Two Broward Deputies Accused of Falsifying Arrest Report

Feb. 27, 2012 - PRLog -- Fort Lauderdale, Florida – When a man was arrested after allegedly being disruptive inside a Tamarac 7-Eleven, he was cleared after the store’s surveillance video proved that he did nothing wrong.

The 7-Eleven surveillance video, requested by the man’s criminal defense attorney John Hager of the Miami criminal defense firm, Hagar & Schwartz, P.A., revealed that the man who was at the convenience story buying coffee, wasn’t disruptive when he was “taken to the floor” by one of the Broward County sheriff’s deputies.

Today, nearly two years after the incident, prosecutors are pursuing misdemeanor charges against the deputies, claiming that the two men falsely described the man’s behavior in their official reports, which court records show.

The man’s attorney, John Hager said that it’s fortunate that there is a surveillance tape with the best evidence to show what happened. “Unfortunately, in most situations where people encounter the police, they don’t have the benefit of that tape.”
One deputy was charged with two counts of falsifying public records, and the other deputy was charged with one count of falsifying a record, court records show. Both deputies were expected to be served a summons in the case, according to officials.
Hagar’s client had the encounter with the deputies on February 13, 2010, at the 7-Eleven. Hagar’s client was arrested on charges of assault of a law enforcement officer, trespass and resisting arrest without violence, records show.

Hagar took the initiative of obtaining the 7-Eleven surveillance video and provided it to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. After reviewing the footage, the case against his client was dismissed.

According to the complaint filed against the deputies, one of the deputies said in the report that the man was “very loud,” “boisterous” and “yelling” in the store, which, he said he felt, caused a disturbance. The other deputy wrote in his report that the man was “arguing” and “clenching his fist.”

On the other hand, the video showed that before the deputies arrived to the 7-Eleven, the man was inside for approximately five minutes, waiting for a pot of coffee to brew. After the deputies arrived to the store, the man is seen on the video approaching one of the deputies with one hand in his pocket and the other hand open at his side.

One of the deputies asked the man why he was “staring at him,” according to a witness. Seconds later, the man is seen being “taken to the floor” by one of the deputies.

This example of police misconduct illustrates how innocent people can be wrongfully arrested at times; however, most people who are mistreated by the police don’t have any evidence to back them up. Fortunately, in this case the man who was arrested at the 7-Eleven had video surveillance to support his side of the story. If it wasn’t for the efforts of his criminal defense attorney, John Hagar, he may have wound up being wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. Hagar & Schwartz, P.A. is a criminal defense firm located in Miami, Florida. Learn more at: http://www.DefendYourCase.com.

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Hager & Schwartz, P.A. is a Miami criminal defense firm devoted to helping those charges with criminal offenses in Miami Dade County, and all throughout the state of Florida. As former Florida state prosecutors, the Miami criminal defense attorneys at the firm bring a unique perspective to their client’s cases, as they have handled thousands of cases from both sides of the law. The firm can handle all types of criminal offenses ranging from assault, to burglary, to drug crimes, DUI, juvenile crimes, and even manslaughter and murder. The attorneys at the firm have a reputation in the courts for being aggressive, zealous advocates of their clients. To learn more about how they can help you, contact a Miami criminal defense attorney from the firm at (305) 500-9959 or you can visit the firm’s website directly at http://www.defendyourcase.com.