Anti Federalist
05-07-2012, 06:00 PM
Jury finds deputy guilty of lying in videotaped takedown at Tamarac 7-Eleven
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-cop-trial-wimberley-closings-20120504,0,6383161.story
By Rafael A. Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
6:11 p.m. EDT, May 4, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE—
Note to crooks: Most convenience stores have working video cameras.
Note to cops: Ditto.
When Broward Sheriff's deputies David Wimberley and Brian Swadkins arrested Troy Baldeo at a 7-Eleven in Tamarac in 2010, Wimberley turned in two reports that described the suspect using words like "boisterous," "yelling" and "clenched fists."
But a video of their confrontation bore so little resemblance to that description that prosecutors dropped the case against Baldeo and decided instead to file charges against Wimberley and Swadkins.
A jury on Friday found Wimberley guilty of two misdemeanors for falsifying his reports. A married father with five years of service as a Broward deputy, Wimberley faces a jail term of nearly two years when he is sentenced June 15. Until then, Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes allowed him to remain free.
Assistant State Attorney Adriana Alcalde-Padron began her closing argument Friday without a sound, playing the video that showed Baldeo standing near the coffee machine at the 7-Eleven on 7901 West Commercial Blvd. and taking a sip before being approached by Wimberley. Less than a minute later, Baldeo was on the floor, taken down by Swadkins and facing criminal charges.
"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video, this video, is worth a million," Alcalde-Padron said when the tape stopped playing. "Protecting and serving the people of Broward County? News flash: Troy Baldeo is one of the people of Broward County."
Baldeo, who was in court for the closing arguments and the verdict, praised the prosecutor. "I am so blessed and happy that Adriana took on this case," he said. "To me, justice prevailed."
The defendant did not take the stand during his trial, which opened Thursday.
Defense lawyer Rhea Grossman tried to convince jurors that Wimberley sincerely viewed Baldeo as a threat during the brief confrontation and that the comments he made in his report were subjective. She noted that Baldeo recognized Wimberley from a traffic stop that had taken place five weeks earlier, and that Baldeo stared the deputy down, refusing to show his ID or leave the store when ordered to do so.
But Alcalde-Padron countered that a stare is no reason to fabricate allegations of criminal conduct. "He was doing nothing but having a cup of coffee," she said of Baldeo.
Wimberley has been suspended without pay from his job at the Sheriff's Office, which will now refer him to human resources to determine whether to fire him, a sheriff's spokeswoman said Friday.
Wimberley was originally charged in the case in January and demanded a speedy trial. A case against Swadkins, who was charged with one count of falsifying records, is pending.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-cop-trial-wimberley-closings-20120504,0,6383161.story
By Rafael A. Olmeda, Sun Sentinel
6:11 p.m. EDT, May 4, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE—
Note to crooks: Most convenience stores have working video cameras.
Note to cops: Ditto.
When Broward Sheriff's deputies David Wimberley and Brian Swadkins arrested Troy Baldeo at a 7-Eleven in Tamarac in 2010, Wimberley turned in two reports that described the suspect using words like "boisterous," "yelling" and "clenched fists."
But a video of their confrontation bore so little resemblance to that description that prosecutors dropped the case against Baldeo and decided instead to file charges against Wimberley and Swadkins.
A jury on Friday found Wimberley guilty of two misdemeanors for falsifying his reports. A married father with five years of service as a Broward deputy, Wimberley faces a jail term of nearly two years when he is sentenced June 15. Until then, Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes allowed him to remain free.
Assistant State Attorney Adriana Alcalde-Padron began her closing argument Friday without a sound, playing the video that showed Baldeo standing near the coffee machine at the 7-Eleven on 7901 West Commercial Blvd. and taking a sip before being approached by Wimberley. Less than a minute later, Baldeo was on the floor, taken down by Swadkins and facing criminal charges.
"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video, this video, is worth a million," Alcalde-Padron said when the tape stopped playing. "Protecting and serving the people of Broward County? News flash: Troy Baldeo is one of the people of Broward County."
Baldeo, who was in court for the closing arguments and the verdict, praised the prosecutor. "I am so blessed and happy that Adriana took on this case," he said. "To me, justice prevailed."
The defendant did not take the stand during his trial, which opened Thursday.
Defense lawyer Rhea Grossman tried to convince jurors that Wimberley sincerely viewed Baldeo as a threat during the brief confrontation and that the comments he made in his report were subjective. She noted that Baldeo recognized Wimberley from a traffic stop that had taken place five weeks earlier, and that Baldeo stared the deputy down, refusing to show his ID or leave the store when ordered to do so.
But Alcalde-Padron countered that a stare is no reason to fabricate allegations of criminal conduct. "He was doing nothing but having a cup of coffee," she said of Baldeo.
Wimberley has been suspended without pay from his job at the Sheriff's Office, which will now refer him to human resources to determine whether to fire him, a sheriff's spokeswoman said Friday.
Wimberley was originally charged in the case in January and demanded a speedy trial. A case against Swadkins, who was charged with one count of falsifying records, is pending.