Photo Raises Questions About Possibe Police Coverup in the Shooting Death of Jermaine McBean...
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fred-grimm/article23232798.htmlFred Grimm: A questionable South Florida police shooting that we ignored too long
Outrage for the killing of Jermaine McBean has been late coming.
Nearly two years have passed since a Broward County sheriff’s deputy shot the 33-year-old computer technician. At the time, troublesome aspects of the police shooting didn’t raise much of a reaction.
Three officers had followed McBean as he walked into his Oakland Park apartment complex carrying an air rifle. The deputies claimed that when they called out to McBean to drop what they supposed was a hunting weapon, he turned and pointed it in their direction. One of the officers, Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Peter Peraza, opened fire, hitting McBean twice.
As McBean died, he protested, “It was just a BB gun.”
Just a BB gun. An unloaded BB gun as it turned out. That probably should have been enough to prompt some hard questions from the media. And from the Broward State Attorney’s Office. Surely, someone needed to examine BSO’s claim that McBean, someone with no criminal record, a master’s degree and IT job with a prominent advertising agency, had used an unloaded BB gun to menace three deputies with drawn pistols.
But the state attorney’s office seemed to shrug it off. Even worse, we in the press gave the shooting only cursory regard. Even when Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, while the incident was still purportedly under investigation, pinned medals on the three deputies. Deputy Peraza received the BSO’s Gold Cross award for an action described as “selfless, honorable and brave.” He was cited for placing himself “in harm’s way.” Which, in retrospect, seems beyond hyperbole.
But times have changed since Jermaine McBean died on a Wednesday afternoon, July 31, 2013. Since, the nation has become hyper-vigilant when black men are killed by police in questionable circumstances. Incidents in Cleveland, Baltimore, New York, Ferguson, Mo., and other cities have created a kind of synergistic outrage. If the Oakland Park shooting had occurred in 2015, Jermaine McBean’s name might have been added to the simmering exasperation with these police killings.
At least the case has received some belated attention. My former Herald colleague Frances Robles, now with the New York Times, has reported a disturbing discrepancy between the BSO version of the shooting and a photograph snapped by one of McBean’s neighbors from one of the apartments. BSO has asserted that McBean simply chose to ignore the deputy’s warnings to drop the weapon. That, as Peraza said in his sworn statement, it “didn’t appear that he had anything obstructing his hearing.”
But the photo, which just surfaced last month, clearly shows that McBean was wearing earbuds.
Another witness identified as Michael R. McCarthy told both Robles and Channel 10’s Bob Norman that McBean had not pointed his air rifle at the deputies. McCarthy had been one of three people who called 911 that afternoon to report that they had seen a black man walking along the sidewalk on Dixie Highway carrying some kind of rifle. “He's not acting crazy or aggressive with it,” McCarthy told the 911 operators. “I'm not going to say he's waving it [around], he's just walking along with it.”
Two of the three callers noted that the rifle might well have been a toy or a pellet gun. A woman caller said, “He’s carrying what looks like some kind of BB gun, shotgun, I don't know what it is [but] it’s camouflaged, and he’s screaming really loud to himself. It could be a fake gun, but it looks like it could be real, too.”
It was a Winchester model 1000 air rifle that McBean had purchased from a nearby ? shop, about a 10 minute walk from his apartment in a well-maintained, two-story complex off Dixie Highway in Oakland Park. One might think that if the 911 callers thought that the gun might not be real, then trained police officers who had followed him for about 10 minutes down Dixie Highway might have also noticed.
A federal lawsuit against BSO filed by McBean’s family asserts that the medical examiner’s report contradicts the BSO claim and Peraza’s sworn statement that when Jermaine McBean was shot, he had turned far enough toward the deputies to aim the air rifle in their direction. The lawsuit also claims that BSO investigators had insisted that they had found the earbuds in McBean’s pocket, not on his head. Of course, they didn’t know at the time that their credibility would be undermined by that neighbor’s photo.
Just as bothersome, the lawsuit claims that the Broward State Attorney’s office allowed the case to languish for 20 months without pursuing key witnesses or taking the case to a grand jury. The suit notes that the state attorney’s office only seemed to emerge from its disinterested languor after the New York Times started asking those discomfiting questions.
But finally, reporters and prosecutors, perhaps even the sheriff’s office, are confronting the bothersome contradictions around the killing of Jermaine McBean. After all, it was just a BB gun. -
http://www.startribune.com/earbuds-bb-gun-at-play-in-fatal-police-shooting-in-florida/307252821/Earbuds, BB gun at the heart of a fatal police shooting in Florida; grand jury to investigate
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Jermaine McBean decided one summer day in 2013 to walk to a ? shop, buy a pellet gun that looked a lot like a real rifle and stroll down a busy street back to his apartment complex with the gun in plain view. He was likely listening to music through earbud headphones, something he did a lot.
Alarmed by the gun, several motorists dialed 911, worried that the 33-year-old McBean seemed to be acting strangely. Some noted there were children around.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies quickly arrived, saw McBean at the apartment complex and yelled for him to put the gun down. At first he didn't react — perhaps he couldn't hear because of his earbuds — then, as he began to turn around, he was fatally shot by Deputy Peter Peraza.
Now, nearly two years later, a Florida grand jury will investigate the McBean shooting. Homicide detectives have completed their investigation and turned the case over to the prosecutors, who will soon present it to the grand jury. It's not exactly clear when those jurors will get the case, nor why it has taken two years, though in Florida police shooting investigations can often take years to complete.
The McBean shooting generated only modest interest in 2013 but is getting renewed attention because of a wrongful death lawsuit his family filed and the national conversation about how police treat blacks. McBean was black and Peraza is Hispanic.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said his detectives have done a "thorough and complete investigation" and he believes the shooting was justified. His officers even received a prestigious award for their actions that day, even though they haven't been cleared yet.
McBean's mother accuses Peraza and the sheriff of seeking to cover up the facts surrounding McBean's death, including lying about whether McBean was wearing earbuds, according to a wrongful death lawsuit she filed in federal court in May. The family's lawyer, David Schoen, said the deputies would have "beyond any question" noticed the earbuds after the shooting.
"They knew the earphones would be a material fact for their theory that he refused to obey a command and so they lied. Not one of them had the character, sense of duty, or basic honesty to come clean," Schoen said, repeating allegations in the lawsuit.
Israel said if red flags had been raised during the sheriff's office probe of Peraza's actions, he wouldn't have been permitted to return to full active duty.
"Based on all the facts about the case that were available to me, I supported the decision to put him back on duty," Israel said.
It's rare for a law enforcement officer to be charged with a crime, much less convicted, for shooting a suspect, even those that turn out not to be armed. The last time a conviction happened in Florida was in 1989 in Miami in a case that touched off fierce rioting just after the shooting happened. That officer, William Lozano, was later acquitted of manslaughter after a second trial.
According to sheriff reports and court records, McBean walked from his apartment in the suburb of Oakland Park to a ? shop to purchase the green camouflage Winchester air rifle, which has a scope and looked to many people who saw him that day to be a real weapon but only fires BB-like pellets. And it wasn't even loaded with those.
Several people who saw McBean carrying the rifle called 911 from their cars, including Christina Turner, who later told investigators he was behaving strangely.
"He looked like he was angry. He was stomping his feet. He was yelling something," she said, adding that she considered the possibility that he was carrying a "BB gun" but then determined "it looked like a gun, a shotgun, something that could do damage."
McBean was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010, according to the family attorney, and had been hospitalized briefly in the days before the shooting. But Schoen said he was back to normal after the treatment on July 31, 2013, the day of the shooting.
A sheriff's dispatcher told responding deputies it appeared McBean had a .22-caliber rifle. Peraza arrived first, followed by Sgt. Richard LaCerra, and was initially told to hang back until other deputies arrived. Then McBean turned to walk into the apartment complex, near a pool with families and children present, according to sheriff reports.
"There is people all over the place. I have no idea what this man's intentions were, good or bad," LaCerra told an investigator.
The decision was made to confront McBean, who was now carrying the air rifle over his shoulders, behind his neck, with both arms slung on top of the gun. Peraza, LaCerra and Lt. Brad Ostroff — the deputy commander of the district — approached from behind with guns drawn, shouting for McBean to drop the rifle.
"It appeared like he was ignoring us," Peraza said, insisting repeatedly that he saw no earbuds in McBean's ears.
However, a photo taken shortly after the shooting by a resident of the apartment complex from a few feet away clearly shows an earbud in McBean's left ear. Because of the angle, it's impossible to see if there's an earbud in his right ear. Either way, the earbuds wound up in McBean's pocket after paramedics took him to the hospital. Family members say McBean wore earbuds almost constantly.
The three deputies all told detectives that McBean eventually turned in a manner suggesting he might pose a threat. Peraza, however, was the only one who fired, striking McBean with two rounds.
"I felt like my life was threatened," Peraza said. "I felt like I could've been killed. My sergeant could have been killed. He could've shot somebody in the pool area."
LaCerra remembers McBean saying something moments after he was hit: "He goes, 'it was just a BB gun.'"
Less than a month later, Ostroff nominated both Peraza and LaCerra for the sheriff's office's "Gold Cross" award, calling their actions that day "selfless, honorable and brave" and that the two deputies "placed themselves in harm's way" to protect civilians. The nomination makes no mention of earbuds or that the gun was, in fact, only an air rifle.
Israel said he is "disappointed" the awards were handed out before the shooting investigation was complete.
One of the 911 callers that day, Michael McCarthy, also witnessed the shooting. McCarthy told investigators he heard the deputies shouting at McBean to drop the gun, followed quickly by three shots.
"I hope I didn't get this guy shot for nothing, you know what I mean," he said. "It didn't appear to me that they had given him enough time. If they had given him a minute or so or maybe a, you know, couple seconds, he may have put the gun down, I don't know." -
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/oakland-park/fl-jermaine-mcbean-protest-20151022-story.htmlFamily of man shot dead by Broward deputy in 2013 seeks answers
Jermaine McBean was fatally shot by a Broward Sheriff's deputy more than two years ago, and his survivors are impatient that a grand jury has not yet heard the case.
"He was too quick on the draw," Jennifer Young said about Broward Sheriff's Deputy Peter Peraza, who shot her son on July 31, 2013 after McBean carried an unloaded air rifle on his shoulders and entered the grounds of his Oakland Park apartment complex. "Why did he ? my child?"
The family's attorney said he is hopeful charges will be brought in McBean's homicide.
Young, 66, a certified nursing assistant who lives in Delray Beach, gathered with family members, lawyers and civil rights activists Thursday in front of the Broward County courthouse in Fort Lauderdale to describe McBean and plead for justice in his case.
There are two legal actions surrounding the McBean shooting: Young has sued Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, Peraza and two other deputies in a federal civil suit. The second is the Broward state attorney's criminal investigation into the shooting.
We believe this will be presented to the grand jury before the end of the year," said Ron Ishoy, spokesman for Broward State Attorney Michael Satz. "It's an ongoing case. We have been in touch with the counsel for the civil suit. We just can't talk about an ongoing case."
Satz's office has presented more than 170 police-involved deaths cases to grand juries from when he won office in 1976 through early 2015, Ishoy said.
In nearly four decades, prosecutors have obtained seven indictments of cops from grand juries; five of those cases involved gunfire and one of those was not a fatal shooting.
Additionally, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is reviewing sheriff's office investigative files to determine whether McBean's civil rights were violated.
Jermaine McBean was Young's middle son, a 33-year-old computer systems engineer at Zimmerman Advertising in Fort Lauderdale. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in science and loved his two cats and Kawasaki motorcycle, his mother said.
"Jermaine was my person to lean on," Young said. Her two other sons, also professionals, do not live close by.
On the day McBean died, he was off from work, had eaten at a Denny's restaurant and purchased the gun from a ? shop during his walk home along North Federal Highway, his mother said.
The family says he was listening to music through earbuds while he carried the rifle on his shoulders. Witnesses called 911, which brought three deputies to the Green Tree apartment complex and the deadly encounter.
Young's lawsuit alleges McBean's earbuds prevented him from hearing deputies' orders to stop and drop the air rifle.
"He is always listening to music, and he dances," Young said. "He wears his earbuds all the time. It was a habit, even in the house."
The earbuds were even worn when McBean rode his motorcycle.
"It made me crazy," she said.
In a Broward Sheriff's case report, Peraza told an investigator that deputies screamed numerous times at McBean to drop his weapon, and that it didn't appear as though anything was obstructing his hearing.
McBean also appeared to be ignoring deputies, Peraza said.
In May, a witness's photograph surfaced of a mortally wounded McBean that shows him wearing earbuds.
The day after the shooting, a sheriff's press release said that McBean had begun to turn and point the gun in Peraza's direction before Peraza shot him.
Three months after the shooting, Israel awarded Peraza and another deputy the agency's Gold Cross award for their conduct that day.
The awards were given "prematurely" and the agency was looking into it, Israel said in June.
Young wants the awards to be taken back; the sheriff's office said Thursday it will make a decision about them after the criminal case is closed.
The sheriff's office also said it had complied with the FBI's request for its files and that it was awaiting a prosecutor's decision about whether to bring the case before a grand jury.
Attorney David Schoen represents Young.
"This case is as heartbreaking and as tragic as any I have ever seen," Schoen said. "This is a victim who was beloved by everyone who ever met him, who by all accounts did absolutely nothing illegal that day."
Young says she bears her grief with work and the companionship of relatives and her fiance, Roger Bailey, who all joined her at Thursday's press conference.
"I'm hoping ... that someone ... will pay attention [to] what has happened to my son," Young said. -
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sheriff-cops-award-fatal-shooting-jermaine-mcbean-was-wrong-n449501Sheriff: Cops' Award for Fatal Shooting of Jermaine McBean Was Wrong
Three months after Florida police shot and killed a computer engineer walking with an unloaded air rifle, two of the officers involved received awards for bravery, even though the incident was still under investigation.
Now their boss — who stood next to them at the ceremony — says those commendations were a mistake and plans to revise department rules.
"The policy was violated," Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told NBC News. "They should not have received the awards."
Israel said he was not involved in the awards process until the evening of the semi-annual ceremony and he doesn't know who signed off on the awards — because the paperwork was accidentally destroyed.
The awards stemmed from the shooting of Jermaine McBean as he walked home from a ? shop on July 31, 2013. Police say that after three people called 911 in alarm to report a man with a gun, McBean ignored their shouts to drop the weapon and pointed it at them, giving them no choice but to fire.
Questions about the police account have been raised by a witness to the shooting and a photo of the dead man that seems to show him with earbuds in his ears. Prosecutors have not yet handed over the case to a grand jury, and the FBI is keeping tabs on it.
The awards stemmed from the shooting of Jermaine McBean as he walked home from a ? shop on July 31, 2013. Police say that after three people called 911 in alarm to report a man with a gun, McBean ignored their shouts to drop the weapon and pointed it at them, giving them no choice but to fire.
Questions about the police account have been raised by a witness to the shooting and a photo of the dead man that seems to show him with earbuds in his ears. Prosecutors have not yet handed over the case to a grand jury, and the FBI is keeping tabs on it.
While the investigation has dragged on for more than two years, the decision to give the officers awards was swift. Deputy Peter Peraza, who filed the fatal shots, and Sgt. Richard LaCerra were nominated by a lieutenant a month after McBean's death.
His memo lauded Peraza and LaCerra for "selfless, honorable and brave" actions in the face of a suspect waving a rifle in a "threatening manner." It did not mention that the weapon in question was later found to be an unloaded air rifle.
The sheriff's office said Israel did not know Peraza and LaCerra would be commended until he showed up to present a raft of awards at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 22, 2013.
But it wasn't until McBean's family filed a lawsuit last spring, alleging the award was part of a wrongful-death coverup, that Israel ordered an Internal Affairs review of the combat cross rewards.
That probe found that the deputy in charge of coordinating the awards had shredded the applications that would have contained approval signatures up the chain of command.
"There was no malice," Israel said of the shredding.
The Internal Affairs report, filed in late August and obtained through a public-records request, says the deputy had destroyed all completed awards when another officer took over the coordinator position — even though such records must be kept for five years under state law.
The deputy who got rid of the material "was unaware that she was supposed to retain the forms and was apologetic for her actions," the report says. She received a written reprimand.
Regardless of what was in the missing material, the award violated the sheriff's policies, which said that if the nominee fired a gun, the findings of the Shooting Review Board must be included in the application and considered.
Israel said it appears that was not done. He has now proposed a revised policy that says an officer who kills someone cannot be given an award until all criminal and administrative reviews are complete unless "specifically authorized by the Sheriff."
These awards could have been given at any time," he said of the commendations for the McBean shooting. "There should not be a rush to give awards."
Israel said he will not rescind the awards because the Broward State Attorney's office could soon be presenting the case to a grand jury and any action he takes could influence the outcome.
"Now is not the time to do that," he said.
David Schoen, a lawyer for McBean's family, said they were "deeply saddened" to hear the sheriff won't recall the awards.
"It has been a terrible slap in the face to the McBean family from the day it was given," he said.
"This award is alleged to be a part of that coverup and allowing it to remain in place just further supports that assertion."
Activists from the Black Lives Matter movement have also called on the sheriff to rescind the award and remove the three officers involved in McBean's death from the street.
McBean's family says a photo taken by a witness shows that the police lied about the circumstances of his death. In the picture, he appears to be wearing white earbuds — even though police insisted he had nothing in his ears that would have stopped him from hearing their shouts and told the family the earbuds were found in his pants pocket.
One witness has also told NBC News that McBean was holding the air rifle — which he had just bought — behind his neck as he walked into his Oakland Park apartment complex and never pointed it at the officers responding to the 911 calls.
Israel has said there was "no coverup" by his department. In court papers, a lawyer for the department and the officers says McBean's actions were to blame for his death. -
White people not acknowledging white privilege is willful ignorance. Perhaps we should ask ourselves this question.
"Why should white people acknowledge white privilege? What's in it for them?"
It behooves us to think that white people, while continuing to hammer in nails to secure the institutional framework and structure of white institutionalized supremacy, all of a sudden, flip the hammers around, and begin to undo the rusty nails simply because of altruism.
Doing so would mean abdicating their responsibility as stewards of their children's legacy. Why would they forfeit the opportunity of giving their offspring a leg up in society?
We have to understand that isn't going to happen, no matter how much we march, tweet, and protest.
Until bones are broken, and blood is spilled, will "real" change begin to occur for us.
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He does not seem to have earbuds in his ear
He clearly does...
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Bruh. They lied about what lead up to the murder. Lied about why these cops got the award, and shredded all paperwork. What else do we have to do?
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R.I.p. to dude. When are these cops publicly going to face their white privilege so they can stop being afraid of those that dont have such???
Maybe killing is part of their honorary white privilege if thats the case cant anybody help support the cause and it eats them up inside knowing this...
If they feel so innocent why wont they ask the families of the victims to back them up in court? I guess calling yourself a victim at every crime scene is part of white privilege as well....
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Its crazy how white ppl walk around open carrying assault rifles and never have any problems but brothers are constantly getting shot down for carrying bb guns. ? crazy. FTP
I wonder what would have happened to the black dude if the cameras weren't present.
This is the country we choose to live in, and these are the laws that govern us. -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/12/11/florida-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-in-death-of-jermaine-mcbean-fatally-shot-while-carrying-an-air-rifle/Florida officer charged with manslaughter in death of Jermaine McBean, fatally shot while carrying an air rifle
A Florida grand jury has indicted Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Peraza for manslaughter in connection with the 2013 shooting death of 33-year-old Jermaine McBean, a black man who was carrying an air rifle when he was shot.
Peraza, who turned himself in on Friday, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, according to Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for the Broward County state’s attorney’s office.
In a statement on Friday morning, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that Peraza has been suspended without pay.
“We respect the grand jury process…Now, the case will go forward in the courts and a jury will weigh all the evidence and render a verdict,” Israel said. “For everyone in this case – the McBean family, the Peraza family, the BSO family, everyone in our community – we want truth and justice to prevail.”
McBean was shot by Peraza after 911 callers reported seeing him carrying what appeared to be a real rifle down a busy street. The gun was an air rifle and his family contended that McBean was listening to music with earbuds and likely could not hear the shouted commands of police once they arrived.
Attorneys for McBean’s family have said the computer system engineer was carrying the unloaded pellet gun home from a ? shop when he was shot and killed on July 31, 2013.
Police said that McBean refused several shouted commands to put down the pellet gun and pointed it at officers. Police also initially said McBean was not wearing headphones at the time of the shooting, but that they found a pair of earbuds in his pocket after he was taken to the hospital.
However, a photo of McBean moments after the shooting shows what appear to be earbud headphones in his ears as he lay on the ground after being shot.
“He couldn’t have fired that gun from the position he was in. There was no possible way of firing it and at the same time hitting something,” Michael Russell McCarthy, one of the people who called 911, told NBC News. McCarthy told also told NBC that McBean had been carrying the air rifle on his shoulders, had not pointed the weapon at anyone, and turned to face police when they opened fire.
“I kind of blame myself, because if I hadn’t called it might not have happened,” he said.
McBean’s death is one of several recent incidents in which officers have shot and killed a black man or boy carrying a toy weapon or air rifle.
No officers were charged in the August 2014 shooting of John Crawford, an Ohio man who had picked up a toy weapon from a display case in a Walmart and was carrying the merchandise around the store as he shopped. A caller told police Crawford had pointed the weapon at several customers — a claim later shown to be untrue by surveillance footage — and officers stormed the store and killed Crawford.
And a grand jury is still considering whether to charge the officers involved in the November 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed in Cleveland after a caller told police about a man waving a gun in a park. -
Here's the pic of the killer pig... -
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-deputy-indicted-killing-jermaine-mcbean-n478171Florida Deputy Indicted for Killing Jermaine McBean
A Florida deputy has been indicted for manslaughter in the shooting death of Jermaine McBean, who was killed while walking home with an unloaded pellet gun he had just bought a ? shop.
Broward County Sheriff Peter Peraza — who was given a bravery award for the shooting by his bosses while it was still under investigation — surrendered early Friday and was expected to be released on $25,000 bond, prosecutors said. He was suspended without pay and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The case is the first time since 1980 that a police officer in Broward County has been indicted for a fatal on-duty shooting.
It's a very sad day because nothing can replace their loss but they hope it's the first step toward finally achieving some measure of justice," said David Schoen, a lawyer for McBean's family.
The grand jury began hearing testimony and evidence a week ago — more than two years after McBean, a 33-year-old computer engineer, was shot dead in the courtyard of his Broward County apartment building.
As NBC News has reported in a series of stories about the case, Schoen uncovered evidence that appeared to contradict some aspects of the police account of the shooting.
One of the people who called 911 after seeing McBean walking down the street with the rifle told NBC News that he had the gun yoked across his shoulders and did not point it at officers before he was shot.
In addition, a photo of McBean just after he was killed showed him wearing ear buds — even though police insisted he didn't have anything in his ears that would have stopped him from hearing their demands to drop the rifle.
In videotaped statements to investigators, Peraza said he fired because he feared for his life.
"I'm outraged," Peraza's lawyer, Eric Schwartzreich, said of the indictment. "This was a justified shooting."
Schwartzreich said his client was responding to 911 calls of a man with a gun and the air rifle McBean carried "looked very real." He insisted McBean pointed it at the officer and that Peraza "was simply protecting what he perceived to be a threat.'
The lawyer suggested that anger over police shootings around the country led prosecutors to "steer this into the lion's den" and said the charges against Peraza "could have a chilling effect on law enforcement officers anywhere."
"My client should never have been indicted," he said.
The sheriff's department gave bravery awards to two of the officers involved in the shooting — including the deputy who fired the fatal shots — while the incident was still under investigation. The sheriff later told NBC News that was a mistake.
There was not only a crime committed here but a complete coverup conspiracy going up the chain of command," Schoen said.
"I think ultimately it was the lying and coverup and the giving of an award that was simply too much for grand jurors to overlook."
The Sheriff's Office also faces a civil suit from McBean's family that charges race was a factor in the shooting. The U.S. Justice Department has been monitoring the case for possible civil rights violations.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel has denied any coverup. After the indictment, he said he respects the grand jury process.
"I truly believe every hardworking deputy and officer in our nation is committed and dedicated to the community they serve. This is why they put their lives on the line each and every day. They believe in justice and how our judicial system should work," he said in a statement.
"For everyone in this case — the McBean family, the Peraza family, the BSO family, everyone in our community — we want truth and justice to prevail." -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article49217445.htmlThe rare indictment drew immediate and harsh criticism from backers of law enforcement who contend the national scrutiny now placed on police tactics threatens officer safety.
Jeff Bell, the president of BSO's International Union of Police Associations, said the arrest “smells of a political witchhunt” from Broward State Attorney Michael Satz.
“We're in scary times. We're facing times when cops are almost expected to be shot at first before we can even think of returning fire because we’re so worried about other people’s political agenda,” Bell said. “This isn't a case, like the ones we’ve seen throughout the country involving unarmed persons. You had documented calls coming in. You had a weapon seen by the deputy. You have a weapon started to be pointed at the deputy.”
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/oakland-park/fl-deputy-peraza-indicted-manslaughter-20151211-story.htmlDefense attorney Eric Schwartzreich said Peraza will file a not guilty plea and seek a jury trial.
"While it is sad and tragic that a young man lost his life, we cannot ignore the facts," Schwartzreich said. "Deputy Peraza received a dispatch that there was a man with a rifle walking down the street. The man was walking in an area filled with civilians.
"Deputy Peraza ultimately gave commands to the man to drop his weapon," he said. "His commands were ignored. At that point in time, the rifle gets pointed at the deputies; Deputy Peraza only discharges three shots. The perceived threat is neutralized, he holsters his weapon and fire rescue is called."
He turned himself in at the Broward County jail in downtown Fort Lauderdale Friday morning, and was expected to be released on a $25,000 bond.
Schwartzreich said he expected his client to be acquitted of the manslaughter charge "in a New York minute" and that this case was different than others around the country in which unarmed black men were fatally shot by law enforcement, deaths that were often recorded on cellphone videos.
"This isn't a situation of an unarmed, African-American male," Schwartzreich said. "It's an armed man. The gun looked very real. And when an officer perceives someone carrying what could be a real rifle walking down the street and pointing it at someone, it doesn't matter if it's real or not."
Schwartzreich said his client "never saw earbuds. And that doesn't matter whether or not he had earbuds on. You see someone in full uniform yelling commands and decide to point a firearm at them, what does that have to do with earbuds? According to my client's testimony, [McBean] pointed the firearm at them.
"It is regretful that a man lost his life," Schwartzreich said. "But we cannot Monday morning quarterback our law enforcement officers that preserve and protect us. And that is what this deputy was doing on that fateful day. Nothing more, nothing less."
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Hopefully justice will be served..
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-deputy-peraza-stand-your-ground-ruling-20160727-story.htmlManslaughter charge dismissed against Broward Deputy Peter Peraza; should not face trial in fatal shooting of Jermaine McBean, judge rules
Suspended Broward Sheriff's Deputy Peter Peraza was acting in self-defense and should not face trial for the 2013 shooting death of Jermaine McBean, a Broward judge ruled Wednesday.
The decision by Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan, dismissing a manslaughter charge against Peraza, will be appealed by prosecutors, according to a statement from the Broward State Attorney's Office.
Broward Police Benevolent Association lawyers Eric Schwartzreich and Anthony Bruno, who represent Peraza, presented their argument to Usan during six days of hearings last month, with prosecutors Tim Donnelly and Ryan Kelley arguing that Peraza is not entitled to immunity from prosecution under the state's "stand your ground" law.
The law allows a judge to stop the case before it reaches a jury as long as self-defense can be established by a preponderance of the evidence.
Usan said the defense met that burden.
"McBean pointed the weapon at or in the direction of the deputies," Usan said he determined. "The defendant (Peraza) was in fear for his life and the lives of others."
Usan also ruled that the "stand your ground" law applies to police officers on duty because it applies to "a person who uses force..."
"A law enforcement officer under any reasonable understanding of our language qualifies as a person," Usan wrote.
Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office, said the judge got it wrong. "While we respect the court's decision, we disagree with its conclusion," he said in a statement e-mailed to media. "We believe, based upon an appellate court decision, that a law enforcement officer is not entitled to a dismissal of the charge based upon the Stand Your Ground Law. While there is conflicting evidence, we feel a jury should resolve those conflicts."
Usan's ruling comes at a tense time in police-community relations across the country. Also on Wednesday, prosecutors in Baltimore dropped charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died in police custody last year.
Fatal shootings of black men by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota, followed by deadly attacks on police in Baton Rouge and Dallas carried out by gunmen expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, dominated headlines in the days after Usan finished hearing testimony and arguments in Peraza's case.
Jesse Cosme, a spokesman for the Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, said he was disappointed that Broward's first indictment of a law enforcement officer in an on-duty shooting in more than 25 years may not ever make it to a jury.
"There are no winners or losers here," said Schwartzreich. "A man lost his life. But at the end of the day every law enforcement officer in this community can feel a sense of relief that they can do their jobs without worrying that if they do their jobs and protect us in this day and age that they're going to end up indicted for murder."
David Schoen, the attorney representing the McBean family in in a federal civil suit, blasted the decision. "I think it's completely lawless," he said. "It's a slap in the face to the people of Broward County, to the rule of law and to the grand jury."
Supporters of Peraza said the grand jury and the Broward State Attorney's Office picked the wrong case to make an example of their commitment to hold law enforcement responsible for shooting civilians.
"Given the climate in our country right now, there's a lot of division and we want to assign blame," said Bruno. "While there are bad shootings and we believe police officers should be held accountable, this was not such a case. By every indication, Deputy Peraza was justified in the shooting."
The mental health of McBean, 33, was a key issue for the judge. The defense asserted that McBean had mental health issues and was unstable. Usan ruled that the concerns were relevant, even though Peraza could not have known about them at the time of the fatal July 31, 2013 confrontation.
"It is relevant to [the judge's] consideration of whether the victim provoked the attack," Usan wrote. "In this case, the evidence establishes that McBean, as a result of his mental health conditions, had numerous dangerous psychotic episodes over the course of more than two years prior to the shooting, the most recent of which was just days before."
Each of those episodes, Usan said, prompted emergency calls that resulted in McBean's involuntary hospitalization.
Cosme blasted the judge for considering McBean's mental state.
"A mental health condition is a license [for police] to ? them, and a judge just reaffirmed that license to ? ," Cosme said.
McBean had purchased an air rifle from a ? shop near his home in the Greentree Apartment complex in Oakland Park and was walking home with the rifle slung over his shoulders, prompting numerous calls to 911.
When deputies arrived, McBean ignored their orders to put the weapon down, according to testimony at the June hearings. Peraza said he fired when McBean appeared to begin swinging the weapon toward deputies.
"I really thought that I could be killed," said Peraza, who said he was also considering the lives of his fellow deputies and civilians who were nearby.
Donnelly and Kelley argued that McBean could not hear the deputies' orders because he was listening to music through a pair of earbuds, and they said Peraza was too quick to pull the trigger. Two other deputies on scene did not open fire, they noted.
Usan's ruling is believed to be the first instance of a law enforcement officer being cleared of a criminal charge under "stand your ground."
Schoen challenged the judge's findings, saying autopsy results showed McBean could not have been facing Peraza when the fatal shots were fired and citing civilian witnesses who never saw McBean point the weapon toward deputies.
Usan, in his ruling, said the civilian witnesses were not focused on McBean's actions before the shooting.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel issued a statement Wednesday declining to praise or condemn Usan's decision.
"A life was lost, and this is a tragedy no matter how you look at it," he said. "I am not a lawyer. I am not a judge and I don't make legal decisions. I pray for ? to comfort all those affected and for our community to begin to heal and find peace."
SMDH... -
Anybody ever question the timing of these rulings? Like almost EVERY one of these prolonged rulings comes after a significant moment. Last night mother's of black kids slain speak at the Democratic convention, next day Freddy Gray ruling all charges dropped, Jermaine Bean killer walks free. It's like the system is BAITING ? to go crazy and start retaliating. That's what they WANT us to do it seems. Who's controlling this ? ?
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EmM HoLLa. wrote: »Hopefully justice will be served..
Bastard
Almost made me hit that lol button....almost -
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/28/stand-your-ground-florida-police-shooting-jermaine-mcbean-peter-perazaFlorida deputy cleared in killing of black man by 'stand-your-ground' law
Case is believed to be the first time an officer charged in an on-duty killing has successfully used the law, which has historically been a civilian defense
A Florida judge dismissed manslaughter charges Wednesday against a sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a black man armed with an air rifle, citing the state’s stand-your-ground law.
Judge Michael Usan ruled that Peter Peraza, a sheriff’s deputy in Broward County, was immune from prosecution under the state’s controversial statute. The case is believed to be the first time that a law enforcement officer charged in an on-duty killing has successfully used the provision as a defense.
“It’s a complete travesty and I think it’s completely lawless,” said David Schoen, a lawyer representing McBean’s family.
The law, which garnered national outrage after the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, permits individuals to use deadly force if they “reasonably believe” there is an imminent threat. It eliminates the traditional duty to first attempt retreat.
Stand-your-ground laws have historically been used as a civilian defense. Peraza’s attorneys said they believe this is the first time an officer in has cited a stand-your-ground law in defense of a fatal, on-duty shooting. Professor Adam Winkler of the UCLA School of Law explained that the stand your ground laws were originally justified as protections for ordinary civilians, not police officers, who are subject to separate legal and departmental standards establishing when they are allowed to use deadly force.
“It’s just kind of an odd idea that we’d apply these civilian laws to police officers,” he said.
Peraza was charged with manslaughter last year in the 2013 shooting death of Jermaine McBean, a black man who was carrying an unloaded air rifle while walking home along a highway. Witnesses who saw McBean carrying the rifle called 911, after which Peraza and two other sheriff’s deputies responded. Police said McBean ignored commands to drop the rifle and pointed it at authorities before Peraza opened fire, although a witness to the shooting has disputed that Peraza pointed the rifle.
A witness photograph taken shortly after McBean was killed showed white earbuds around his head. The photograph raised questions about whether McBean could hear the deputies’ commands to drop the air rifle. Peraza has said he did not see McBean wearing earbuds.
Usan dismissed the charges against Peraza, a 37-year-old Latino man, on Wednesday before the case went to a jury trial. The stand your ground law permits a judge to halt a case after a hearing on the defendant’s stand your ground claim. In his ruling, Usan wrote that stand your ground applies to police officers on duty because the law applies to “a person who uses force” and “a law enforcement officer under any reasonable understanding of our language qualifies as a person”.
Local prosecutors and Schoen both said Usan’s decision conflicts with a 2012 ruling by a Florida appellate court. In that ruling, the appeals court declined to grant an officer charged with battery immunity on the basis of stand your ground, writing that the law was meant for civilians and not police officers, the Lakeland Ledger reported in 2012. Usan wrote that the appellate court’s decision is limited “to cases where the officer is in the process of making an arrest”.
“The Florida court of appeals has said [stand your ground] cannot be used. This judge just ignored that,” Schoen said.
Prosecutors said Wednesday they will appeal Usan’s decision.
“We believe, based upon an appellate court decision, that a law enforcement officer is not entitled to a dismissal of the charge based upon the Stand Your Ground Law,” a spokesman for the local state attorney’s office wrote in a statement.
Peraza’s legal team said the shooting was justified and that his indictment was “because of the political climate”.
“This was classic stand your ground,” said Eric Schwartzreich, one of Peraza’s attorneys. “In fact I’ve never seen a better stand your ground motion in the 20 years I’ve been practicing.”
The judge’s unprecedented ruling further complicates the law’s already fraught legacy. The law was notably cited when police initially refused to arrest George Zimmerman after he fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a black 17-year-old who was walking home from a convenience store when he was confronted by the neighborhood watch captain. When the case went to trial after Zimmerman was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder, Zimmerman’s legal team argued the then 27-year-old was defending himself but did not seek immunity through stand your ground. Zimmerman was found not guilty in 2013.
Florida’s legislation, which was signed into law in 2005, has been subject to drastically different interpretation by local authorities. A Tampa Bay Times investigation in 2012 reviewed 200 cases in which the law was invoked and found that in 70% of those cases, the accused went free. The newspaper also found stark racial disparities in the law’s application: people who killed a black person were more likely to go free in stand-your-ground cases. -
Florida’s legislation, which was signed into law in 2005, has been subject to drastically different interpretation by local authorities. A Tampa Bay Times investigation in 2012 reviewed 200 cases in which the law was invoked and found that in 70% of those cases, the accused went free. The newspaper also found stark racial disparities in the law’s application: people who killed a black person were more likely to go free in stand-your-ground cases
If you needed more proof that deck is still stacked against us.. Here it is again.. From the "justice" system to legislation.. But you know what.. I'm sure if all of us black folks just pray and forgive together things will magically get better for us.. SDMH...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvW_zBvJlsA
