with all of the evidence you believe shows innocence.
The Governor trusts justice will be served in this case.
Sincerely, — Lewis Goldberg, Office of Citizens' Services
July 3, 2003 “Sad, but they just don't care that cops are abusive.”
SC,
Re: your response from Governor Bush's office
Not surprising that Lewis Goldberg does not know how to serve the citizens even though he works in the Governor's ' Office of Citizens' Services'.
Your letter to Gov Bush is quite clear in that you are emphasizing two points and that one of those points is police misconduct. And lame Goldberg does not even address that very critical point in his response to you. Not surprising.
The problem that I have found in addressing those in government is that they aren't going understand what your problem is nor will they proceed with ANYTHING that you don't specifically request. Sad, but they just don't care that cops are abusive.
An avenue to pursue would be to state that you want to file a formal complaint against the officer for false arrest and use of excessive force. Specifically request that your case be assigned for review by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). They may inform you that you have to wait until Pasco IA completes their ethics investigation on Officer Perez. Then you may have to file the complaint with FDLE before the OAG takes the case.
I'm [copying] this message to others who have been victimized by the system in hopes that they may have suggestions for you. — Cathy Corry, justice4kids.org
