Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trial opens for 3 cops in beating, lies
When three Boynton Beach police officers realized that their beating of a man had been captured on video by a helicopter, they — and their sergeant — came up with a story to try to justify what they did, prosecutors say.
All four current and former officers have pleaded not guilty to federal charges linked to the 2014 incident that could send them to prison if they are convicted.
Jury selection begins today for the trial of the trio accused of inflicting the beating — Officer Michael Brown and former officers Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan. Their supervisor, Sgt. Philip Antico, is scheduled
to go trial separately, as soon as the other trial ends.
The case started with a police chase on Aug. 20, 2014, when police officers tried to pull over a Mitsubishi with three occupants. The driver took off and an officer was injured, though it’s unclear whether he was struck by the fleeing car or one of the police vehicles.
When the fleeing car finally stopped, prosecutors say that Brown, Harris and Ryan used “excessive force” by beating and kicking the front-seat passenger and using a stun gun on him. Prosecutors did not charge any of the officers with any crimes related to the driver of the car or a second passenger.
The beaten passenger, Jeffrey Braswell, then 25, was arrested by Boynton Beach police that day on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
The officers wrote up official reports of the incident, which prosecutors say were not truthful.
After they found out that the beating had been recorded on video by an overhead helicopter, operated by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the officers changed their reports and added claims that Braswell had physically resisted them and tried to assault them, prosecutors say. Their goal was to try to justify their unnecessary violence, according to the federal charges.
The three officers involved in the chase are accused of violating Braswell’s constitutional rights by repeatedly beating him with a closed fist, using a firearm to beat him, kicking and kneeing him and shooting him with a stun gun. They are also charged with falsifying records.
Brown faces an additional charge of use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Prosecutors say he beat Braswell with a department-issued gun.
That trial, in federal court in West Palm Beach, is expected to last about two weeks.
Antico, the sergeant, is facing charges he let the officers adjust their reports and that he later lied about what happened when he was questioned by FBI agents. He is charged with falsification of records and obstruction of justice. His trial is expected to take about five days.
Brown, 48, and Antico, 37, are on paid leave while the criminal charges are pending. Harris, 35, resigned soon after the chase and now works at a gym. Ryan, 50, was fired in 2016 after he was found unfit for duty in an unrelated matter, according to court records.
Attorneys for all four men declined to comment on the upcoming trials or the allegations against them.
Brown’s attorney, Bruce Reinhart, said at a recent court hearing that much of his defense will focus on alleged victim Braswell’s character and whether the level of force Brown used was justified in the circumstances.
“[Braswell’s] character for passivity or aggressiveness will be the core of this case,” Reinhart told the judge.
Ryan’s attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Robert Adler, told the judge that the video footage is not that clear: “We’re not sure what the government is alleging Mr. Ryan did in terms of use of force … At this point, we’re just basically guessing.”
The most serious offenses against each of the defendants carry maximum punishment of 20 years. If convicted, the men would likely face much lesser penalties because of several factors, including their lack of criminal records.
Jury selection, from a panel of about 80 potential jurors, will start today in federal court in West Palm Beach.