PRESS RELEASE: Winter Springs Mom's Attempt to Seek Justice Against Winter Springs Police Department Abuse Case via Court System Proves Useless - Libertarian Florida State House (District 33) Candidate Franklin Perez Proposes Civilian Review Boards with Full Powers to Independently Investigate, Discipline, and Terminate Problem Police Officers as the Only Real Solution
From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Winter Springs Mom's Attempt to Seek Justice Against Winter Springs Police Department Abuse Case via Court System Proves Useless - Libertarian Florida State House (District 33) Candidate Franklin Perez Proposes Civilian Review Boards with Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:26:35 +0000 From: Franklin Perez Florida House District 33 Libertarian Candidate PRESS RELEASE: Winter Springs Mom's Attempt to Seek Justice Against Winter Springs Police Department Abuse Case via Court System Proves Useless - Libertarian Florida State House (District 33) Candidate Franklin Perez Proposes Civilian Review Boards with Full Powers to Independently Investigate, Discipline, and Terminate Problem Police Officers as the Only Real Solution Dear Members of the Press and Public: My name is Franklin Perez, and I'm running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33) with a Libertarian platform. You may view information about my campaign by going to the following websites: 1) http://www.fperez1776.com 2) http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE While perusing through the Seminole Chronicle website, I came across two articles dealing with a Police Abuse incident by the Winter Springs Police Department: 1) 2/3/10 Seminole Chronicle Article: Mother Sues Winter Springs Police Over Tasing The article's contents may be seen at the http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/02/03/4b6a0421aca25?in_archive=1 or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4413 hyperlink 2) 3/3/10 Seminole Chronicle Article: Lawsuit Against Winter Springs Police Dismissed Contents of this article obtained from the http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/03/03/4b8ed4f0443c0?in_archive=1 or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4414 hyperlink. So far in my lifetime, I have been subjected to the following TWO types of Police Harassment, albeit they did not involve ANY physical force: 1) December 7, 1995 incident involving the Colorado State Patrol: http://www.concentric.net/~perezf/pc.html 2) October 13, 2009 incident with the Winter Springs Police Department where my Fourth Amendment Rights to Unreasonable Search and Seizure were Violated: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/3809 (Note: I was considering filing a Federal Civil Lawsuit, but it would have cost me about $20,000 if I file the lawsuit with an attorney. I thought about filing the lawsuit in Federal Court, pro se, which means I would have been at a terrible disadvantage and would have CONSUMED too much of MY time from my campaign.) According to the http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/02/03/4b6a0421aca25?in_archive=1 or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4413 hyperlink: It's been more than four years since the Winter Springs Police Department tased 18-year-old Harrison Albert in handcuffs in front of his mother, grandmother and 8-year-old sister. Since then, Donna Gump, Albert's mother, sold her Oak Forest Home to defend the second-degree felony of assaulting a law enforcement officer charge against her son, putting about $50,000 into the defense. To be fair, she said she spent that much because she kept switching attorneys. Her daughter still has nightmares about the incident, and Gump can't get the image of her son convulsing and foaming at the mouth out of her head. Gump is suing Winter Springs Police Chief Kevin Brunelle and the officers involved for $1 million, according to a lawsuit Gump filed without the help of an attorney. Gump said the lawsuit is about holding the police department accountable. "As far as I'm concerned, they were in the wrong," Gump said. "It's hard for me to get over it because no one's been held accountable. That's the whole reason for the lawsuit. Someone has to be held accountable for what happened." According to the http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/03/03/4b8ed4f0443c0?in_archive=1 or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4414 hyperlink: A Seminole County judge may have dismissed a civil lawsuit against the Winter Springs Police Department last month, but that Donna Gump still feels vindicated. Without the help of an attorney, she filed a lawsuit accusing Winter Springs Police Chief Kevin Brunelle and his officers of violating her fourth amendment rights when they entered her house, arrested her son and tased him in handcuffs in front of her. Now, she said, she plans on appealing the dismissal. But more importantly, she said she feels like she took a stand. "Even if nothing comes of it, you feel better because you took a stand," Gump said. Gump filed the lawsuit Nov. 25, 2009, asking for $1 million for pain and suffering. Circuit Jude Clayton Simmons dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning that Gump can't file another lawsuit later unless she does so on different grounds. Miss Gump may have felt better filing the lawsuit in Seminole County Court and going $50,000 into the whole while selling her Oak Forest home, but in the end, the Court System proved useless in holding the Winter Springs Police Officers accountable, in my view, because the police department, judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors are all part of club "legal community" and are thus reluctant to want to punish one of their own. Dealing with the Court System WITH an attorney is COSTLY. Dealing with the Court System WITHOUT an attorney is almost pointless and VERY DIFFICULT due to the procedural hurdles. Other Information about United States Police Abuse may be seen at the following hyperlinks: 1) Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America : http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476 2) 10 Rules for Dealing with Police : http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/12/09/10-rules-for-dealing-with-the-police So, why do these police abuses continue? Jeffrey Billman of the Orlando Weekly touched on the subject of Police Abuse and Harassment in a 7/10/2008 article entitled "Might Makes Right: Who polices the Orlando police? They do. That's the problem". You may view information about this article by going to the http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=12472 or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/1888 hypelrink. As I indicate in the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/1884 hyperlink: There is to an extremely large extent no accountability by police officers because police departments police themselves. I believe there is a need for a Law Enforcement Accountability Act to deal with problem police officers. To help insure greater accountability of police officers, I propose passing a law in the state legislature requiring that there be Civilian Review Boards to oversee all police departments in the state from the state police, county police, down to the city police similar to Proposition H that was passed in San Francisco back in 2003. You may read about this in the http://www.aclu.org/police/civoversight/14616prs20031105.html hyperlink. I would propose that these Civilian Review Boards have the following powers: a) Every stage of the police complaint process - from the investigation of the complaint to disciplinary decisions - is controlled by civilians that are members of the Civilian Review Boards. Any individual can goto these Civilian Review Boards to lodge a formal complaint against a police officer. b) Bring formal disciplinary charges against police officers. Disciplinary charges should include unpaid suspensions for whatever time the Civilian Review Board deems necessary. c) Fire and terminate police officers from their line of work. d)I would even think of having these Civilian Review Boards be elected positions in which members may not have been former police officers.That way, police officers will be judged by the standards of the civilian population. e) I believe that having Civilian Review Boards that have the actual teeth and power to discipline problem police officers, including full termination, should go a long way towards solving the problem of police abuse, harassment, and excessive force that occurs in many police departments in the state. The current Civilian Review Boards in the state, such as the one for the Seminole County Sheriff's department, is useless because all these Civilian Review Boards can currently do is make recommendations to police departments; these recommendations can be fully ignored by police departments. I have made the issue of Police Accountablity one of my main campaign platforms. As indicated in my http://www.fperez1776.com/index_eng.html hyperlink, I will vote: For Law Enforcement Accountability Act to deal with Police Abuse and Harassment: Police Accountability Details... Current Civilian Review Boards have no real power. All they can do is make recommendations; thus, there is, to an extremely large extent, no accountability by police officers because police departments police themselves. [1] Would require the formation of Civilian Review Boards to oversee State, County, and City police departments with the full power to independently investigate, discipline, and terminate problem police officers. Once these Civilian Review Boards with the FULL powers indicated above become a reality, ALL Police Departments will become TRULY accountable and LESS Police Abuse will occur. Sincerely, Franklin Perez (Libertarian) Florida State House Candidate (District 33) - Year 2010 Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics! http://www.fperez1776.com http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776 http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE (407) 694-7805 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
