A Windermere cop named Alejandro
Rivera is charged with conducting racially based traffic stopped used the term
"Bravo vehicle" to describe cars driven by black motorists, another
officer told prosecutors in documents released Friday.
Rivera said his field-training
officer, Jason Darnell, told him to pull someone over because he was driving a
"Bravo vehicle," court documents show.
When Rivera asked what that
meant, Darnell replied, ""Bravo stands for 'black, stop it,' "
"I was told to stop
vehicles based on the color of the driver's skin and some preconceived notions
I guess he had of race," Rivera said.
Rivera said he made three such
stops that month under pressure from Darnell and wrote speeding tickets even
though the in-car radar was turned off, records show.
Darnell was charged in April
with official misconduct and making threats against a public servant.
Windermere police are investigating Officer Ryan Miller, who has been suspended
but not been charged.