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Florida Police Brutality and Police Misconduct 
 
 Page 3

 

05/28/2005 - WEST PALM BEACHA deputy needed just nine words to justify firing his Taser stun gun at a 15-year-old girl:

"Subject was given several commands, but did not comply."

That was enough for six Palm Beach County Sheriff's office supervisors to unanimously approve knocking a 115-pound girl to the ground with a paralyzing 50,000-volt electric shock. The deputy's report is one of more than 1,000 that The Palm Beach Post examined in reviewing three years of Taser use by police from Boca Raton to Fort Pierce, starting in 2001, when the weapon arrived in South Florida.

While some of the reports show that the weapons defused violent confrontations and averted the use of lethal force, the investigation also found:

One out of every four suspects shocked with Tasers was unarmed, non-violent and not posing an apparent immediate threat.

While health risks from Taser shocks remain under debate, officers have fired them at the very young and the very old - at least 35 people 16 and younger, including a 13-year-old girl, and seven people 61 or older, including an 86-year-old man were shocked. The Post also found that at least three women claiming to be pregnant were shocked.

Tasers were fired at more than 425 suspects who were being arrested on misdemeanor charges.

Departments vary widely in how they record and track Taser use, some requiring little or no explanation for why officers fire the weapon.

"There is no medical evidence to support the cavalier use by some police departments," said Ed Jackson, a spokesman for Amnesty International, which has called for a moratorium on the weapon's use. "Tasers are being used in situations where guns, batons, pepper spray would never be used."

Officers used Tasers to stop people who ran, people who were verbally threatening, people who refused to put their hands behind their backs. They used Tasers on handcuffed people who refused to put their feet in police cars.

"There are less draconian tactics that can and should be used in those situations," said George Kirkham, a former police officer, Florida State University criminology professor. They include reasoning, commands, guiding with open hands and "pressure pain compliance" - pressing sensitive areas, such as the jaw, he said.

"Officers are taught these measures that are lower on the force continuum in training. We have pictures of people who won't let go of a steering wheel, and when pressure is applied, their hands come off and no harm is done."

Instead, says Kirkham, "Police are skipping up the use of force continuum through impatience and lack of training."

From October 2001, when Boca Raton Police added Tasers to their arsenal, to last December, 19 police agencies in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast adopted the stun guns. Their use soared from 82 firings in 2002, to 226 in 2003, to 712 last year.

The increase reflects a nationwide trend, and as use has increased, so have calls for moratoriums on the weapons until more is known about their effects and whether they are being abused.

Chicago officials halted distribution of new Tasers to officers after a 14-year-old suffered a heart attack and another man died within a week.

Civic rights activists in Houston called for police to stop and study the weapon's use after 12 people were shocked for "verbal threats" to officers. Police there, since receiving Tasers in late December, have averaged one Taser firing a day.

Brevard County police chiefs recently agreed on a unified policy that Tasers "will only be utilized when the police officer reasonably believes that a subject is an imminent physical threat or the person is demonstrating an articulable threat to him/herself, the officer, and/or others."

Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle attributes the increasing scrutiny given the weapons and how they are used to "phenomenal growth," which, according to the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, caused the company's revenue to climb from $2.2 million in 1999 to about $67 million in 2004.

No 'articulable threat'

Until November, Taser International's Web site stated that the weapon is "solely designed to stop the most hardened of targets: extremely violent, aggressive, goal-oriented and drug induced suspects."

Taser's Tuttle said that refers to "the 1-percenters, with superhuman strength and mind-body disconnect." But he adds, the weapon can be used on suspects "up to" that level of resistance as well.

The wording no longer appears on Taser's Web site, but the company's manual used to train Taser instructors, says: "The Taser is best utilized in situations where a hostile or potentially hostile individual is threatening himself or another person." On its Web site, the company typically refers to the target of a Taser as "the attacker."

Cops tout the effectiveness of the weapon in such situations. At the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, assaults on deputies went down from more than 400 in 2003, the year the department adopted the weapon, to 200 assaults the following year, said Captain Frank Demario, a training supervisor for the department. During that year, officers fired their Tasers 275 times.

In nearly 800 reports from Fort Pierce to Boca Raton, officers fired Tasers to subdue armed, violent and threatening suspects and suspects who refused to show their hands after repeated commands or who were running toward a house or car from which a weapon could be retrieved.

Described in those reports are a man reaching for a deputy's gun, a suicidal woman holding a knife to her throat, a man armed with a machete who told a deputy "God help you if you come near me" and a violently psychotic man, covered with his own blood and urine, who fought off pepper spray and baton strikes and injured six of seven police officers who grappled with him. In nine instances, they were used on snarling dogs.

Of 1,017 accounts of Taser use on humans examined by The Post, however, at least 237 described encounters with people who were not reported to be armed, violent or posing any immediate potential harm to anyone, including themselves. Of those, 143 were charged with misdemeanors, and at least two were not criminally charged at all. They included:

In Riviera Beach, a police officer used his Taser on a man he was trying to question after finding him asleep on a park bench. The man cursed at the officer and refused to stand to be searched. The officer shocked him on his leg and his shoulder and then released him with a warning about trespassing. A Riviera Beach Police supervisor said the officer was reprimanded for the inappropriate use of force.

In suburban Lake Worth, a deputy investigating a car theft fired his Taser at a man who refused to follow orders. The suspect then complied but wasn't arrested.

A Boynton Beach officer stopped a man for riding a bicycle after dark with no headlight. When the man dismounted and started to run, the officer shot him with a Taser. The police officer took the man and his bike to the police station, issued him a citation, then released him to ride his bicycle into the night - with no headlight.

Officers and their trainers say capturing fleeing suspects is part of what the Taser is designed for; it is a "distance" weapon that works where others such as pepper spray wouldn't.

Some police departments encourage officers to fire their Tasers rather than chase a fleeing suspect, according to Josh Ederheimer, director of the Police Executive Research Forum's Center for Force and Accountability. That is because foot pursuits can lead to ambushes and accidents. But, he added, "You have to think about it. If someone is running away, the darts can miss or disengage."

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is the largest agency in the three-county region that has refused to issue Tasers to its officers.

"There are some benefits to the tool, but I think that there are too many cases we have seen where there are questions of abuse or excessive use," Chief Deputy Gary Wilson said.

Until they see more specific guidelines for use and more convincing studies showing the effects of 50,000 volts of electricity flowing through the bodies of the elderly, pregnant women and drug addicts, Wilson said, they will not use the weapon.

Accountability varies widely

Some departments weigh officers' cannisters of pepper spray at the start and end of every shift.

Tasers come equipped with a "dataport" in the weapon that is designed to record every trigger pull.

That record protects police officers from unfounded complaints of abuse and allows supervisors to track their use, Taser International points out.

Departments vary widely, however, in how thoroughly they require officers to explain each use and how much the use is scrutinized by supervisors. In addition, only a handful of departments attempt to track how often their officers point the weapons without firing.

In addition, reports in which officers fired at "unknown" suspects who escaped without being hit by the prongs don't in themselves raise a red flag, according to Ederheimer of PERF, because it is understood that Taser shots can go astray. Such incidents, however, leave only an officer's account of why the Taser was used. Of 16 reports of "unknown subjects," nine from Riviera Beach cops did not report any description of who they were firing at, including gender or race or why they were trying to detain or arrest the person.

West Palm Beach police require supervisors reviewing Taser incidents to interview suspects and to evaluate the use of force in their own words.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, in contrast, requires supervisors only to read the officer's report and conclude whether the use was within department guidelines.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who was West Palm Beach Police chief when that department's Taser policy was crafted, said the use of force policy at the sheriff's office soon will be as extensive. "Uses of force will be tracked by incident and tracked for early warning systems."

Police chiefs in Palm Beach County are now working on countywide guidelines for Taser use. A panel headed by Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott has examined restrictions on stun gun use, circumstances under which the weapons should be used and medical treatment following Taser shootings. Scott declined to point to specific changes being considered but said resulting guidelines are likely to go beyond issues addressed in existing local policies.

"Obviously you're going to prohibit use of Tasers on pregnant, elderly, children, people in high places," he said.

================

05/24/2005 - An officer has been suspended for zapping a 13-year-old girl at least twice with a stun gun while she was handcuffed in his caged patrol car. An internal report by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Llahsmin Lynn Kallead was handcuffed and in the back seat of the patrol car when Officer G.A. Nelson stunned her, the Florida Times-Union reported for Tuesday editions.

Nelson and his partner had been called to the apartment Kallead shares with her mother Rosie Vaughan because they were fighting Feb. 7. Vaughan wanted police to help get medical help for her daughter, who had been hospitalized for observation in the past for emotional disorders, the newspaper said.

Nelson, a 6-foot-2 officer weighing 300 pounds, allegedly used the low-setting stun mode when the 4-foot-8 Kallead wormed the handcuffs from behind her back and would not do as directed. "The situation was under control at this point," the internal report said.
Sgt. D.E. Smith, who was called to the scene, said, "Please don't tell me this is the person you Tased." Department spokesman Ken Jefferson said Nelson has been suspended for three days.

"A supervisor questioned the judgment of the officer, and he began the investigation process," Jefferson said Monday. Nelson did not violate written guidelines on using stun guns, but his actions showed poor judgment, the report said. He had been trained to use Tasers and received training as an instructor in January.

=================

05/24/2005 - A police officer and two other men were arrested Monday, accused of entering the home of a Brazilian man, threatening him and stealing a rare watch and more than $47,000 in cash.

Police said Officer Milton McKinnon, 35, joined Michael Alexis Kuryla and Justin Tavis Bohanan, both 31, in the raid. All three were released from jail after posting $250,000 bail each. On April 17 the three men went to Fransisco Decarvalho's home in the Brickell neighborhood. Decarvalho is a Brazilian national, police said.

McKinnon was in uniform and the other two told Decarvalho that they were police officers, investigators said. According to police spokesman Lt. Bill Schwartz, the men were allegedly hired by Miami jewelry store owner David Levison to collect $61,000 in a business debt.

Schwartz said Decarvalho had purchased watches from Levison under the assumption that one of them was a very rare timepiece. After Decarvalho found out the watch was counterfeit, he stopped payment on a check to Levison. Levison then employed Kuryla to get the money or watches back, Schwartz said.

Police do not know if McKinnon was paid for his participation, during which he was on duty, dressed in full police uniform, driving a marked vehicle and carrying his service firearm, police said.

"Anytime a police officer anywhere is involved in illegal activity of any kind we're angered and embarrassed by it," Schwartz said.

While at the apartment, Kuryla took four expensive watches worth more than $100,000 and pocketed more than $47,000 in cash. McKinnon withheld the victims' passports and returned them along with three of the watches before leaving the apartment, police said. The watch stolen was worth $50,000, police said.

They trio was charged with armed home invasion robbery and armed false imprisonment. Kuryla and Bohanan were charged with impersonating police officers, while McKinnon was charged with helping them impersonate police.

Levison did not immediately return a message left at his store for comment. McKinnon has been relieved of duty and is facing termination, Schwartz said.

===============

11/05/2004 -- A Florida sheriff's deputy chased, tackled, punched and arrested a freelance investigative journalist from Long Island who was photographing voters outside of Palm Beach County's main elections office.

Henry, a freelance journalist and economist, ran away from the 600-person line of voters after Sheriff's Deputy Al Cinque tried to confiscate his camera. Cinque chased Henry for 100 feet and tackled him to the pavement where he punched him in the back before handcuffing him within a few feet of a Post reporter and Marcus Warren of the London Daily Telegraph . When Henry tried to hand the officer his identification cards that were later found on the ground, Cinque punched him again.

But Assistant Palm Beach County Attorney Leon St. John, who represents the elections supervisor, said Cinque told him that Henry "took off running and tripped and fell in the parking lot," after saying something inappropriate to the deputy and taking a picture of him.

===================

10/14/2004 - -Michael F. Fagan, formerly an officer with the Marco Island Police Department, formally filed suit against the City of Marco Island, City Manager A. William Moss, and Police Chief Roger Reinke, individually.

Fagan's counsel is Debra A. Rowe of Fort Myers. Fagan states in his complaint that on Jan. 1 of this year, while on routine patrol, he discovered a vehicle engulfed in flames and called for backup law enforcement.

Further investigation showed "A 15-year-old boy who had been drinking at a party had, without authorization, taken the vehicle that belonged to someone else, wrecked it and fled the scene."

Fagan was later advised that City Councilman E. Glenn Tucker, attorney, had been retained to represent the 15-year-old boy. Fagan said Tucker had advised the case agent who interviewed the boy that, "The only thing the boy was going to be charged with was leaving the scene of the accident and that the police chief and city manager had confirmed this."

According to Fagan, "The investigation was closed and the boy was charged with the single violation and released on a summons."

Frank Pollara, who asked him if he was aware of a case where a boy at his daughter's school had bragged about stealing a car, wrecking it and leaving it to burn "and all he got was a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident because his family was 'connected'."

Pollara requested and received a copy of the report "pursuant to Florida's public records law" and subsequently wrote a letter "alleging police misconduct and a "cover up'" to media sources radio, television, newspapers as well as officials such as the attorney general.

===================

Officer Involved: Shawn Pringle

7/12/2004 -- A former Jacksonville officer pleaded not guilty to sexual battery in court Thursday. This is the second sex charge he's faced in a month.

Former Detective Shawn Pringle is accused of sexually battering an acquaintance and using his squad car to pull her over and attack her.

This is the second time Pringle has been accused of using his position as an officer to sexually assault someone.

The latest charges stem from an assault that occurred in 2000. JSO received a tip about the incident while they were investigating Pringle for another sexual assault.

He was charged a few weeks earlier for assaulting a confidential informant while working as a narcotics detective.

=====================

July 22, 2004 -- Fort Pierce Police Chief Eugene Savage suspended a 3-year veteran of the force this week after "egregious" allegations of criminal misconduct were made against the officer.

Dwight Toombs, 30, was relieved of duty and suspended with pay on Monday until the result of the "serious criminal complaint that has been lodged" is known, according to a Fort Pierce police memo.

Savage said a person came forward with information that was "disconcerting."

"The allegations were egregious enough to cause me to place him on leave," Savage said.

The allegations alone did not lead to the decision to relieve Toombs of duty, Savage said.

"It's corroborated by the actual physical evidence," Savage said. He would not go into detail about the complaint or the evidence.

Toombs, who could not be reached for comment, was ordered to turn in his patrol car, badge and any department weapons, according to the memo.

The Fort Pierce Central High School graduate and former Marine received average reviews on his annual evaluations.

"Dwight follows organizational policies and procedures," according to one evaluation. "In most situations, Dwight is able to keep promises and honor the commitments he has made."

Toombs' personnel file includes only one disciplinary action. He was suspended for one day in 2003 after he failed to report that he drove off from the city's fuel pumps with a gas nozzle still connected to his patrol car, causing damage to the pump and vehicle, according to the report.

=====================

Officers Involved: Arturo Trevino

Location: Florida

6/24/04 -- Exactly one week after his termination was recommended, former police Lt. Arturo Trevino resigned amid accusations of abuse of authority, spreading false rumors and lying under oath. Trevino, a 16-year veteran of the Winter Haven Police Department, received $27,628.32 in severance pay, including accrued vacation, holiday and sick pay. He signed the agreement June 17. At the time of the agreement, a due process hearing was pending regarding the findings of a recent internal investigation by the Police Department into Trevino's conduct.

The results of the investigation were released June 10. Police Chief Paul Goward determined that Trevino lied under oath, abused his authority by unduly punishing a subordinate and spread false rumors that a female officer had been molested by a male officer during a trip to a Devil Rays baseball game.

In a five-page memorandum listing his final recommendations regarding Trevino, Goward wrote that Trevino had been unable to effectively respond to the allegations. In the memo, Goward also stated that Trevino's final response to the allegations often contradicted statements he made originally . Goward recommended Trevino be fired. Trevino was set to discuss those charges in a due process hearing, which could have been his last effort to retain his job. Now with the agreement between he and the city, a due process hearing will not take place. Trevino had filed a racial discrimination complaint Dec. 29, claiming that as a Hispanic officer, he had been treated differently than other members of the police force.

Because Trevino chose to resign instead of facing termination, his complaint will go unresolved, the agreement states. Trevino was originally suspended with pay in November. At the time, his salary was $47,132. In his racial discrimination complaint, Trevino also wrote that he believed he had been treated differently because he spoke openly about his goal of becoming Winter Haven police chief one day.

=========================

Officers Involved: James Bott

Location: Florida

6/24/04 -- Officer James Bott was arrested on charges that he had a months-long relationship with a 13-year-old girl he met while she rode her bicycle through a neighborhood where he was working. James Bott, 30, faces charges that include six counts of lewd or lascivious battery, and 15 counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. He was booked at the Palm Beach County jail, and released on $50,000 bond.

Bott met the girl, who was then 12, a year ago. He later invited her to his house, which he shares with his girlfriend, his sister and her husband, according to an arrest report. The girl told Palm Beach County sheriff's investigators that Bott first fondled her in December, and their relationship then escalated. The girl's family allowed her to spend the night at Bott's house, but grew concerned about the relationship this week and contacted authorities.

=======================

Officers Involved: Allen St. Germain and Sgt. George Alvarez

Location: Florida

6/17/2004 -- Two police officers have been indicted following an investigation by the state attorney's office. Officer Allen St. Germain and Sgt. George Alvarez are accused of severely beating a teenager after they arrested him a year ago. Peter Daniel, 19, said Sweetwater police arrested him June 18 on charges of evading a traffic stop. His attorney said that officers beat Daniel after the arrest because they suspected him of stealing a Jet Ski that belonged to one of the officer's relatives.

Daniel was reportedly transported to the police station in Sweetwater Mayor Manuel Marono's SUV. Daniel said that an officer struck him again while he was being transported, and he said Marono saw it happen. St. Germain and Alvarez reportedly gave very differing accounts of what happened to Daniel to cause his injuries. One police report said Daniel threw himself against the floor of the police station and the wall of his cell several times. The other report said that when Daniel attacked the officer, he struck him several times in the mid-section, and then Daniel "became compliant." According to an affadavit, officers at the station ignored Daniel's requests for medical help for hours, until an officer intervened when he found Daniel looking gray and "near death." Daniel had surgery to repair his liver and kidney and was hospitalized for some time. Both the FBI and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office investigated the case. St. Germain and Alverez are charged with battery and official misconduct, third-degree felony offenses.

State Attorney Kathy Fernandez-Rundle said Thursday that St. Germain and Alvarez violated the trust of their fellow officers and the public by committing a crime when they severely beat Daniel. In a press release, Fernandez-Rundle said, "The saddest comment from this investigation is how a room full of trained investigators can admit to seeing nothing even as they reluctantly disclose that they heard something going wrong. No police department can ever be the personal tool of any individual officer or officers."

================================

Officers Involved: Derek Roberts

Location: Florida

06/17/04 -- The FBI arrested of a veteran Hollywood police officer on charges of trying to buy two children for use as sex slaves. Police officer Derek D. Roberts, 29, worked the past four years with the Hollywood force as a dispatcher and later as a patrol officer. He was relieved of duty without pay after his arrest. He was arrested in Miami after agents said he arrived at a pre-set meeting place complete the deal with a cash payment and expecting the minors were at the hotel to have sex with him.

Roberts earlier put a down payment for two children using his credit card. The FBI said Roberts was trying to import two children young girls from Latin America and they were to be used solely for sex. Roberts used a computer in his search, agents said.

Roberts was charged with child sex trafficking, which carries a possible 20-year prison sentence.

====================

Officers Involved: Derek Roberts

6/16/2004 -- A Hollywood police officer found himself on the wrong side of the law. Officer Derek Roberts appeared in federal court after being arrested by FBI agents, reportedly in connection with illegal activities outside the United States. Roberts has been with the department three years. Roberts was reportedly released on bond Monday afternoon. He has been relieved of duty.

=====================

May 21, 2004 -- WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. - A police officer involved in a nightclub quarrel resigned after an internal affairs review showed he pressured a victim not to file a battery charge, officials said Thursday.

Sgt. Steve Hunt, who joined the West Melbourne Police Department in 1996, resigned Tuesday after the internal investigation on official misconduct allegations was completed.

Reports show Hunt lied to his supervisors about contacting a man he had gotten into an argument with on Oct. 11.

The incident happened at the 702 Nightclub in downtown Melbourne, said Sgt. Sean Riordan, spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department.

"It was a disturbance where one person pushed another," Riordan said. No arrests were made, but West Melbourne investigators found Hunt placed multiple calls to the other man and convinced him not to pursue a battery charge, reports show.

==========

May 25, 2004 -- HAINES CITY - The father of an accused Northeast Haines City drug dealer Monday alleged his son was beaten by Haines City narcotics investigators last week.

Charles Russell Sr. of Davenport, accused three members of the city's vice unit, including its commander, of battering his son, Charles "C.J." Russell Jr., before his arrest last Wednesday. The father and son filed a complaint with Haines City Police Chief Morris West. The case is under investigation.

At about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, narcotics detectives found a small quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia during a warrant search at 1126 Ave. J. Russell Jr. was reportedly staying with his parents during the raid. He was charged afterward with possession of marijuana, possession of drugs without a prescription, resisting arrest, battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, threatening a public servant and disorderly conduct.

The major drug charges relate to a previous drug sale to an informant, investigators said. West denied the misconduct allegations, but declined to comment any further on the case.

Police in March arrested C.J. Russell after reportedly finding more than 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana, one ounce of cocaine, 105 marijuana plants and $4,800 in cash at the residence.

Russell Sr. made no excuses for the activities, spurring police to try seizing the rooming house under the state's forfeiture law. The residence is technically owned by Russell Sr.'s wife, Brenda. The case will probably go before a judge. Russell Sr. said that he'd rather sell the property for a fair price.

Russell Sr. claims that his son was enraged by damage to the property from the latest raid. He phoned Green at the police station after inspecting the rooming house. Russell Jr. allegedly made a derogatory comment related to the new police sergeant's wife and hung up.

The Russells reportedly were driving to police headquarters to complain about the damage when they noticed "three carloads" of investigators traveling back to the rooming house. The Russells turned their own car around and followed, meeting Green and other investigators at 1126 Ave. J.Russell Sr. said his son exited the car at police gunpoint with his hands raised before being handcuffed, thrown to the ground, maced and assaulted. Green reportedly told Russell Jr., "don't you ever call to my job anymore disrespecting me."

In written and recorded statements, Russell reported pleading with investigators demanding, "why are you beating my son like this?" as he was held at gunpoint. "No one answered me," he said Monday.

===========

Officers Involved: Robert E. Dempsey

Location: Florida

5/19/2004 -- A federal jury awarded a former Roosevelt man $2 million after concluding that Nassau police arrested him for murder without sufficient evidence, fabricated a confession and tricked him into signing it, attorneys in the case said. Shonnard Lee, 25, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in 1999, clearing him of any wrongdoing in the 1997 beating death of his next door neighbor, Sammy Jones, 22. Lee said his confession was coerced. Afterward, Lee sued Nassau County, the police department and retired Det. Robert E. Dempsey, alleging they violated his civil rights. The eight-member jury awarded Lee compensatory damages of $750,000, payment for the 21 months Lee spent in the Nassau County jail while awaiting trial. The panel also ordered Nassau County and Dempsey, who the jury found fabricated the confession, to pay Lee $1.25 million in punitive damages.

==========================

Officer Involved: Robert Nelson

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

5/03/04 -- Investigators are saying that officer Robert Nelson took guns out of the evidence room and couldn't explain what he did with them. Internal Affairs after questioning Nelson IA officials recommended that he be fired for mishandling evidence and lying. Nelson took firearms out of the property room on three occasions, and then kept them for up to three months. On another occasion he kept the guns for three-and-a-half years.

=========================

Officers Involved: Keith Burns

Location: Florida

04/27/04 -- Officer. Keith Burns surrendered to police after being charged with beating a West Palm Beach man bloody and breaking his arm. Burns was released hours later on $5,000 bail.

=====================

Officer Involved: Richard "Ricky" Brandenberger

Location: Florida

04/27/04 -- A former corrections officer will spend the next 14 months in jail for his role in smuggling drugs to inmates at the Orange County Jail. Richard "Ricky" Brandenberger's sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release. He also must pay a six-thousand dollar fine. Brandenberger was taken into custody immediately after yesterday's sentencing. He pleaded guilty three months ago to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of Ecstasy and marijuana. Brandenberger was one of three police officers arrested last fall after a two-year probe by federal, state and local agents into jail corruption. Five other corrections officers were suspended with pay. A videotape showed Brandenberger accepting a packet of 50 tablets of Ecstasy and an ounce of marijuana from an undercover agent. He was paid between 200 and 80 dollars for each delivery he made to inmates.

======================

Location: New Port Richey, Fla.

4/09/2004 -- A 9-year-old girl was arrested and handcuffed after she was accused of stealing a rabbit and $10 from a neighbor's home. A Pasco County sheriff's deputy read the girl her rights and took her away in the back of his patrol car. The girl, whose name was not released, began to cry during questioning at the police station Tuesday and admitted taking Oreo the rabbit but denied taking two $5 bills and some change.

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