For police, public trust starts off-camera
Thisweek’s indictment of four current and former Boynton Beach police officers shows that even video can’t prevent all potential abuses by lawenforcement.
Early on the morning of Aug. 20, 2014, a Boynton Beach officer tried to pull over a car driven by Byron Harris. According to the arrest report, the officer saw the driver dump awhite powder out the window.
Before he reached Interstate 95, Harris – who had been arrested 20 times in10 years – struck and severely injured another officer who had set out stop sticks. The chase went north on I-95 to West Palm Beach and south to LakeWorth. It involved nine cars and a helicopter. Speeds reached 100 miles per hour.
The issue is what happened next. Video fromthe helicopter showed three of the officers who had surrounded the car – Michael Brown, Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan Jr. – beating Jeffrey Braswell, one of two Harris’ two passengers. The officers are charged with assault and depriving Braswell of his civil rights.
In addition, those three and Sgt. Philip Antico allegedly tried to cover up the incident by filing false reports about the beating and misleading investigators. Byron Harris faces a maximum of 50 years in prison. Antico, Brown and Ryan could get 30 years. Justin Harris has since left the department. Ryan was fired because of an unrelated incident.
Let’s start with the encouraging news. Boynton Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Katz initiated the investigation that led to the indictment. Two days after the incident, Katz learned of the video, whichwas taken from a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. The officers didn’t knowthe video existed, and Katz asked the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the FBI to compare the tape with the officers’ statements.
At the time, Katz said he had formed no opinion about the officers’ actions. He acknowledged that the officers were “amped-up” and dealing with someone who might have killed one of their colleagues. Correctly, however, Katz let prosecutors decide. After the two agencies consulted, the Department of Justice took over the case.
For the Boynton Beach Police Department, it feels something like 2011. That summer, four officers were arrested on charges that ranged from selling methamphetamine, to falsifying a report and to misconduct. One of the four, David Britto, had been the department’s officer of the year in 2010.
That happened under former Chief Matt Immler. Katz is going through his own tough stretch. In the last month, one officer was arrested for domestic battery and another went on paid leave for allegedly driving his police vehicle while drunk. Finally, the third Dalia Dippolito murder-for-hire trial has rehashed the department’s embarrassing attempt to get publicity from the case through an episode of “Cops.” The department’s actions form the basis of Dippolito’s defense. That fiasco also predated Katz.
“It’s a very sad day for lawenforcement if these allegations are true,” U.S. Magistrate JudgeWilliam Matthewman said when the defendants entered pleas of not guilty.
At a news conference, Katz said, “I realize that today’s announcements will inspire strong emotions for those of us within the department, those of us who love our community, and any of us who love any party involved in this incident whether in 2014 or today. We will not let this incident of several years ago define us.”
The Boynton Beach City Commission has voted to equip the department with body cameras, which can protect both the public and police officers. Around the country, however, there have been cases of cameras not being turned on or being left off. And as news reports at the time indicated, the video in the Braswell incident oddly shifts away after zooming in on the officers hitting Braswell. When the camera moves back to the confrontation, the view is froma longer range.
Still, the indictment is notable because it’s rare that lawenforcement officers face criminal charges. This week, the Palm Beach State Attorney’s office declined to reopen an investigation into the 2012 shooting of Seth Adams by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Custer. The Sheriff’s Office recently agreed to $2.5 million settlement with Adams’ family.
In his statement, Katz acknowledged the key point: Police departments must create a culture of professionalism and accountability. Officers rightly expect public trust. When incidents like this happen, it becomes harder for the police to earn that trust.
“It’s a very sad day for law enforcement if these allegations are true.” U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthew man said when the defendants entered pleas of not guilty.