A South Florida cop claimed a handcuffed inmate was being combative towards other officers who were struggling to keep him under control when he intervened and pulled the inmate away, only for the inmate to break free from his grasp and smash his own face against the wall.
But a surveillance video proved that was a lie.
Instead, the video shows Homestead police officer Lester Brown escorting the handcuffed non-resisting subject into a room before shoving him against the wall.
The inmate, Jose Garcia Alvarado, ended up with blood on his face and had to be transported to the hospital so they could stitch him up. Garcia had been arrested for disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence during the December 2018 arrest.
But now it is Brown facing criminal charges after he was arrested this week and charged with felony battery as well as misdemeanor official misconduct for fabricating the report.
“Police officers have a legal responsibility to abide by all laws and Lester Brown’s arrest demonstrates how seriously our police department takes that obligation,” Homestead Police Chief Al Rolle said in a statement.
But considering our reporter, Eric McDonough aka Doc Justice, has been engaged in a lengthy legal battle against the department, we know firsthand it does not take very seriously the obligation that cops must remain lawful.
It’s more likely he Brown was arrested because he has a pending lawsuit against the Homestead Police Department, claiming he was passed over for promotions multiple times because he is missing two fingers on his left hand.
Brown’s attorney, C. Michael Cornely, told CBS4 that the charges were “vindictive” and “overkill.”
“I’m disappointed in the State Attorney,” he said. “I believe this officer believed the man was a threat to him and he had to make a split second decision to put some space between him and the prisoner.”
And that is all it normally takes to clear the cop of any wrongdoing. But this cop made it personal by suing the department so now he is apparently paying the price.