Former Miami Beach officer
faces trial in DUI, reckless driving charges in '11 ATV crash
MIAMI — Jury selection is set
to begin for a former Miami Beach police officer charged with four felonies
stemming from a 2011 beach crash in which his all-terrain vehicle seriously
injured two people.
Potential jurors will be
questioned beginning Tuesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in the case of Derek Kuilan.
Prosecutors say he was joy-riding with a woman on the ATV after drinking while
on duty at a bachelorette party at a South Beach nightclub.
A man and a woman walking on
the beach to see the sunrise were seriously injured when struck by Kuilan's
ATV. Kuilan is charged with two counts of driving under the influence with
serious bodily injury and two counts of reckless driving with bodily injury.
Each charge carries a potential
five-year prison sentence.
Man claims officer struck his
car, then placed him under arrest
MILWAUKEE —A man claims a
Milwaukee police officer struck his car and then placed him under arrest for
drunken driving.
Diego Rodriguez-Hernandez was
near Second Street and National Avenue in August 2013 around bar time. That's
when he said a Milwaukee police sergeant backed up and struck his car.
"This thing came
apart," he said, showing WISN 12 News the tail light on his car. "We
replaced it cause it break."
But instead of discussing the
accident, Rodriguez said he was placed under arrest.
"He's like, 'You been
drinking tonight?'" Rodriguez said. "He put the handcuffs on me and
he throw me in the police car."
Cameras inside the police squad
captured some of the conversation.
"This is not fair,"
he told the officer. "You were backing up fast. I stopped. You hit
me."
The police sergeant saw the
incident a different way.
"You're still drunk,"
the officer said. "You ain't got no license. That means you ain't supposed
to be on the road. If you weren't on the road you wouldn't have gotten hit,
would you?"
Rodriguez was born with a
deformity that left him with one finger on each hand. Because of that
deformity, he said the handcuffs slipped off while he was in the squad car.
"He thought I was trying
to escape," he said.
"Here are your handcuffs,
I don't need them," Rodriguez told the officer. "My hands are too
small. They don't fit in here."
And that's when the arrest
became physical.
"Get on the ground! Get on
the ground!" Sgt. Thomas Johnson yelled as he forcefully removed Rodriguez
from the squad car.
"He opened up the door of
the police car, grabbed me from my shirt, throw me on the ground,"
Rodriguez said. "I told him the whole time I cannot have handcuffs. He
don't listen to me."
Police procedures state that
supervisors much report such a use of force. Johnson did not. Instead, he
placed Rodriguez under arrest for drunken driving.
WISN 12 News obtained police
reports that show at least four other officers on scene said Rodriguez did not
appear drunk. Documents show that an officer who conducted a field sobriety
test showed that he passed.
Rodriguez filed a complaint
against Johnson. James Graf, who witnessed the original incident, also called
police about it.
"This cop car backed into
the car and all of a sudden just arrested him," Graf said. "It was
ridiculous."
WISN 12 News reporter Colleen
Henry went to Johnson's home, but he declined to comment. However Henry has
obtained a statement Johnson gave to officers who invested the complaint
against him. In the statement, Johnson denied arresting Rodriguez to minimize
the crash.
Regarding the handcuffs,
Johnson said in the statement "Because he doesn't have hands doesn't mean
he can't hurt you. It's a very minor property damage accident with an
intoxicated driver who happens to be handicapped. That's not my fault. He
shouldn't have been there. I didn't do anything wrong. I'm sick of it, climbing
up my (expletive) for it."
Johnson was demoted from
sergeant to officer, and is working in the evidence room while he appeals his
demotion.
Rodriguez said he was not even
aware of Johnson's demotion or the investigation of the incident.
"If you make a mistake,
you got to face it," Rodriguez said. "He did not fix it. He also gave
me a ticket."
Milwaukee police did not
rescind the drunken driving ticket. However, it was reduced to reckless
driving, which Rodriguez did plead guilty to. He said he is making monthly
payments to fulfill that ticket.
Milwaukee police officials said
they will not comment on the case until the appeal process has concluded. The
findings are expected to be released at the end of July.
