State levies more charges against officers
Two Boynton Beach police officers may face additional charges of falsifying records to cover up a beating caught on camera, according to documents filed in court this week.
Sgt. Philip Antico, a Boynton police supervisor, arranged for three officers to rewrite their police reports to justify the use of force, according to federal documents. A sheriff’s helicopter video recorded them punching and kicking the occupants of a Mitsubishi after a chase in 2014, the documents say.
They were charged in June with a range of charges, including falsifying reports, violating civil rights and obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors are seeking additional charges against Antico and officer Michael Brown, though they will not be charged until Oct. 5 at the request of Brown’s defense attorney, Bruce Reinhart.
Brown also may face a firearm charge after using a police-issued revolver when he punched Jeffrey Braswell, one of the occupants of the Mitsubishi, Reinhart said.
Those indicted are Antico, Brown and former officers Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan. Brown, Harris and Ryan are accused of assaulting 25-year-old Braswell during an Aug. 20, 2014 traffic stop after a police chase.
Antico, the supervising sergeant on duty, is charged with obstruction of justice in addition to falsifying police records. Antico’s attorney Gregg Lerman said he wasn’t sure why prosecutors decided now to pursue additional charges, but said it would not change his defense of his client.
“My defense is the same that my client has nothing to do with any of it,” he said Friday. “He’s being punished for doing his duties.”
The additional charge of falsifying reports doesn’t add much to the case against Antico, but it’s a serious charge with a serious penalty, he said. It could lead to a five-year mandatory prison sentence if convicted of the additional charge, he said.
Brown’s attorney could not be reached despite phone calls.
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