Orlando officer’s accused killer readies his defense
Orlando police failed to scrutinize the actions of slain Lt. Debra Clayton and ignored evidence suggesting she fired first during her deadly encounter with Markeith Loyd in 2017, attorneys for the officer’s accused killer claimed Friday.
In a new motion, Loyd’s attorneys shed light on a defense strategy for the convicted killer’s May trial for first-degree murder in Clayton’s killing. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Loyd, 44, who is already serving a life sentence for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon.
Defense attorney Terence Lenamon in the motion argues former OPD Chief John Mina, who has since been elected Orange County sheriff, demonstrated “animus and prejudice” against Loyd by denying him medical treatment after he was beaten by officers during his arrest.
“This ‘disgust for Loyd’ is proof positive that the investigation being conducted by … the Orlando police Department was compromised to such an extent that OPD did not comply with their own policies,” Lenamon wrote. “It is indisputable that this was done in retribution for Loyd having killed Clayton.”
Both OPD and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, citing possible or pending litigation.
Police say Loyd shot and killed Clayton Jan. 9, 2017, at a Walmart on Princeton Street after she tried to arrest him for murdering Dixon in December 2016. A sergeant when she was killed, Clayton was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.
Last year, a 12-person jury found Loyd guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting Dixon and her unborn child, but he avoided the death penalty after the same jury recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
During the Dixon trial, Loyd’s attorneys introduced evidence of
a possible strike mark and bullet projectile found at the Walmart. The projectile was not documented appropriately by crime scene investigators, said Anna Cox, a private forensic consultant who testified for the defense.
In his new motion, Lenamon writes that Orlando police “completely ignored” that evidence, which he argues supports the defense’s theory that Clayton fired before Loyd drew his weapon.
Clayton’s autopsy showed the 42-year-old was shot four times, including in the neck, stomach, buttocks and thigh. Police have said Loyd shot Clayton in the thigh before she returned fire and hit him in his chest, which was protected by a bulletproof vest.
In a deposition, Detective Peter Cadiz, the lead investigator in Clayton’s case, told attorneys no one in his department investigated whether Clayton followed procedures when trying to arrest Loyd or during their shootout, according to the defense motion.
“Completely inconsistent with policy and protocol, neither Cadiz nor [Mina] and the Orlando Police Department ever examine the actions of Sgt. Clayton or scrutinized her use of force,” Lenamon wrote. “They did not attempt to determine whether she fired her firearm first at [Loyd] or whether [Loyd] was responding to her action when he initially fired his weapon.”
The accused cop killer was captured Jan. 17, 2017 after an exhaustive manhunt. Lenamon said Orlando police officers kicked and beat his client after Loyd crawled out of an abandoned house where he was hiding, which caused serious injuries that resulted in the loss of an eye.
The office of Seminole-Brevard State Attorney Phil Archer reviewed the officers’ use of force and found it to be “lawful and justified.”
After his arrest, an injured Loyd was taken to the Orlando police station and placed in an interrogation room. Lenamon said footage from the room’s camera and officers’ body cameras shows Loyd complaining his handcuffs are too tight and repeatedly requesting for them to be loosened.
Instead, officers told him they had “left their handcuff keys in the car,” while Mina denied Loyd’s pleas, according to Lenamon’s motion.
“Chief [Mina] later takes a video or photo of [Loyd] using his personal cell phone, presumably as a personal memento,” Lenamon wrote. “No one, including Chief [Mina] directs medical treatment for [Loyd] or loosens his handcuffs.”
At one point, a detective used a wad of paper towels to wipe blood off Loyd’s face, Lenamon said. Investigators questioned the convicted killer for an hour and “verbally abuse” him as Loyd continued to moan in pain, according to the motion.
Loyd was seen by paramedics after the interrogation, Lenamon said. In his deposition, Cadiz said the interrogation “wasn’t even close to professional” and he regretted calling Loyd names, the motion states.
“I let my emotions get away with me on that interview,” Cadiz said, according to Lenamon. “… And I definitely let, lack of a better word, my disgust for Loyd at that point come through and it was unprofessional of me.”
Lenamon said the videos show “overwhelming bias” from the state’s witnesses and should be seen by jurors.
“In the video, [Mina] allows Loyd to suffer while his Detectives conducted a lengthy interrogation, in violation of OPD’s own policies,” the attorney wrote. “[Mina] clearly demonstrates his animus and prejudice against Loyd and his approval of his officers behaving likewise.”
A judge previously ruled Loyd’s attorneys have until March 2 to notify prosecutors if they will pursue an insanity defense during the Clayton trial.