When
Florida cops are fired, they often don’t stay fired
BY CHRISTINA VEIGA
CVEIGA@MIAMIHERALD.COM
The police officers have been
accused of beating up gay men, looking at porn while on duty — even hiding
drugs and stealing from those they arrested.
Each one was fired. And each
one eventually got his job back.
The latest: A Miami Beach
police officer, fired after he was accused of beating up a handcuffed man and
yelling anti-gay epithets while arresting a witness to the altercation, just
won his job back. His work partner in that incident also fought his termination
and won.
In South Florida, it can be
hard for cops to stay fired. Those who swear to protect and serve are supported
by powerful unions with enough cash to pay for talented lawyers. Police
contracts often require cities to adhere to the findings of an arbitrator when
an officer contests a termination.
Cops have another tool at their
disposal: an officers’ bill of rights, written into state law, which mandates
certain protections for police officers accused of wrongdoing.
“It’s part of their security,
and checks and balances that are necessary, because it’s so easy to falsely
accuse a police officer,” said attorney Richard Sharpstein, who has represented
many police officers.
“They face administrative
problems in their departments; they face criminal problems from people they’ve
arrested who have grudges or reasons to lie or outright hate a police officer.
So yeah, they have those rights, because otherwise any jerk on the street could
have them terminated based on some personal vendetta.”
Sharpstein is currently
representing former Opa-locka Sgt. German Bosque, who has been arrested at
least three times and fired six.
The former sergeant is believed
to have been investigated more times than any other officer in Florida. He’s
still fighting his latest termination, which came on the heels of his arrest on
charges of kidnapping, battery and tampering with a witness who had tried to
file a complaint against him.
The state is also considering
yanking his police certification.
Sharpstein said the latest
charges against his client stem from “personality conflicts” in the department
and called the case “ridiculous.”
In other cases around South
Florida:
• In Miami Beach, officers
Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi were fired after a gay tourist accused them of
gay bashing. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the tourist
and Miami Beach settled the case for $75,000.
In December 2012, an arbitrator
decided Hazzi should have his job back. The decision to return Forte to the force
was reached on Aug. 31. In his case, the arbitrator decided that the officers
didn’t target the subjects because of their sexuality, that the arrests were
justified and that the officers didn’t use excessive force.
• In Miami Beach, a sergeant
who was fired after an infamous ATV incident — in which a drunk cop ran over
two people on the sand while giving a bachelorette a ride on the back of the
vehicle — won his job back after the city fired him for ignoring his police
radio and leaving his shift early. The arbitrator decided the sergeant wasn’t
negligent but simply “overwhelmed by circumstances” beyond his control.
• In Broward County, Lt. James
Murray won his job back at the Broward Sheriff’s Office after he was fired for
harassing employees and looking at porn while on duty, according to the
department.
In each of these cases, the
officers and their unions argued they were stripped of their badges because of
political retaliation. In Miami Beach’s case, the union argued that cops were
offered up to “appease” the community after a series of embarrassing incidents.
In Broward, Murray told the media he was targeted because he refused to conduct
surveillance of a union representative.
The American Civil Liberties
Union, however, sees things differently.
“Ultimately, the most basic job
of police officers is to keep the communities they serve safe. When they are
failing to do that, when policies and practices actually put people at risk of
either false prosecution or physical danger, the trust that people have in law
enforcement breaks down. Especially when no one is held responsible. That makes
all of us less safe,” spokesman Baylor Johnson wrote in an email.
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.