Sheriff criticizes “misinformation campaign” by “anti-police fringe groups” and defends use of force in arrest of suspected drug dealer on probation who was fleeing police
The sheriff of Jacksonville, Florida, condemned the “misinformation campaign” of the “anti-police fringe” and defended the use of force in the arrest last week of a suspected drug dealer who ran from police and appeared to resist them even after being pulled over was tasered.
What are the details?
A passerby took video of Le’Keian Woods’ arrest on his cell phone. It showed numerous police officers using force to gain control of him, including hitting his head on the ground. The video also showed Woods’ swollen face after he was handcuffed.
Jacksonville police release a report and booking photo of a man accusing officers of brutalityYoutube
Since then, the suspect’s attorney has called for a federal investigation into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and accused Sheriff TK Waters of a cover-up Associated Press reported.
But Waters turned on his critics after bodycam video of the arrest was shown during a press conference on Monday:
“So to have to announce that social media is not a reality is pretty incredible and disheartening. Its content is not fact-checked by any body. Because of this misinformation campaign by the anti-police fringe, our agency has come under fire and the lives of individual investigators have been threatened. This intentionally misleading manipulation of facts is wrong and dangerous, and I will not remain silent while the truth is buried to advance a specific agenda. The truth is that Woods suffered facial injuries while fleeing police and was tasered [and] fell face first onto the concrete. The investigators fought with him, and as I said, they resorted to… gaining control, but he continued to resist arrest. The result of Woods’ fear contrast[s] with that of his friends in the truck, who immediately obeyed the police and suffered no physical injuries. Violence, as I said, looks ugly because all violence is ugly, not because of any wrongdoing by investigators. And based on the information currently available, the agency believes the investigators involved acted lawfully and within the law [sheriff’s office] Politics.”
Here is the video of the press conference. Bodycam video showing the traffic stop, pursuit and arrest of Woods begins at 7:49 a.m.:
Waters and Mike Shell, his deputy director of public accountability, said officials knew that Woods had once been accused of murder, was on probation for armed robbery and had been linked to firearms and drug trafficking when they called him in after the Followed traffic control. the AP reported.
Woods will be held at the Jacksonville Jail on Monday, the outlet added. Woods is on probation after pleading no contest to a 2017 robbery in Tallahassee in which he and his roommate attempted to rob a marijuana dealer at gunpoint, the AP noted, citing court records.
The dealer pulled out his own gun and fatally shot the roommate as Woods fled, the newspaper said, adding that Woods was originally charged with second-degree murder in his roommate’s death, but a plea deal was reached last year who released him without a prison sentence.
Following Friday’s arrest, Woods is charged with violently resisting arrest, armed trafficking in cocaine and methamphetamine and other crimes, the AP noted.
The suspect’s lawyer defends himself
Harry Daniels, Woods’ attorney, said he would ask the Justice Department to investigate law enforcement’s use of force, the outlet reported.
“It is unfortunate that the sheriff believes the beating of an unarmed man is justified,” Daniels said, according to the AP. “It is clear that he is complicit and has enabled clear misconduct by his officers. It is not surprising that [the sheriff’s office] have not found any wrongdoing because they are investigating themselves.”
Daniels also said there was no legal reason to stop the truck Woods was in and that his client did not resist arrest; Rather, he was trying to protect himself from unlawful beatings, the outlet said.
“Any man who is beaten will fight back or he will be killed,” Daniels said, according to the AP.
Something else?
Detective Josue Garriga helped arrest Woods and said in a report that he kicked Woods in the head and shoulders, the outlet also noted.
The AP reported the following: “In 2019, Garriga shot a man during a traffic stop while he was not wearing a seatbelt, according to public records. An undisclosed sum is shown in federal court records. Daniels was the family attorney.”
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