Florida Carry sues Deputy Andy Cox of Citrus PD

[Xtasy]

FLORIDA CARRY PRESS RELEASE
July 19, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEDERAL SUIT FILED OVER DEPUTY TIRADE AND ILLEGAL ARREST OF GUN OWNER DEPICTED IN VIRAL VIDEO

Today Florida Carry has filed a federal complaint alleging deprivation of civil rights under color of law with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida over an incident which was captured on dashcam video, which subsequently went viral on the internet.

In July of 2009, Citrus County resident Joel Smith and his wife were detained at a traffic stop for non-criminal traffic code violation. During the stop, Mr. Smith exited his vehicle to speak with Citrus County deputy Andy Cox, who asked Mr. Smith for proof of insurance for the vehicle. Mr. Smith turned with his back toward the officer and leaned into the vehicle to retrieve the document at which time his lawfully carried and holstered firearm peeked out from under his shirt.

Upon seeing the tip of Smith's holster, Deputy Cox immediately launched into an unwarranted verbal assault on Mr. Smith, first asking why he was carrying a firearm. Within seconds, the officer drew his own firearm and pointed it at the befuddled Mr. Smith, threatening to shoot him "in the (expletive deleted) back" if he didn't immediately put his hands on the vehicle. Mr. Smith offered no resistance, complying fully with the officer's orders, and informing the officer that he was a lawfully licensed concealed carrier. Ignoring Mr. Smith's statement, Deputy Cox continued shouting at Mr. Smith, ordering him face down on the ground and cuffing him. Mr. Smith was arrested and charged with open carry of a firearm, a misdemeanor violation of Florida Statutes, however charges were later dropped. A complaint was filed with the Citrus County Sheriff's Department against Deputy Cox, however due to a technicality, the complaint was dismissed and no disciplinary action against the deputy was taken.

Florida Carry consulting attorney J. Patrick Buckley III who is also representing Mr. Smith in the case summed up the case:
"Improper law enforcement training coupled with an emotional overreaction is detrimental to the civil rights of Floridians. When a Constitutional officer then delays the resulting internal investigation to permit the untrained officer to walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist, it illustrates a systematic absence of accountability in those we trust to protect us."

Joining Mr. Smith as plaintiff, Florida Carry is representing its membership and millions of Florida gun owners in the lawsuit. Named as defendants are Deputy Andy Cox, Sergeant Dave Fields, Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsy, and Citrus County. The plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of J. Patrick Buckley III, located in Fort Myers, FL.

And here the dash cam video

FL Deputy Threatens to Shoot Concealed Carry Licensee and Arrests Him for Lawfully Carried Handgun - YouTube


I hope this will finally get our lawmakers to allow open carry in Florida in order to avoid situations where a concealed firearm might get visible and I do hope the deputy will get charged for depriving a citizen from his rights

In Florida you don't have to tell anybody that you are carrying.

 

[Hodgin]

Ridiculous behavior. Deputy should be suspended or fired assuming the facts are correct. FL does needs to either use reason in interpreting "concealed" carry or allow open carry as well.

I never plan to open carry but I'm glad TN permits it for that reason. When I go to Fl next time I'll be sure to pocket carry my BG 380 and not even bother with my normal carry 9c. No telling what they'd do to a Tennessean down there.

 

[Autococker07]

Ridiculous behavior. Deputy should be suspended or fired assuming the facts are correct. FL does needs to either use reason in interpreting "concealed" carry or allow open carry as well.

We do, our law actually changed about 3 years ago. Prior to that an unintentional flash, as seen in this video was illegal. Wording was added to FL code 790 quoted below to fix that.

790.053 Open carrying of weapons.—
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device. It is not a violation of this section for a person licensed to carry a concealed firearm as provided in s. 790.06(1), and who is lawfully carrying a firearm in a concealed manner, to briefly and openly display the firearm to the ordinary sight of another person, unless the firearm is intentionally displayed in an angry or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense.


The deputy needs to go back to mall cop duty, and should not be issued a functional weapon until he can safely determine threats, and has the maturity to deal with them (and his mistakes) properly.

Shame that a good training opportunity for the Sergeant and Captain was lost also.... they should have begged this citizen to forgive them and used this dash cam as a "how not to let your badge go to your head" vid... Bummer



Please note that this is in no way a rant about cops, I know a vast majority do their jobs in a professional manner with tact and diplomacy that I can only envy. It is sad when a "kid" makes all the rest of them look bad with this kind of inappropriate behavior.

 

[Hodgin]

Looks like a case of false arrest or harassment at best. I agree the vast majority of LEOs do their jobs in a professional manner. However, there are a few exceptions and those folks ought to be harshly dealt with. They have alot of power and abuses should not be condoned. We have to trust law enforcement. This deputy most likely knew the law but also knew there were no consequences for him ignoring it.

 

[keith44spl]

Well, I saw the dash cam vid.....

Now we know why divorce is so common among officers like that one.

No one needs to put up with that kinda ****.......

I've made my share of traffic stops back in the day....
I assumed everyone was arm, or ought to be for their own daily safety.

I never put anyone one the ground, unless it was a felony arrest.

In closing, if the Sheriff of this county condones this kinda of abuse of his constituents, by the deputies representing his office of authority...

Maybe he, the Sheriff, needs to be scrutinized a little closer in the next election cycle.

A Sheriff is only as good as the men who represent him on a daily basis, interacting with citizens that his office is sworn to serve.

That is All

.

 

[Neumann]

It is not required in Florida, but if you are carrying and asked to exit the vehicle, it's a good idea to inform the officer you have a permit and are carrying. Surprises can turn nasty. This is the advice of Assad Mayoob.

 

[joestacey06]

How many criminals carrying a weapon would have cooperated like this guy did? I'm guessing zero. No need to threaten shooting him in the back. Cop needs relieved of his duties.

 

[SMSgt]

We do, our law actually changed about 3 years ago. Prior to that an unintentional flash, as seen in this video was illegal. Wording was added to FL code 790 quoted below to fix that. .

Actually it was not "illegal," but the lack of wording in the statute could be "construed" by an over-zealous prosecutor as a OC violation. The change in the statute simply wrote out that possibility.

 

[Xtasy]

Most of our cops here are doing great work but this one here is a special kind of idiot. Threatening a citizen to shoot him in the back because you don't care that he has a concealed carry license?

Florida should allow open carry, all issues of a unintentional flash are solved

 

[bluegrassarms]

In Ky you aren't required to tell an officer you are carrying but I advise doing so in these traffic stop situations. Officers have access to carry information when they run your license so if you don't tell them you are a permit holder and if you are carrying it could make them feel you are hiding something.

It's not really rational, and the vast majority of officers here support carry and know when they go back and see the person is a permit holder they should feel better about the stop, not worse, as that person is being held to a higher legal standard of behavior than the average citizen (Ky runs a NICS check on every holder every month to make sure the permit is valid), but it still may seem deceptive to some to not disclose their status.

Regardless, this behavior is a gross overreaction and based on the post above not even following the law, as incidental display of a carry gun isn't a crime. If the person is complying the threats and such seem over the top compared to firm and clear orders of what to do. If you issue those and the person is doing them why lose that emotional control and threaten to shoot someone?

I feel for officers b/c they never know if they're dealing with a responsible citizen or a serial murderer with nothing to lose, not a job I could do I don't think, but in a state with carry you have to know that someone just having a gun is neither a crime nor an indication that you aren't dealing with a responsible citizen.

I would have no problem with him seeing the gun and getting what he felt needed to be control of the situation, even putting hands on the vehicle and taking possession of the firearm while he verified the man's legal carry status, but that should have then been the end of it, with him handing the guy his gun back at the end of the stop. I fully expect in a stop for the officer to take possession of my weapon just to make sure he has control of the situation. I don't expect him to threaten to shoot me in the f***** back with a gun pointed at me.

Charging him with something seems nothing more than a post-hoc attempt to justify his actions, which is almost always a bad sign about the correctness of the actions.

 

[sophie]

I heard the man tell the officer that he had a permit to carry the gun and at the end I heard the officer tell headquarters or someone that the guy never told him he had a permit. Totally wrong.

Shameful behavior of the officer. Got a nasty mouth also. No call to act like that. The officer needs to be reprimanded for sure.

 

[FLSTFI]

The officer needs to be very careful. If he wants to be so petty as to threaten to shoot this law abiding citizen in the back on the technicality that his holster was revealed when he bent over he should also be prepared for the mans wife to shoot the officer over fear of eminent bodily harm or death. Technically that would be within her legal rights if she was also a listened permit holder.

Obviously the above scenario is a little over the top, but it shows how common sense can often be very uncommon. If you are going to start splitting hairs on the wording of the law you had better make sure you are 100% innocent yourself.

At the very least the officer should have realized after cuffing the suspect that he was legally allowed to carry and should have apologized for his overreaction and let the man be on his way. I hope those involved end up a lot lighter in the pockets.

 

[luangtom]

Sad thing is, it will be the citizens of the county winding up a little lighter in the pocket if this goes against the department at trial. Time to take the sheriff to task for allowing this behavior in his department. Voters need to be made aware of these actions. His personnel are a reflection of him. 'Nuff said.

 

[badge]

In my day if you spoke and behaved in this fashion you would be lookin' at some unpaid " fishin time " as well as retraining, or worse.

 

[Mule Packer]

Dang! I sure hate to see things like this. If you think about it, no matter how it turns out, it's basically a lose/lose situation.

For example, if the citizen wins, the county tax payers will be paying through the proverbial nose.

On the other hand, if the officer receives nothing more than a reprimand and some time off, the public will have just one more reason not to trust law enforcement.

So, in the long run, nobody wins.

 

[427mach1]

I think I would file a lawsuit and offer to drop the case if the agency fired the rogue officer and guarantee that he never be re-hired.

 

[SMSgt]

It would be tax-payer money well spent to halt behavior such as this as a lesson to all LE departments across the nation.

 

[Capt.Jim]

What's most disturbing in this video is the officer's language and attitude...

- Every time he gives a command he refers a foul language...

- Threatening a citizen with shooting him in the back...

- After learning citizen have a permit for carrying gun legally responding as "I don't care if you have a permit or not".

In all fairness at the video he is OK until he notices the gun and asks why you carry a gun...

The citizen's response to that question : " I always carry "...
Now that's a stupid response in my opinion to an officer in addition to why he needed to get out of his vehicle?

I have been stopped few times in the past for various reasons and even when I am not carrying a gun on me I never got out of my vehicle nor ever being asked to...

He has been stopped for a minor traffic violation (expired tags) for God's sake, not a cavity search. Why does he gets out of his car?

I don't know what it could be the officer's response if citizen responded as " I have a concealed carry permit officer" rather than "I always carry".

Still no excuses for the officer's overly exaggerated and rude response because guy seems not resisting any commands given by the officer and obeys it.

BTW is it me or does he sounds like "Larry the Cable Guy"?

 

[chief38]

Yes it seems that the Citizen was treated like a criminal AFTER telling the Officer he had a permit, and Yes the Officer SHOULD definitely be disciplined. He should also be made to apologize for his Sophomoric and unprofessional behavior and language.

Don't know where Citrus County FL is but this almost sounds like the Sheriffs Dept. is protecting their own rather than doing what is right. I hope this comes out the right way.

 

[TACC1]

As I've gotten older, I find that almost nothing brings
me to the point of recklessness in dealing with others.
I now, finally, realise, that people do things I might not
like. In fact, I expect bad things to happen on a regular
basis.
A good resolution to the above would be an apology from
the Sherrif, some stress counselling for the officer, and
some strongly worded advice for the driver, from his attorney.
Seems like two people made mistakes. Doesn't have to be
a Supreme Court case.
Just my two cents worth, and Worth it, too.
TACC1