NBC 6 Investigators reviewed more than three dozen cases filed by Miami-Dade and Broward prosecutors involving the use of force. NBC 6’s Willard Shepard reports.
There’s the former Miami-Dade Police Officer who was found guilty of battery and official misconduct after a video went viral showing him tackling a woman in 2019. There's also the former Miccosukee Police Officer sentenced to 10 years in prison after being accused of forcing two teens to run naked during a traffic stop.
They are among dozens of police and correctional officers who have been arrested and charged in recent years by Miami-Dade and Broward prosecutors. The charges range from drug trafficking and theft to battery and even murder, according to records provided to NBC 6 Investigators.
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Dozens Charged
Since 2017, the Public Corruption Unit from the Broward State Attorney’s Office has charged 40 law enforcement officers, including detention deputies. An officer’s spokesperson told us other cases may have been filed by other units.
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The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office provided a list that shows more than 30 officers have been charged during the same period. The office has also filed charges against five correctional officers this year.
“Ultimately, what it comes down to is whether the prosecutor believes the officer was justified in his or her actions,” said former Broward prosecutor Jeff Chukwuma, who is now in private practice. “And it's very unlikely that they'll even go forward with the prosecution, let alone file charges if they don't believe they could do so.”
But Chukwuma says prosecutors may face challenges along the way.
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“Police officers are held to a different standard…they have a wide latitude when it comes to especially cases involving force,” he said. “Jurors, understanding that their job is very difficult and dangerous, it might be harder for them to convict an officer.”
Use of Force Allegations
NBC 6 Investigators reviewed court records of more than three dozen cases involving allegations of use of force.
While most cases are still going through the courts, we found four officers have been found guilty and three have been acquitted so far in Miami-Dade County. In Broward, four have been found guilty but most have been acquitted or have their cases dismissed.
Among them, three Broward deputies involved in the 2019 rough arrest of then 15-year old Delucca Rolle at a Tamarac strip mall.
Cellphone and body camera video shows Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Gregory LaCerra pepper spraying the teen and deputy Christopher Krickovich hitting his head, leaving his face covered in blood.
After video of the takedown went viral, both deputies were charged with battery and falsifying reports. Another deputy was also charged with falsifying reports.
All deputies were ultimately exonerated or had the charges dismissed.
LaCerra spoke to NBC 6 Investigators exclusively in his capacity as a union leader with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Association.
“All these cases are being won because their cases are garbage and they (prosecutors) know they're garbage,” LaCerra said, adding they “didn’t do anything wrong” that day.
LaCerra and his attorney Eric Schwartzreich claim public outrage and politics played a role in his case.
“Some of the politicians were trying to help their political career…by showing the videos and saying this is about race and it was never about race,” he said.
They pointed to a 2020 political ad from Broward Prosecutor Justin McCormack.
“I’m prosecuting this case,” McCormack can be heard saying following a cellphone video of Rolle’s arrest. “I’m running for state attorney to end police brutality.”
McCormack declined our request for an interview. But the Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor strongly rejected LaCerra’s claims, writing in a statement McCormack joined the case “quite some time” after it was filed and he was “second chair, not even the lead prosecutor.”
He went on to say, “Our goal is to do justice and ensure that offenders are held accountable whether they wear a badge or not. It is not political to hold police officers accountable to the same laws they are entrusted to enforce. We will continue to investigate, file and prosecute charges that are presented against officers by the law enforcement agencies that employ them or from complaints that are referred by members of the public.”
One Conviction for an On-Duty Killing in 30 Years
In about 30 years, only one law enforcement officer has been convicted for an on-duty killing in Florida, according to prosecutors.
Nouman Raja, a former Palm Beach Gardens police officer, is serving a 25-year sentence for the 2015 fatal shooting of Corey Jones.
Earlier this year, four Miami-Dade correctional officers were charged with second degree murder after allegedly beating an inmate to death. They pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
But the Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has come under scrutiny in the past for not prosecuting others in several high profile deaths in custody.
In a 2020 interview, she told NBC 6, “the law is written in such a way to really give a lot of latitude to police to protect themselves and others,” adding “sometimes we say, it’s awful but it’s lawful.”
She went on to say laws like the officers’ bill of rights and stand your ground make it difficult to succeed in court. When asked about her record of police prosecutions, her office told NBC 6 they didn’t have any additional comment.
“People in this country have a right to defend themselves, whether you're a cop, whether you're civilian and it's a great law (stand your ground) and now it's allowed for law enforcement,” said Schwartzreich, who has represented several law enforcement officers in their criminal cases.
Earlier this year, a Florida appellate court sided with LaCerra who used the "Stand Your Ground" law in his defense. He is one of at least two local law enforcement officers to do so.
LaCerra is back on patrol but he told NBC 6 he worries about the future for others wearing a badge and the communities they serve.
“You're not going to be able to retain police officers,” he said.
The family of Delucca Rolle, the teen involved in LaCerra’s case, previously told NBC 6 they were disheartened about the verdicts.
Sue-Ann Robinson, Rolle’s attorney, sent us a statement writing, in part, “The deputies submitted a report stating that Delucca Rolle battered a police officer, which was later disproved by video evidence and those charges were dismissed.”
She went on to say, “The video documents that Delucca was pepper sprayed and his head was slammed into the concrete multiple times,” resulting in multiple injuries, adding the civil rights case against the department was settled “based on the evidence.”
All the charges against the teen were ultimately dismissed.
