" Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither, and lose both "
- Benjamin Franklin? -
And Justice 4 all provides the resources and tools to preserve the rights of everyone and every family, With Commitment to Change and Unity of resources & groups.... So how am I doing so far since this website started ?
As of May 20, 2009 , And Justice 4 All has reached a average of 2083 U.S. readers per month..







Bill of rights is a document that describes the fundamental liberties of the people. It also forbids the government to violate these rights. The constitutions of many democratic countries have bills of rights that guarantee everyone the freedoms of speech, of religion, and of the press, and the right of assembly.
NOT RACIST - NOT VIOLENT - JUST NOT SILENT
In Loving Memory of My Heroes, Those Who made a Difference :
U.S Marine SSGT.Craig T. Fuller ( www.craigtfuller.com ), " It is the Solider that has giving us the Freedom of Speech..." ( 10/30/75 -04/25/09 )
Philadelphia Police Officer Albert Valentino," To Protect and Serve: With Dignity, Honor and Integrity ..." ( EOW 10/23/89 )
Philadelphia Mayor Frank L. Rizzo Sr., " The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it's only the people who make them unsafe..." ( 10/23/20 - 07/16/91 )
Nicholas Christie , A 62-yr-old retiree strapped to a chair and died, Murdered by the LCSO guards at the Lee County Jail (10/06/46 - 03/31/09)
Joseph A. Scirrotto Jr., " Never to Stand Down,When the Truth is Told... " ( 09/20/34 - 01/20/03 )
For all who Protect and Serve : Heaven must of needed a Hero, Just Click the picture for
The most Absolute Beautiful Video ( A MUST SEE )

It’s cracked in more than 150 places. Elements and time have driven the symbolic piece of history into disrepair.
All Craig Fuller wanted was to see it shine again.
“When he was here he just couldn’t do enough to try to get this going,” said Fuller’s father, Jerry Fuller.
For him, the loss is still raw. This week marks one year since the death of the former Marine, a Cape Coral native.
“He means the world to me and I know how much this statue meant to him. I mean it’s always been his dream to fix it. So now, it’s become our mission,” said Fuller’s friend, Joe Sabella.
Fuller’s loved ones have launched a fund-raising effort in his memory.
With the help of several community and veterans groups, they’re trying to raise $85,000 to restore Cape Coral’s Iwo Jima Memorial.
“We want to get it back to as original a condition as we can,” said George Colom, with the Marine Corps League.
Fuller’s family and friends say he felt so strongly about this statue because of the message it reflects.
“It’s just a symbol of freedom,” Jerry said.
“It’s all about what the Marines really are about. Put them on the map. So that’s what made him so proud of it, having the values of a Marine,” Joe Sabella added.
The historical meaning makes it even more special.
It is one of three Iwo Jima statues created by the same sculptor who erected the original memorial near Arlington Cemetery.
Fuller’s father says he knows his son is watching, and is grateful for the group’s efforts.
“Oh he’s smiling. He’s happy. He’s proud we’ve picked up the torch after him,” he said.

It would have made Craig proud to know that the statue that he loved and that was so dear to his heart will finally be restored with your help.
The Iwo Jima Statue is in desperate need of repair, Please help in Craig's name and fulfill something that he really wanted so badly.
Honor our son by donating to restore the local Iwo Jima Statue
Craig T. Fuller Iwo Jima Statue Restoration Fund
The Cape Coral Community has band together to honor Craig T. Fuller in restoring the Iwo Jima Statue that is located in Eco Park in Cape Coral. It would have made Craig proud to know that the statue that he loved and that was so dear to his heart will finally be restored with your help.
The Cape Coral Community foundation is stepping forward to help manage your donations to ensure that your monies will be allocated to the restoration of the Iwo Jima Statue in Craig's Honor.
If individuals would like to make a contribution to the Iwo Jima Restoration Fund, they may do so by contacting the Cape Coral Community Foundation, which established the Craig Fuller Iwo Jima Restoration Fund.
"On the Move" stated in the article ;Craig was a serviceman who lost his life in Iraq, and his family has established this fund to assist the City in the restoration of the Iwo Jima Statue
Actually; Craig did serve his time in Iraq, However, He died in Afghanistan near the Pakistan boarder. The typo was made is article is excusable since the honor will still belong to him for the restoration project..
Michael Martins, 23 of Cape Coral had a dream of being a career Marine Corps officer.He served 2 tours in Iraq
Those plans ended tragically Friday when Martins, a sergeant who applied for officer training, died in a motorcycle crash on his way to work at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego, his widow, Allison "He's the love of my life. He's my soul mate. It doesn't seem real. I'm in denial,"
Michael had served just more than five years in the Marine Corps and survived two tours in Iraq before being stationed with the intelligence unit at Miramar,
"Heaven received another Angel. Our dearest friend, Michael Martins, has lost his life unexpectedly"His personal decorations included a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal and a Navy Unit Commendation.
"For all who have faithfully served, some at the cost of your lives, you will not be forgotten for serving, sacrificing, and willing to put yourself on the line everyday, so shall you be remembered."
States a plaque behind the freshly unveiled statue, "The Protector," at the front entrance of the new Cape Coral Police Headquarters.
The 700-pound bronze Cape Coral officer designed by Brodin Studios looks down to a small boy and holds his hand, his service weapon holstered beneath his outreached arm. The statue overlooks a small courtyard.
"It encapsulates what our Police Department is here for," Police Chief Rob Petrovich said of the statue. "I think that's the dot on the eye, the cross on the 't.'
"It was a long journey," he said of the new building, into which most of the department's staff and equipment has been moved. "There were a lot of years of ups and downs."
"Who knows what that next call's going to be?" he said to CCPD employees. "But I know you guys are ready for whatever that next call will be."
Cape Coral is home to a new headquarters for veterans from every war since World War II and those returning from Iraq or Afghanistan..
"Our headquarters is designed to bring veterans in, old ones or new ones, it doesn't matter what war they were from," said Ralph Santillo. "I have always thought about helping the guys who come back."
.
There are 60 veterans groups in Lee County.Local veterans also have access to a Red Cross emergency contact hotline that is available 24/7
__________________________________________
Formerly of Naples, died Friday August 7th while
NAPLES —
Lance Cpl. Dennis J. Burrow
supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Burrow was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine In a written statement, Marine Capt. Timothy Patrick said that Burrow joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and was promoted to the rank of lance corporal on Sept. 1, 2007. Burrow deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from November 2007 to May 2008, and to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in May 2009. His awards include the Iraqi Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C , His address was listed as Naples, though Hagan said Maryland was still home.



Roy and his wife, Amy, have three children, Olivia, 4; Mikey, 2; and Landon, 11 weeks
Roy was on his third tour of duty, a week from returning to Camp Lejeune, N.C., for good.
He enlisted Sept. 25, 2001, two weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and often talked about stopping terrorism, al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden.
Sgt. Michael C. Roy died July 8th after being shot in the right cheek during a mission in the Nimroz province of Afghanistan. He was assigned to the third marine special operations battalion, a unit that was set for a return next week to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
__________________________________________
Memorial Day 2009
During a visit today to the Iwo Jima Statue at Eco park, Several people had come and gone just to pay tribute to the Flags of our military.
At one point a LCSO Sheriff's car pulled up, The Deputy got out of his car and walked to the Flags, He stood silently as he took his moment . As he saluted the American Flag, Tears were noticed falling from his cheeks. He returned to car and drove off.
At that very moment the realization that Memorial day is not just for our military but for our Law Enforcement Officers as well , Those who Serve and Those who have fallen. We all share the same flag, We all make sacrifices for our country and We all need to honor those who give us the safety and rights that we proudly defend..

While people are lighting up their grills, or spending a
day off at the beach, it's important to remember the real reason for today's holiday.
Can you take a minute to tell us what Memorial Day means to you?
Today marks a solemn day of remembrance for the more than 1 million American heroes of all generations who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields, defending our country.
To me, Memorial Day means paying tribute to heroes like former Marine Craig T. Fuller, for his selfless bravery.
In the mountains of Afghanistan, while returning from delivering supplies near the Afghan / Pakistan boarder,
He was ambushed and sacrificed his life exactly 1 month ago today..
There are no words that can adequately express our debt to the men and women of all generations who have paid the ultimate price in service of our nation. But we should take the time to honor their sacrifice today, and every day of the year.




April 27, 2009 5:30pm Cape Coral family mourns death of Afghanistan contractor The family of a Cape Coral man and retired Marine who was work ing as a contractor in Afghanistan today is mourning the loss of his life after he was killed Saturday in an attack near the Afghan /Pakistan border. Craig Fuller, 33, was killed, along with a civilian Afghan leader of his team in a roadside firefight. Jeff Hermey, another Lee County man, was injured by shrapnel in the attack, and is now on his way back to Florida. Fuller’s company, Afghan Full Road Construction & Security Inc. , is remaining in Kabul. She was not present when the attack occurred. stream of his son’s friends, who stopped by to share hugs and memories. nothing he wouldn’t do for a friend.” , and for a time returned to Cape Coral before working with a string of contractors in Afghanistan. He opened his own security /construction business in January. His father had just returned from a three-month visit to the country. Afghanistan/Pakistan border, where they were delivering supplies and fixing a leaking septic system for a community there. |


Sexual Violence
Experiencing sexual violence transforms people and changes their lives, forever. Sexual Assault is a crime of violence, not sex. Sexual Assault is about power and control, sex is the weapon.
The following facts reflect the magnitude of the problem:
Cooperation DOES NOT mean consent
Rape is NEVER the victim's fault
Sexual assault is a violent, unexpected, traumatic, and sometimes life threatening experience. Sexual assaults are directed against women, men, and children. Assaults include any type of unwanted sexual activity expressed by one person toward another either overtly or in a subtle manner. If you have experienced this type of assault, it is important for you to remember that... Cooperation is NOT consent! Perpetrators sometimes use threats of physical harm, physical force or the use of a weapon. The fear of harm or even death may have prompted you to cooperate with the assailant. This does not in any way mean that you consented to the assault. Since rape can feel like... and can often be a life-threatening situation, whatever measure you took to survive was EXACTLY the right thing to do.
A Survivor
As a survivor of sexual assault, you will most likely have many questions and concerns. There are emotional and psychological reactions to the trauma you have experienced. You may want clarification on medical and legal questions.
Following the assault, you may have many thoughts and feelings that will be confusing and disturbing. That's normal. Rape survivors usually feel a sort of emotional numbing or shock immediately following the assault. It is also normal to have the tendency to deny what happened. These feelings and emotions are normal, and it is called Rape Trauma Syndrome.
Rape Trauma Syndrome is a term that covers the wide range of emotions and reactions that are common to rape survivors. Some of these reactions include fear, grief, disbelief, guilt, shame, anger, sadness, betrayal, and rage.
Rape is a terrifying assault. It is normal for you to feel fear, anxiety, distrust, anger or any other emotion you may have. It is normal to experience sleeplessness, lack of appetite, and/or increase in appetite, and to have less interest in your normal routine and activities.
Flashbacks and nightmares are also common symptoms of Rape Trauma Syndrome. You may be blaming yourself for what happened. IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT. Regardless of what a victim does or doesn't do, NO ONE DESERVES TO BE RAPED.
For More Information:
Abuse Counseling and Treatment, Inc.
P.O. Box 60401
Fort Myers, Florida 33906
24-Hour Hotline 239-939-3112
Emergency Shelter 239-939-3112
Administration 239-939-2553
Fax 239-939-4741

Phone: 533-2224
FAX: 485-2155
Phone: 533-2227
Lee County Florida District 3
Commissioner Ray Judah
Lee County Florida District 4
Commissioner Tammara 'Tammy' Hall
Lee County Florida District 5
Commissioner Frank Mann
phone: 239-574-0437
fax: 239-574-0429
email: council@capecoral.net
This is the right Stimulus Package for Americans :
Hey folks,
I'm just wondering if you think this idea holds any water:
Instead of "bailing out" those big banks & insurance companies with a $700 Billion bailout, why not just give all that money to us American citizens. Consider this: There are approx 200 million American citizens over the age of 18 (& I'm assuming a great majority are registered voters). If Congress paid us a mere $300,000 each (tax free), it would help us pay off our mortgages, boost the economy, pay for college, get out of debt, etc etc for a total amount of $60 Billion. If you want to tax Joe Citizen, then pay us $425,000 each, so we can then pay a 30 percent tax rate on that (about a $125,000 check from 200 Million registered voters). That will leave us with $300,000 each AFTER taxes. (hence the tax-free status). [Look - I know the math is not exact].
Congress should allow AIG, and the other banks to fail IF THE FREE MARKET is allowed to work. American citizens should NOT be held responsible for ANY business that can't make a profit. Those banks should be liquidated and sold off if they go belly-up.
Some people may argue that this "idea" is nothing more than National Socialism (which then translates into Fascism), by evening out the national wealth (& debt) across the board. This is what was supposed to happen when the Communists came to power & took over Russia, but what really happened was those dudes in charge of Russia took all the wealth of the nation and kept it from the citizens, forcing everyone else to fend for themselves.
Today, if we allow Congress to follow through with the passage of the "Bailout" bill, Congress will keep all that wealth for themselves, forcing the rest of us to fend for ourselves, JUST LIKE COMMUNIST RUSSIA. But, if each of us gets a check for $300,000 dollars, we maintain our financial freedom.

EOW: Monday, October 23, 1989 Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental) |
EOW ~ 20 years agoPolice Officer Albert A. Valentino
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Monday, October 23, 1989
Biographical Info
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: 12 years
Badge Number: 7113
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)
Date of Incident: Monday, October 23, 1989
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Officer Albert Valentino was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer while involved in a shootout on a city street. The suspect involved in the shootout was also shot and killed.
Officer Valentino was survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter Gina Marie, born a week after her father's death.
I miss you , Al and I'm so proud of you, not a day goes by that I don't think of you... You were a good husband, father and friend..
EOW: Wednesday, December 9, 1981 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Wednesday, November 13, 1985 Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle |
EOW: Thursday, June 5, 1986 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Tuesday, September 22, 1987 Cause of Death: Vehicular assault |
EOW: Monday, October 23, 1989 Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental) |
EOW: Tuesday, December 25, 1990 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Wednesday, February 6, 1991 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Thursday, June 17, 1993 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Friday, January 19, 1996 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Thursday, August 15, 1996 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 Cause of Death: Drowned |
EOW: Tuesday, January 7, 2003 Cause of Death: Heart attack |
EOW: Thursday, November 1, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
2009 Police week ~ In memory of Faller law enforcement officers:
Officer Andrew Widman — Killed July 18, 2008; shot while trying to intercede in a domestic argument
Officer Phillip Lebid — Killed Nov. 22, 2004; died in a car accident while working for the FBI, not long after leaving a five-year tenure at FMPD
Officer Daniel Starks — Killed Oct. 25, 2003; struck by a car while in a vehicle pursuit
Detective Mark Bolhouse — Died Jan. 19, 1988; suffered a medical condition while on duty
Sgt. Logan Scott — Killed April 3, 1981; struck by a vehicle
Lt. Matthew Hisler — Killed Jan. 3, 1930; shot and killed on duty

Power Corrupts And Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
~ John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton

From Lee Bushong ~ June 5, 2010.
Laws were written and developed many years ago as a basis to form a civilized society. As time evolved, some governments abused the laws, leading to fractured and sometimes new societies. We are all familiar with one story dating back to 1776 which laid the groundwork for the Constitution and the society which we live in.
Those Constitutional guarantees, and the laws of this great State were not made to be ignored, nor to be treated arbitrarily or with indifference.
I believe those laws and guarantees should be passionately protected and preserved for all people - citizens, immigrants, deputies; innocent people and guilty people. Free people and incarcerated people. EVERYONE. We all have rights, and it is the responsibility of law enforcement to do just that - enforce the law and thereby protecting those rights.
As much as anyone wants to bend the rules from time to time to circumvent the Constitution or to get around a law, it cannot be done. It's the mandate and the very concept of law enforcement to protect those rights through impartial, unbiased application of the law. Justice is supposed to be blind, right?
Sadly, though, I just learned of another recent example of the Lee County Sheriff's Office - the body charged with enforcing all laws in Lee County, willfully neglecting the very laws it's supposed to enforce. Or more accurately, Mike Scott is not enforcing the very laws he swore to uphold And that profoundly disturbs me.
So let me say it again - passionate unbridled protection and preservation of the rights of all people regardless of who they are and what their past is.
To read Lee's views on the Fatal crash involving a LCSO deputy that was in the words of the state attorney “incomplete or inaccurate.”, Please visit the F.Y.I section
State attorney did not see deputies’ actions ?
There was no complete video for state officials to review before they decided not to prosecute Lee County sheriff’s deputies who re-strained and pepper-sprayed inmate Nicholas Christie eight times over two days before Christie’s March 31, 2009 death.
That’s because deputies pepper-sprayed and restrained Christie in areas where there are monitors, but video is not recorded, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt Larry King.
“The only areas that have the video capabilities are the new areas of the jail,” King said.
Also, a video that would have shown deputies handcuffing Christie to a gurney before taking him to a hospital froze for about 11 minutes as it happened.
“There is a lot of cover-up. It will come out. I will have my day in court,” Joyce Christie said.
The state attorney used information provided to that office from the sheriff’s office for its investigation.In those 11 minutes of frozen video, Christie had trouble breathing while in a restraint chair. He became combative, was removed from the restraint chair, then handcuffed and shackled to the gurney, according to public records.
King said the tape was not tampered with; it simply locked up.
Joyce Christie’s attorney, Nicholas DiCello, has filed an intent to sue the sheriff’s office and the company it contracts for medical services.
.
In the two-day incarceration that followed, deputies pepper-sprayed him directly eight times, and twice sprayed inmates in his cell. Christie spent two days in jail before being taken to the hospital, where he died two days later.
In video showing Christie minutes before first being sprayed March 27, Christie sways and looks confused, but not threatening. He is then led into a room where, according to the incident timeline, he is sprayed less than two minutes later for the first time.
State attorney spokeswoman Samantha Syoen said investigators asked the sheriff’s office multiple times if they had turned over all the video. “It’s something we noticed, too,” Syoen said.
Absent the video, Syoen said investigator’s based the ruling on witness testimony and documentation.
Of course there is no video..
It seems that is standard procedure with LCSO, the cameras only work when it is in their favor, That's is sometime that has been proven time & time again..
The State attorney office should as ashamed of the LCSO as the residents are; However He is not and Why ? After all wasn't Steve Russell also kept in the dark for weeks after Mr Christies Murder ? You would think by now he would grew a set & stood up to his bully buddies & fix the problems but he won't.. The SAO is just as fault as the Murders themselves for allowing this happen & not holding anyone accountable.
Those who say don't commit a crime & this won't happen; Remember that everything here in Lee County is crime to them , It's all about the money & they careless who you are, if you get pulled over, You maybe looking at a visit to our very expensive jail & looking straight at the same faces that Murdered Mr Christie..So be careful out there !
Lee County Moto:
Come on Vacation, Leave on Probation , Return a Violation
There is not video of Christie again for almost 48 hours. During that period, documents from the sheriff's office show that Christie is pepper sprayed eight times.
The time-line describes each time deputies use OC spray on Christie, but none of it is caught on camera.
The sheriff's office says the spraying happened in a secure area, where surveillance cameras are present but do not record.
The next time there is recorded video of Christie is two days later, March 29 at 2:03 p.m.
It shows Christie sitting in a restraint chair waiting for an ambulance. The video then freezes for about ten minutes.
The widow of an Ohio man who died in police custody in Fort Myers, Florida last March, will file a federal lawsuit for violating her husband’s constitutional rights by failing to recognize that he was mentally ill.
Joyce Christie, of Girard, Ohio, and her son, plan to file the action against the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Prison Health Services (PHS), the private company that oversees medical care for the jail, which had taken custody of Nicholas Christie for trespassing.
Her attorney, Nick DiCello (IB member), of the Cleveland firm of Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber LLP, says his firm has filed the notices required under Florida state law of an intention to sue.
Suffering from emphysema, COPD, back and heart problems, the jail staff said his medical files were not available or immediately sought at the time of his arrest. But DiCello says Christie gave his medical history and list of medications to the jail days earlier during his first encounter with law enforcement.His medication list was found in the back pocket of his pants when Christie’s personal effects were returned to his widow.
What Happened To Nick Christie?
Sometime between the time he was arrested on March 27, 2009 around 2:00 p.m., and March 31 at1:23 p.m. when he was pronounced dead, Christie had been sprayed with ten blasts of pepper spray, also known as OC (Oleo-resin Capsicum), which is a derivative of cayenne pepper.
The medical examiner has ruled his death a homicide.
On January 6, the Lee County State Attorney’s office mimicked a lengthy investigation by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, clearing the officers of any wrongdoing in the death.
Assistant State Attorney Dean Plattner and Chief Investigator Kevin Smith found the jailers did not break policy guidelines. A separate internal review of policy was not conducted and the five corrections officers have remained on the job.
“My blood is boiling,” Joyce Christie, 59, told the News-Press. “I knew it was going to end this way because the corrections officers were never taken off their jobs during the investigation.”
A Failure to Indict
Assistant State Attorney Dean Plattner says in his memo that in order to prove manslaughter, the office would have to prove someone showed a "reckless disregard for human life" to the extent that they should have known it would likely cause death or great bodily injury.
"The facts of the case do not support this level of proof,” says the office.
Attorney DiCello says he is shocked that the state attorney didn’t come to the conclusion there was a crime.
“All he needs to come to a conclusion that there was probable cause there was a crime. The local community should have been given the opportunity to indict. They weren’t given that opportunity,” he says.
DiCello says despite the state attorney's conclusion, the federal case has a different standard of review.
“They have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt there was some type of criminal intent. We have to prove it fell beneath the standard of care and these officers knew they were violating this man’s constitutional rights.”
DiCello says strapping an obese, 62-year-old with a heart condition and COPD to a restraining chair, pepper spraying him and not allowing him water to wash off should qualify.
“Case law as a matter of law defines that conduct as a violation of constitutional rights and affords it no protection under the law,” he says.
The standard of care is established by the county and Prison Health Services, under contract with Lee County for $9 million annually..
Under the contract, PHS is responsible for conducting a medical evaluation of everyone coming into the system.
Never Saw A Doctor
His jailers say Nicholas Christie was combative, despite the fact that he was restrained in a chair so he allegedly wouldn’t spit at his jailers.
But three inmates who shared Christie’s cell block told the Fort Meyers News-Press that they thought the use of pepper spray was excessive and that deputies ignored the victim’s pleas for help.
“While he was sitting in the chair, they sprayed him two more times,” said Ken Cutler. His whole head was turning purple and almost blue,” he says, “He was gasping.”
The other inmates say the pepper spray was so intense they were gagging in the cell block.
“He was constantly telling them I can’t breathe and I got a heart condition,” he says.
Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, deputy chief medical examiner, concluded that stress caused by restraint and pepper spray were irritants and stressors to his heart. He says that 99 percent of the time those sprayed do not die. Christie was the 1 percent.
The medical examiner’s report indicates that the death was caused by “hypoxic encephalopathy following resuscitation for cardiac arrest, cardiac shock with congestive heart failure, physiologic stress following restraint and noxious effects of oleoresin capsicum.”
A homicide does not necessarily mean that the death was a criminal act only that it was caused by a person or persons.
DiCello says take a look at Pepper Spray on YouTube videos to see it can down someone for 40 minutes, even if it is washed off.
“You’ll see Marines crying, now imagine being sprayed ten times, you’re obese, have COPD and having a manic episode. Ten times and the last time not washed down for a half hour strapped down so you can’t rub his eyes.”
Joyce Christie was so concerned she says she contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s office and issue a welfare BOLO (Be On The Lookout). Ms. Christie even had the sheriff of her home town contact Lee County to stress the seriousness of her husband’s condition and the fact that he needed to take his medication.“He begged them to take Nick to the hospital. They said he’s having a good time, he needs a few days away. All they had to do was say ‘Let us talk to your doctor to confirm.' They didn’t do it. Captain Begowski told the officer, ‘If you don’t take him now, I’m going to tell you, you’re going to be dealing with him in a couple of hours.’”
That forecast proved true.
Joyce says her husband couldn’t remember her number, or his son’s. Two days later on March 27, he was arrested again for trespassing.
This time when officers took her husband into custody, Joyce says they locked his medications in his truck and never retrieved them.
Joyce frantically flew to Fort Myers March 28, but police would not let her see Nick. She says they wouldn’t even tell him she was there. Finally, an officer suggested she could bond him out of police custody.
When she finally was allowed to see her husband it was too late.
He had been taken by ambulance to Gulf Coast Hospital where Joyce says Nick’s eyes were taped shut and he had 40 tubes taped to his body. Doctors told her he had a 10 percent chance to live. The nurses told her when he was brought in naked that he had so much pepper spray on him doctors had to change their gloves as they became saturated with the orange spray.
No one in the sheriff’s office had contacted her, and until he arrived at the hospital, Nick Christie had never seen a doctor. Someone in the hospital, shocked by his condition, suggested she contact an attorney.
“Nick had a life he was somebody my husband, a father to my son. He’s somebody I miss very much. It shouldn’t have happened. He should be here. Three weeks later I get his ashes back from Florida in a mail truck. My husband, he was somebody, he wasn’t just a nobody,” Joyce Christie says.
Attorney Nick DiCello says the state attorney's report clearing the officers will not hurt the federal case. The fact that Christie was sprayed at least once after being restrained in a chair with a hood over his head violates any qualified immunity defense the county and Prison Health Services may claim.
Besides a violation of the law, DiCello is concerned about the violation of another human being.
“Humanity has failed here. And now they aren’t going to address the failure. Us as a people, we need to recognize we’ve all failed and make it right, not ‘Let’s just move on from this failure.’ People shouldn’t do this to people. Nothing could warrant the treatment and death this guy experienced.
"A 62-yr-old retiree strapped to a chair and died. I don’t get it.”Widow of dead Lee County jail inmate Nick Christie to sue
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100107059"
The widow of Nicholas Christie, who died shortly after he was released from jail, intends to sue the Lee County Sheriff's Office, as well as the company contracted by the county to provide medical care to inmates.
Christie died three days following his second incarceration, during which he was pepper sprayed eight times; another two times, his cell mate was sprayed. The medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide.
The state attorney's office cleared the five corrections deputies - Kurtis Calhoun, Frank Hansen, Daniel Falzone, Monshay Gibbs and Dathan Pyle - of criminal wrongdoing in the case, though federal investigations are ongoing. A separate internal review of policy and protocol was not conducted, according to the sheriff's legal director, Barry Hillmyer.
In a letter sent to the sheriff's office, attorneys for Joyce Christie allege corrections officers "used excessive force, acted with deliberate indifference to Nicholas Christie's need for medical care and violated his rights under state and federal law."
Cristie's attorneys also sent a letter to Prison Health Services Inc., saying the jail's medical staff did not properly care for him while Christie was in custody.
Ohio attorney Nicholas DiCello, who is working in conjunction with Tallahassee attorneys, said a letter of intent to sue has been sent, which has to be done in civil suits against government agencies. He expects the lawsuits will be formally filed by April.
According to 1600 pages of documents released by the state attorney's office, at least two of the nurses who were checking on Christie expressed concern about the spraying. One nurse was reported as having checked Christie after one of the sprays, though later said she didn't recall it.Nurse Maria Canete reported when she expressed concern to Deputy Calhoun about the sprays, he responded, "This is good training for everyone," and laughed.
Five inmates - including two who were not originally interviewed by the sheriff's office - said they heard Christie yelling for medical help throughout his 43-hour incarceration, though several others didn't hear that and neither did corrections deputies.
"My blood boils when I hear all this," Joyce Christie said "They murdered my husband. Whether they meant to kill him or not, the outcome is still the same. They can't bring him back. I will have my day in court, and I will have justice for Nick."
Heavy doses of pepper spray and an unknown medical history made a lethal combination for a Lee County inmate, according to an investigation .
“I had nothing, I had no guidelines,” one nurse, Maria Canete, said in an interview included in the report.
Still, she begged one deputy to go easy on the inmate and others in his cell block, which, after multiple applications of pepper spray in various forms, was filled with the irritant.
“And he said to me, ‘It’s good training for everyone,’” Canete recalled.
Christie died March 31 of cardiac arrest caused by the pepper spray. Christie was exposed to the chemical 10 times in 43 hours at the jail. Medical examiners ruled his death a homicide.
State prosecutors cleared nurses and jailers of criminal wrongdoing last week, after finishing their review of an investigation conducted by the Sheriff’s Office.
They released the investigation, which totaled more than 1,600 pages. The report included booking sheets, an autopsy report and statements from 70 witnesses, including inmates, guards and nurses.
At the release of the investigation, State Attorney Stephen B. Russell held a press conference, in which he emphasized the limited nature of his agency’s review. He said his office could not perform a policy review for the jail, a step he said would be “appropriate” for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
One officer, Deputy Daniel Falzone, a trainee at the time, said he used the spray once to stop Christie from banging his head into the bars and wall after the inmate’s first appearance in court.
“My biggest fear was that he would hurt himself, injure himself against that steel door,” Falzone said.
The deputy used chemical force on Christie twice more in the following day, when the inmate continued acting up in an observation cell.
The two applications, both with foggers, which distribute the chemical widely, followed within minutes of each other.
Nurses were routinely called to check on the inmates, after each use of the chemical. One nurse, Linda Sundo, said the chemical was so heavy in the observation block that it irritated her, too. But because Christie was screaming, she knew he was breathing okay, she said.
“I didn’t get that super close to him, because that (pepper) spray and me don’t get it,” she told a detective. “Nine years workin’ there and it still — it still bothers me.”
Christie was eventually restrained in a chair, sprayed once more and then covered with a spit mask.
As nurses continued their checks, Canete said she was bothered by what she saw. She felt uncomfortable when a jailer said Christie, now restrained and covered in a mask, refused lunch and a drink of water. And she was disturbed by how the same jailer, identified as Deputy Kurtis Calhoun, responded to her appeals for lighter chemical use.
“And I looked at him and I said, ‘We don’t need training like this,’” she said in the report. “’This has become a health hazard to everyone here.’
And he just laughed.”
Feb. 21-24 — E-mails show John Taylor of the business Taylor Carpet One asking Sheriff Mike Scott for two background checks. Scott asks former Lt. Lee Bushong to run the checks for his cousin, which Bushong does.
April 12 — Bushong tells The News-Press that Sheriff Mike Scott had him run criminal backgrounds searches for personal reasons. Scott said it was an employment background check for Taylor Carpet.
April 17 — A follow-up News-Press column reveals John Taylor, of Taylor Carpet, is Scott’s cousin. Bushong said he violated agreement terms of the National Crime Information Center and the Florida Crime Information Center — computerized law enforcement indexes.
May 8 — A letter from Donna M. Uzzell, a director at Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asks Scott to explain Bushong’s allegations made to The News-Press.
May 15 — In a reply letter to FDLE, Scott did not indicate his cousin requested the background checks. Instead, he said he ordered the criminal checks because “anonymous, third party information” advised a fugitive was relocating to Fort Myers and seeking employment. Though neither person was a fugitive, Scott notified Taylor Carpet one man had a prior record.
Summer 2009 — FDLE chose not to investigate.
An investigation by the state attorney’s office,determined there was no malicious intent or reckless disregard for life when deputies pepper-sprayed Christie 10 times during a two-day incarceration.
Two inmates who shared a cell with Christie dispute the investigator’s findings, and a federal investigation is still ongoing.The medical examiner’s office had determined the 62-year-old Christie, who was arrested March 27 for trespassing, died of cardiac arrest and physiological stress brought on by restraint and “noxious effects of oleoresin capsicum,” or pepper spray.
Eric See and Robert Grout were inmates in Christie’s cell block at the time he was arrested; they had been picked up for failure to pay child support. According to both, Christie was not combative, but he did beg for medical attention — loudly — for hours.
“If they would have listened to the man, they wouldn’t have needed his medical records,” Grout said. “He was an elderly man, and he kept screaming for medical attention, and they just kept on ignoring him. He was not threatening, but he was really loud because he was saying he needed help, and they just kept spraying him.
“We were telling him to shut up, that he was making it worse for himself, but he said he didn’t care because he really needed medical help,” Grout said.
Neither Grout nor See met Christie before, and both said the state attorney’s office didn’t contact them for statements during the investigation.
See said Christie was pleading for a nurse, and asking jail staff to call his wife so she could bring his medications.
At 2 p.m. that day, Christie was transferred to the medical unit, still in the chair. Ten minutes later, the nurses called 911 to take him to Gulf Coast Medical Center, where he died two days later.Investigations by the FBI and the U.S Department of Justice are ongoing, said Nicholas DiCello, the Ohio attorney of Joyce Christie. DiCello said Nicholas Christie, a retired Ohio boilermaker, had a pre-existing heart condition and took medication for anxiety and depression.
DiCello said Christie kept in his back pocket a list of every medication he was on, all his medical conditions and the names and numbers of his doctors. The list was recovered by Joyce Christie when she came to gather his belongings, DiCello said.“A review of the report indicates that inmate Christie presented physical, verbal and bodily fluid contamination threats to the jail staff during his incarceration,” Smith wrote.
Assistant State Attorney Dean R. Plattner stated in an accompanying memo that jailers had no intent to kill Christie and no “reckless disregard” for his life.
Nicholas DiCello, an Ohio attorney representing Christie’s widow, said the family was disappointed but is looking toward a federal inquiry, in addition to a possible civil suit.
“I’m not aware of any policy that allows (oleoresin capsicum) spray to be used for the 10th time after someone has been restrained to a chair,” he said.
Smith doesn’t describe how often Christie was exposed to the chemical, but he notes application was in the form of a spray and a fogger, which is used to hit a wide area with the chemical.Christie’s last exposure to the chemical followed his restraint in a chair, Smith writes. After spraying him, jail staff placed a spit mask over Christie’s face, an effort Smith states was designed to protect staffers.
Cutler, has said Christie was trying to spit the chemical out of his mouth, after a guard sprayed him directly in the face.
Minutes later, nurses found Christie’s breathing labored, and they moved him to a downstairs shower to decontaminate him.
At 1:30 p.m., Nicholas Christie’s oxygen levels were found to be low, and he was soon moved to the medical wing. He was still in the restraint chair.
At 2 p.m., nurses decided Christie needed to go to the hospital, and they called 911 at 2:11 p.m.
Two days later, Christie was pronounced dead.
“A review of the report indicates that inmate Christie presented physical, verbal and bodily fluid contamination threats to the jail staff during his incarceration,” Smith said.
“These challenges caused the application of OC pursuant to agency policy while under the direct supervision of medical care and observation. Evidence suggests the participants did not operate with any unlawful intent and that their actions would be criminally excusable pursuant to FSS 782.03.”
Smith closed the investigation without recommendation for criminal charges.
Lee inmate's alcoholism caused death
A Lee County Jail inmate who died while in custody was determined to have suffered sudden cardiac arrest, brought on by chronic alcoholism and alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
The District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office is labeling the death of James Kindred, 45, as natural, according to a report released .
He died a week later after jail officials transported him to Gulf Coast Hospital.
Bruce Kindred, 47, brother of James, said “I think something bad happened to my brother in there,” said Bruce Kindred, who has been arrested and spent time in the Lee County Jail.
Sgt. Lee Bushong, once fired by Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott then rehired prior to his civil service hearing, has resigned December 4th., Stating: "Irreconcilable differences", It may sound like a divorce but if Bushong stayed after FDLE had cleared Scott Free of any wrong doing; He would have a huge bulls eye tattooed to his head.
Just this past month, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement cleared Scott of any criminal misconduct after allegations by two former sheriff's office employees; Charlie and Dominic Farrante and Bushong.
Scott demoted Bushong, in March 2009 from lieutenant and head of the Intelligence Unit to deputy for improper conduct and abusive insubordination.According to the News-Press ; Bushong sent a threatening, off-color e-mail in Jan. 2009 to two sergeants chastising the unit for taking too much time away from the job.Scott then fired him in April.
He then rehired him in June just before Bushong’s attorney Stuart Pepper was prepared to call 39 witnesses for Bushong's civil service board hearing.
Bushong alleged Scott broke federal and state law by directing employees to collect criminal background information on two job seekers for his cousin.
Scott said he ordered the search and gave his cousin the information.
Bushong said information taken from the National Crime Information Center and Florida Crime Information Center or Computerized Criminal History cannot be released to noncriminal justice personnel.
This is no surprise, Bushong and the Ferrante brothers all did the right thing and followed proper channels of file the complaints, However, the first step was to take it to FDLE. The complaint was clearly overlooked and ignored as all other complaints filed against Mike Scott with his brothers of the badge in this department.
Scott Free was very confident from the start that he would be cleared of all wrong doing even prior to knowing what the approximately 100 plus page complaint and almost 300 pages of supporting documentation said in detail :
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wbbh/documents/091123_sheriffscott_part1.pdf
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wbbh/documents/091123_sheriffscott_part2.pdf
Note: Talk about off color email and threatening emails, Mike Scott has never sent or replied to citizens in any other fashion ..
Why is FDLE, the SAO, LCSO IA department and The FBI still sitting on this case ??
Why did the guards not get suspended pending the outcome of this Murder investigation ??
Are the guards who killed Mr. Christie CO's or Deputies ??
12/06/09 ( Unconfirmed )
Read a letter from Lee Bushong that was written this morning to his former co-workers and their replies :
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewtopic.php?f=309&t=94016&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Effective immediately:
Chief Deputy - Dale R. Homan
Colonel - James "Gill" Allen (Law Enforcement)
Colonel - Tom Ellegood (Corrections)
Major - Matt Powell (Patrol Bureau Commander)
Major - Tom Eberhardt (Corrections-Ortiz Site)
Major - Jim Barraco (Corrections-Downtown Site)
Captain - Matt Leclair (West/Charlie District)
Lieutenant - Mike Ciolino (West/Charlie District)
Sergeant - Rob Kizzire (West/Charlie District)
FDLE today cleared Scott of four specific allegations:
• Allegations Richard Spence was allowed to clean up a crime scene at his son’s home.
• Allegations a sheriff’s office employee revealed the installation of a pole camera at the Alva Market, Spence’s store.
• Allegations a sheriff's office employee revealed an undercover officer’s identity.
• Allegations public records were destroyed regarding a polygraph exam of two captains.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cleared Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott of all criminal misconduct over certain aspects of his relationship with a convicted felon, According to today's article in the News-Press our largest media source.
Considering the allegations and documentation provided to the FDLE, They were able to conclude quickly..They had the Christie Murder case since April and it passes around the red tape unanswered. I wonder why ??????
Sheriff Mike Scott snubs The News-Press
The sheriff resumed the press conference with other media representatives in the hallway.
Just after the vote against unionization by deputies was announced, representatives from four media outlets - including The News-Press - gathered at the back of a conference room at the sheriff's office to interview Scott. He answered one question from a television reporter before halting the press conference and announcing he would meet with everyone but The News-Press reporter.Two Lee County Sheriff’s officials have been reprimanded for improper conduct following a September outing at Gulf Coast Town Center.
Lt. Joseph More and Sgt. Brian Jakacki were off-duty at the Gulf Coast Town Center Ale House on Sept. 11 when they ran into members of the sheriff’s communications department, who were having a “girl’s night out,” according to an investigative report.
The two groups exchanged greetings but went their separate ways, according to the report.
The groups both ended up at Bar Louie, where communications dispatcher Haley Bartoe alleged Jakacki put his arm around her waist unprovoked.
The night continued at The World Famous Cigar Bar, where witnesses said Jakacki grabbed the rear end of Amanda Turner, another communications dispatcher.
Jakacki is Turner’s former brother-in-law. Turner said she didn’t remember Jakacki grabbing her, but if he had, she would have been offended.
Toward the end of the night, a security guard saw Bartoe’s boyfriend, William Hill, lunge toward More, although the two were separated.
More continued to go near Hill after they were separated and said something to the effect of “see you later, sweet pea,” provoking Hill.
There seems to be a lot missing here..I have seen and heard worst !http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1283451.html
Florida Gov. Crist wants grand jury on public corruption
On the day he called for a grand jury to investigate public corruption, Gov. Charlie Crist was mum about his ties to indicted political fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn.
BY MARC CAPUTO AND JAY WEAVER
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
The most recent major public corruption indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury last month, charged political player Alan Mendelsohn with 32 counts of fraud and wrongdoing for allegedly attempting to sell his access to lawmakers -- including Crist.
Mendelsohn, who has pleaded not guilty, had even claimed he could bribe Crist, a charge that prosecutors investigated and declared false. Mendelsohn this year held a fundraiser for Crist's fellow Republican and rival for U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio.
Still, Mendelsohn's political ties with Crist ran deep. Mendelsohn held fundraisers at his home for Crist's 2006 governor's race and had used secretive political committees to boost Crist and attack at least one rival.
Crist then made Mendelsohn a member of his gubernatorial transition team in 2007. And the governor wrote a personal letter asking the University of Florida's medical school to admit Mendelsohn's son.
Citing a "rash of crimes" involving public officials, Crist told the court that while the investigation "is not limited to any particular section of the state," five judicial circuits should be the operating area for the convenience of witnesses and law enforcement.
Those circuits are the 20th (Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties) along with the 11th, 15th, 16th and 17th circuits, all in the southern half of the state. Together, the circuits constitute Southeast and Southwest Florida plus the Keys.
The grand jury should investigate crimes including bribery, extortion, gambling, kidnapping, murder, racketeering, money laundering and bid tampering, Crist told the court.
Crist, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, was joined at a news conference by Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, the North Fort Myers resident who is running for attorney general; and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey.
Statewide Prosecutor Bill Shepherd, who also attended the brief news conference, said the inquiry might run 18 months.
"It's obvious to me that something is wrong with the system," Crist said. He added that he has removed 30 public officials from office - about one a month - since he has been governor.
Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is running for governor, issued a statement of support for the governor's petition to the high court.
Statewide grand juries have wide-ranging authority to investigate multi-jurisdictional crimes that cross county and judicial-circuit boundaries.
The FBI also requested a long list of words, names or acronyms the FBI requested were: Todd, Stephenson, AIM, Three Oaks, Samir, Tom, Frank, Daugherty, Impact, Golf, Bonita, Biodiesel, Vegas, dredging, FBI, Bruce, 20/20, Chico, Lease, Dan, Aronoff, Edison Farms, University, Galvano, Waterman, Estero and Freeman.
They won't say what they are looking for and some on the list have been asked , However, They really don't know why either.
Ironically, Most of these names/words are in this site or have searched this site according to my statics, The questions are ; What are they looking for ? Who are they looking at ? Why ?
And : What took you so LONG ???
After several years, I personally can shed some light on
several and can add many more for them to be seriously looking into. At
one point I contacted the local Ft Myers FBI, I asked for the persons
name and they refused, I ask questions and was giving answers that just
didn't sit well with me..That prompted me to contact the Washington FBI
field office, I was told that Ft Myers had lied to me concerning
everything I discuss with them and was directed to the Tampa field
office.
Tampa of course said they would investigate and would report back to Washington. At this point my part was completed, However, Here we are a year after my last contact with them and some but not all are on the FBI to do list.
The event was on the steps of the Collier County Courthouse in East Naples as part of the organization’s; " 2009 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month campaign."
At the same time; Lee County Sheriff's Sgt. Keith Day, Det. Joseph Anderson, Deputy Bryan Perera, Det. Mike Detar and Deputy Anthony Perfetto enjoyed a special Estero Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Sept. 24, at Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club, honoring the investigators who worked on Estero's recent widespread vandalism case.
One of these honorees was cleared by LCSO Internal Affairs back in 2007 of Domestic Violence and Sexual Battery and The 20th circuit court denied several request for orders of protection allowing him to walk freely to be rewarded, praised and promoted several times since while on duty, However, Regardless of Laws, escaping the long arm hiding behind the badge and blue wall of silence..
The widespread vandalism of his Victim; CONTINUES !
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As nice as it was the; The Photo was Removed by request !
However, it is available for viewing at :
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=A4&Dato=20090925&Kategori=NEWS0102&Lopenr=909250806&Ref=PH
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Deputy Sonia Colon was eating lunch at the restaurant with five sheriff’s employees on Aug. 5 when she asked for a to-go box for her leftover food, according to a sheriff’s report. She placed her leftovers into the box along with a bowl belonging to the restaurant, the report states.
Two sheriff’s employees who were also at the restaurant questioned Colon about taking the dish, but she denied taking anything.
The following day, another employee saw Colon reheating her leftovers in the bowl and asked her about it. Colon then admitted to taking the dish.
Following an internal investigation, Colon was charged with improper conduct. She will serve a one-day, or 12-hour, suspension.Gov.
Charlie Crist, for whom Spence said he raised $500,000 during his last
election, while in Fort Myers that he does not know Spence.
Crist, who praised Scott, said he was not aware of Scott’s relationship with Spence, but he would be “happy to look into it.”
“Association With Criminals: Except as necessary in the performance of official duties, Sheriff’s Office members shall avoid regular or continuous associations or dealings with persons whom they know or should know are persons under investigation in a criminal matter or indictment, or who are convicted felons, or persons actively involved in criminal activity, or persons generally held in ill repute with the community or have relationships with persons that would reflect discredit on the member or the office.”
-From Chapter 26 of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office operations manual
There are more LCSO that have connections with felons than reported, It's part of the double standards, Depending on who you are, Will determine your fate and this is one of the reasons these guys need Union, As long as he is the sheriff, They need protection from Him and the rest of the Good Ol Boys ..
Sheriff’s Office policy prohibits deputies from associating with individuals they know are convicted felons.
“The fact is I did not know he was a felon,” the sheriff said in an interview . “I guess we can argue or disagree about whether I should have known.”
Griner said Spence told him otherwise, that the sheriff knew about his background before August 2008.
Spence butted heads with Scott’s former second-in-command, Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante. Ferrante and his brother, former Capt. Dominick Ferrante, both left the Sheriff’s Office under "allegations of wrongdoing" earlier this year. Others in the Special Operations Bureau, including its commander, then-Major Scott Ciresi, were transferred or demoted at the same time.
Samantha Syoen, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney’s Office, said Russell received a $500 donation from Spence for his 2006 campaign and then returned $385 that was never used. Russell only learned of Spence’s history late last year, Syoen said.
Griner disagreed — he said deputies went to Spence to get around Ferrante, who they claim to feared. “They found a loophole,” he saidA state inquiry into Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott will determine if a complaint made by ex-employees should prompt a criminal investigation into the sheriff.
The nature of the complaint, as well as the names of the complainants, are confidential, said Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Kristen Perezluha.
"We're just looking to find out if we need to do a full investigation," she said.
The agency opened the preliminary investigation after receiving a complaint from several ex-employees in May. The Tallahassee-based Office of Executive Investigations is handling the inquiry, due to Scott's high profile.
The same office would handle a criminal investigation if one is deemed necessary, Perezluha said.
Findings from a criminal investigation would then go before the State Attorney's Office. LOL and why would they send it to the SAO who is also involved ??
The recent revelation of a years-long friendship between Scott and a convicted felon with former ties to a Colombian cartel has raised questions of the man's influence inside the Sheriff's Office.
Scott has denied that the man, Richard Spence, a convenience store owner in Alva, had any sway in his agency.
Earlier this year, a restructuring of the Sheriff's Office saw several employees part ways with the agency.
Scott, in a prepared statement, said the investigation would work to his advantage.
“I am thankful for the inquiry into these false accusations, and I am supremely confident that the independent and unbiased review of the facts will eliminate the agenda driven cloud of suspicion.”
Really ? Really !
If Mike Scott Free walks away with a slap on his hand, Then every deputy, fired, demoted or voluntarily left needs to go back to work, We can't have Double Standards..
State Attorney Stephen Russell, who oversees prosecutors in Lee and four surrounding counties, also has maintained a friendship with Spence. Phone records show Russell talked to Spence 15 times between January 2008 and June 2009. This communication, too, continued after Russell learned of Spence's background. The state attorney's office, unlike the sheriff's office, does not have a policy restricting associations with felons, Russell said.
If you want some info on Spence, Rachel wrote another great article all about him...
Spence's role in 90s money laundering scheme
Richard “Dick” Spence, manager of the Alva Village Market and friend of Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, was one of the top three organizers in the New York cell of the Colombian Cali cartel that laundered more than $100 million in the early 1990s
*************************************************************
WOW....I KNEW THAT YOU GUYS WERE IN BED TOGETHER BUT MIKE SCOTT ON TOP ? ?
"The Sheriff’s Office never notified the State Attorney’s Office of Nick Christie’s death, despite a requirement by State Attorney Stephen Russell that his office be informed of in-custody deaths no later than the end of the next day."
Prosecutors only heard of the death from media reports in May.
The Lee Circuit Court, too, was never notified, and a bench warrant was filed in Christie’s and delivered to the Sheriff’s Office three weeks after his death. The court only learned of Christie’s death two weeks later.
Bet you feel the " Abuse of Power " now, Don't you ?
Steve Russell
Mike Scott
More Former inmates comes forward:
North Fort Myers man files lawsuit against Lee County Sheriff's Office
Brett Allen Fields, 26, was booked into the Lee County Jail on July 6, 2007 charged with violating an injunction, criminal mischief and a probation violation. His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, legal costs and a violation of his constitutional rights.
According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon in federal, Fields requested medical attention for a wound in his left arm on July 10, 2007. A nurse identified his wound as a boil caused by Staphylococci and tried to treat it with a medication called Bactrim.
Two weeks later, Fields filled out an Inmate Medical Request Form stating the medication didn't work, but he claims his request was ignored.
By August 2007, Fields began to suffer from severe back pains and weakness in his lower extremities and that he had not urinated in days, the lawsuit states.
On Aug. 7, 2007, a nurse examined Fields and scheduled an appointment for the next morning. On Aug. 8, 2007, he was confined to a wheelchair because he could no longer walk. The physician's assistant ordered Tylenol and returned Fields to his cell.
The next morning, Fields tried to use the toilet by dragging himself across the floor. He then realized that all the muscles in his anus stopped working and his rectum was protruding through his anus and was visible outside his body, a condition called rectal prolapse, the lawsuit states.
Cellmates, seeing Fields' condition, summoned employees, who pushed Fields' rectum back into his body and removed him from the cell. Twelve hours later, a doctor examined Fields, who was taken to Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center.
Medical staff diagnosed Fields with MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and he underwent surgery.
According to mayoclinic.com, MRSA is a strain of bacteria that is resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. It can be fatal.
According to the lawsuit, Fields still suffers partial paralysis in both legs despite two years of physical therapy.
"Fields' now permanent spinal injury could have easily been avoided had defendants not been deliberately indifferent to Fields' obvious serious medical needs during his incarceration and provided him with basic medical care," the lawsuit reads. "Defendants intentionally refused to provide and in fact did deny Fields minimally adequate medical care and treatment."
The lawsuit claims that denial violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
At least He is still alive, Nick Christie was not that Lucky !
Still to come , Another story from a female inmate....
Finally ! We may have some Justice ...
Back in March, Nicholas Christie was visiting his brother in Naples. After some arguments, he made his way to a couple of Fort Myers hotels where Lee County sheriff's deputies say he was causing trouble.
The sheriff's report notes that Christie was "loud and smelled heavily of alcoholic beverages and was upset his beer was missing."Two days later, deputies arrested him again. On that occasion, it was on trespassing charges. He was taken to the Lee County Jail and that's where Christie's family says he was killed.
The family attorney, Nicholas DiCello, says deputies restrained Christie for six hours and used pepper spray on him.
"It appears that he was sprayed even after he was restrained and there were also some suggestions by some of the witnesses that a spit mask was placed over Christie's head until he ultimately stopped breathing," DiCello said.
Deputies took him to Gulf Coast Medical Center where he died from heart failure. Officials with the Lee County Sheriff's Office wouldn't comment except to say that they are investigating, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI. The Guards involved have not been named and are currently still on active duty.
"It's out understanding that the two or three individuals that were responsible for this are still employed and have not missed a day of work as a result of this," said DiCello.
The Christie family says "They wants justice" , However. they have been told they'll have to wait for several investigations to be completed before that happens.
According to Public information of the Lee County Sheriffs office, This investigation was on the heels of being completed, What was not mentioned However very important is that a Be On The Look Out was in effect for Mr Christie the entire time all of these events were taken place, In fact , The local Sheriff of Mr. Christie's Ohio Town; Personally call LCSO and informed them of his current medical condition
The Naples News that has been more in touch with this has written that Christie was placed in the jail’s observation cell, where corrections deputies could keep a closer eye on him, said another inmate on the wing at the time, Kenneth Cutler, 42.
Cutler, who had been arrested for failing to appear at court, said that on March 29, Christie was loud, belligerent and disoriented to the point of asking for his car keys so he could drive home.
Deputies gassed him multiple times, beginning in the early morning hours, Cutler said. When Christie continued being loud, a new shift escalated the spraying, according to Cutler. They used two foggers, which release the chemical into a cell at large, he said, and then restrained Christie in a chair.
“They sprayed this man in the face directly with (pepper) spray while he was strapped to the chair,” Cutler said. “They must have got some in his mouth, because he’s spitting trying to get it out, and so they put the spit mask on him.” Cutler said Christie turned blue and complained of chest pains. He was taken to a nurse station, Cutler said, before being rushed to the hospital in the afternoon.
Christie’s heart failed from the shock of the pepper spray, Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf concluded in an autopsy. By the time his heart was beating again, his brain had gone too long without oxygen.
The Sheriff’s Office never notified the State Attorney’s Office of Christie’s death, despite a requirement by State Attorney Stephen Russell that his office be informed of in-custody deaths no later than the end of the next day.
Prosecutors only heard of the death from media reports in May.
The Lee Circuit Court, too, was never notified, and a bench warrant was filed in Christie’s and delivered to the Sheriff’s Office three weeks after his death. The court only learned of Christie’s death two weeks later.
None of the jailers involved were removed from their duties after Christie’s death.
DiCello, the attorney, expressed confidence in the Sheriff’s Office investigation. Major Crimes investigates homicides within the agency’s jurisdiction, as well as fatal shootings involving its own officers.
Investigators with the jail were originally handling Christie’s death, King said, before it was handed to Major Crimes.
“I think (the unit) redid everything and really did a thorough job,” DiCello said.
King, with the Sheriff’s Office, said the agency’s investigation, at more than four months old, was taking so long due to there being more than 90 witnesses to the event.
Once completed, the investigation will be forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office, which will determine criminal culpability.
DiCello said he believed an investigation could show fault with the jail’s medical protocols, although he declined to elaborate. Cutler, the inmate, said in an interview several months ago that nurses should have been aware of Christie’s medical issues from the first of his two arrests.
“They knew there was something wrong with him back then,” he said.
Today August 5th, The News-Press had written an article leaving out many important details and misquoting Mrs. Christies statement as to Nick self medicating himself, This is not the truth, "Nick would have a few drinks at night to help fall asleep " said Joyce Christie the widow of Nick.
Joyce who is very over whelmed with the sudden death of her husband has just asked for " Justice for her husbands Murder " she stated that he was her life and her house is no longer the home that she and Nick enjoyed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 27, 2009
Come on already !
Why is LCSO holding back ? What are they hiding from us ?
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE HOMICIDE / MURDER OF NICK CHRISTIE ??
Updated 07/17/09
I Spoke with Public information at LCSO today and was told that this investigation is " Almost " complete.
I contact our local news paper hoping that maybe we can get the attention this case deserves, It has been back burner-ed long enough and it's time for IA to rear their ugly heads ..
Nick Christie has a family that has gone long enough without answers and the residents of Lee County also deserve to know the truth about the Abuse in the Jail and How this behavior was acceptable by the Sheriff , IA and Those who were in charge of the jail..
Enough is Enough !
4 months later and still no answers, had this been a resident instead of an inmate, would this investigation be done ?
Had this been a resident would this " Homicide " be ruled as Murder ?
Had this been a resident would there be an arrest by now ?
LCSO Internal Affairs is dragging their feet......Why ?
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Governor Crist appoints Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott to Human Trafficking task force ?
07/10/09
Scott builds his task force:
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090710/NEWS01/907100398/1002/NEWS01
06/30/09
Gov. Charlie Crist has chosen Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott as one of three officials who will make up the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking.
Gerald Monahan, chief of police for Port Orange, and state Rep. Maria Lorts Sachs of Delray Beach were also chosen for the task force.
Scott's record amount of traffic tickets, obviously pays off as knowledge of performance, However, Human is in question and as 1/3 of the task force, who has trouble overseeing his own elected office, The 2/3 will need to pull the weight for success...
And here we go again !
07/27/09
Captain Rex Shevitski has been demoted and will immediately receive a 5 percent pay cut.
Several complaints against Shevitski were made by resident Fred Kobie Sr., a farmer who also has an air conditioning business. Some of the allegations were Shevitski had fired his weapon dangerously, expected to be charged less for air conditioning services in exchange for keeping Kobie's son out of jail, told Kobie's young son about a prostitution arrest and came to Kobie with information about Kobie's son being under investigation for theft of cattle.
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Docket Information |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docket Date: | Event Description: | |||
| 3/27/2009 | In Custody, | |||
| 3/28/2009 | Record of First Appearance and Booking Report Filed, | |||
| 3/28/2009 | Provisional Appoint of PD by Court Pending Further Review, | |||
| 3/28/2009 | Other, SAO offered 20 days LCJ, Def declined | |||
| 3/28/2009 | Stay Away From Place of Arrest, Howard Johnson, 13000 N Cleveland Ave, North Fort Myers, FL | |||
| 3/28/2009 | Certificate of Compliance/FCIC/NCIC Requirement Filed, | |||
| 3/29/2009 | Bonded Out, | |||
| 3/30/2009 | Case Opened by Booking Sheet, | |||
| 4/2/2009 | Contact Attempted for Indigent Status Screening Filed, | |||
| 4/2/2009 | Pretrial Disclosure Regarding App for Indigent Status Filed, | |||
| 4/3/2009 | Copy of Surety Bond Filed, | |||
| 4/14/2009 | Arraignment (Judge:Sturgis, Radford R), Time - 08:00 | |||
| 4/15/2009 | Commitment Form Sent to Judge/Magistrate, RRS for BW amount for Diversion / FTA | |||
Nicholas Christie, was arrested March 25 on a charge of disorderly intoxication and booked two days later on a trespassing charge.
But what happened the second time he was taken into Lee County Jail still haunts his widow, Joyce, said her lawyer, Nicholas DiCello.
Christie died March 31 — two days after he was taken to the hospital from jail, DiCello said.
Ken Cutler, was booked into jail the same day of Christie’s injury. Cutler said he was five cells from Christie in the jail’s mental health section March 29.
Cutler said guards emptied two large cans of pepper spray in Christie’s cell in the early morning hours when he began shouting for his keys and wallet.
“You could tell immediately there was something wrong with the guy,” he said. “He didn’t know where he was.”
The noxious drift coating the block prompted Cutler to stuff paper in his nose and cover his face with a blanket, he said.
Later, he said officials restrained Christie in a chair after he complained of problems breathing and chest pains and put a mask on him to prevent him from spitting.
“While he was sitting in the chair, they sprayed him two more times,” Cutler said. “This guy sat in the restraint chair, which seemed like over an hour, and his whole head was turning purple and almost blue. ... He was gasping.”
A nurse arrived and Christie was wheeled away in the chair, Cutler said.
The death certificate signed April 29 lists brain damage caused by lack of oxygen after a cardiac arrest, low blood pressure caused by heart pump failure and stress from the restraint and pepper spray as leading to Christie’s death.
“Deaths at our jail are very rare,” King said. “Certainly, it’s uncommon.”
King pledged the agency would do a thorough investigation.
Numbers from Lee jail logs do show use of force reports have been increasing. Such reports have spiked 70 percent since 2005.A breakdown provided by the sheriff's office earlier this week indicates there were 596 use of force reports generated in 2005, and 1,104 in 2008.
There have been 696 use of force reports so far in 2008, and 252 from February through April. This is what the LCSO is willing to say, You can actually double if not triple these numbers due to the lack of reported incidents.
The News-Press made a public-records request to the sheriff’s office last week for three months of use-of-force reports and sexual harassment and assault complaints after being contacted by several people who alleged mistreatment in jail.
Though a report for this case would not be included because it’s an active investigation, the office estimated that the request would cost more than $2,293 to fill. Regardless that these are public records and as taxpayers we should be entitle too.His family believes police didn't try to get him treatment soon enough.
Christie's widow, Joyce, said from her home Thursday that she wants the truth to come out about her husband's death and for someone to be held accountable.
''I want justice for him,'' she said. ''The system failed him once. Don't let it fail him again.''
Her lawyer, Nick DiCello, said the family is awaiting the outcome of a criminal investigation before deciding on their next step.
''I'm committed to pursuing this thing all the way through,'' DiCello said. ''Right now, we don't have any answers that we want.''
Joyce Christie said she wished someone at the jail had taken her husband to the hospital sooner. She said she is upset that two of the people who were involved still are working.and "It was over an hour before the nurse came in."
DiCello said given Nick Christie's medical history and the circumstances surrounding his death, the coroner could not have ruled any other way.
''I would've been shocked if it wasn't ruled a homicide,'' DiCello said.
Roy Van Green’s family may never know why he became so delusional behind bars that he babbled about the end of the world.
All they know is that he died on Oct. 18, 2000, after suffering a heart attack in the Lee County Jail’s medical unit — a heart attack blamed on blood clots caused in part by his “immobility.”
“You don’t just die in your jail cell with massive blood clots without somebody knowing about it,” said Green’s stepson, Don Blackburn. “It’s not like they come on in 10 minutes and kill you. Somebody wasn’t paying as close of attention as they should have been.”
Roy Van Green’s family has serious questions about Prison Health Services, the private company the sheriff’s office contracts to provide health care in the jail and stockade.
“If nothing else, his civil rights were violated by being denied medical care,” said Green’s younger brother, Dewayne Green, 52. “The whole damn system failed as far as I’m concerned. “
The sheriff’s office wouldn’t discuss the case, citing patient confidentiality laws.
Neither would Lawrence Pomeroy, Prison Health Services’ senior vice president for marketing, who said it’s against company policy to discuss “inmate-specific cases.”
Pomeroy would only say that PHS’ policy “is to provide and ensure access to necessary, appropriate health care services consistent with community and national standards of care.”
Roy Van Green was 59 and had worked for decades as a carpenter when was arrested on Dec. 6, 1999, at his North Fort Myers home after allegedly threatening a neighbor with a rifle.
Unable to post his $15,000 bond, Green languished in jail for months as he waited for his case to go to trial.
But a couple weeks before that was supposed to happen, Green’s behavior changed dramatically. There were reports that he stood in his cell for days on end without sleeping, went for weeks without having a bowel movement, had to wear diapers because he couldn’t control his bladder and talked about how the number 11 meant the world was coming to an end.
According to Dewayne Green, Roy was “happy as a lark” a few weeks before his trial date because he’d been told the charges against him might be reduced.
But Dewayne Green believes something happened to Roy at the stockade.
“There is a lot of mystery around what happened at the stockade,” Dewayne said. “... He called me, and he was all screwed up. It was like bits and pieces, pulling teeth to try to understand him.”
Roy Green went on trial on Aug. 23, 2000. But midway through the proceedings, Lee Circuit Judge R. Thomas Corbin stopped the trial and ordered that Green be evaluated by a pair of psychologists.
Court transcripts show that when Corbin held a mental competency for Green hearing on Aug. 31, 2000, he wanted to know why Green was not in court.
“He’s over at the jail on medical,” a bailiff told him. “They said he was unable to stand and unable to come over at all.”
“Were they going to send him to the hospital?” Corbin asked.
“They didn’t advise that,” the bailiff said.
Two psychologists then testified that Green was incompetent to stand trial.
Psychologist Paul Kling told Corbin that Green was suffering from delirium and had told him he was “hearing voices.”
Kling said Green’s problems could have been caused by anything from a head injury or a stroke to a disease, a chemical problem or a liver ailment brought on by medicine prescribed for a bout with the shingles.
Corbin declared a mistrial and noted that Green had seemed pretty “bizarre” during the first half of the trial.
Green was sent to Lee Memorial Hospital three days later and stayed there four days. But according to his medical records, doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
The records show Green had a fever of 102 degrees when he arrived. Doctors noted he had a history of seizure disorder, alcoholism, diabetes and hypertension.
“He confabulates significantly and therefore I am unable to ascertain information or get a decent review of systems,” one doctor wrote.
Medical records show Green was put on several medications while in jail, including Flomax, which is used to treat an enlarged prostate; Flagyl and Cipro, which are for urinary tract and abdominal infections; and Minipress, which is for high blood pressure.
“Not sure why he’s on this,” a doctor wrote of Minipress. “He probably does have a history of hypertension.”
According to their manufacturers, some of the drugs can have serious side effects — such as rapid heartbeat, dizziness and blood disorders — when taken alone or combined with other drugs.
“Some of them have bad side effects,” Blackburn said. “I still think they were a contributing factor to the blood clots.”
On Sept. 18, 2000, Corbin ordered that Green be put in a mental institution as soon as the Florida Department of Children & Families could find a bed for him. But that didn’t happen because of lack of space.
Dewayne Green said one of the last times he saw his brother, Roy showed him what he said was a rash.
“I said, ‘Damn, that looks blood red. It looks like a blood blister,’” Dewayne recalled saying. “I said, ‘Are you sure it’s a rash?’ He said, ‘That’s what they said it is. They’re rubbing it with cortisone.’”
Dewayne believes what he saw were signs of blood clots.
“If you’re a doctor and you’re looking at this man, you ought to know what it is,” Dewayne said. “That wasn’t a rash.”
Roy Green began complaining of chest pains at 6:05 a.m. Oct. 18, according to jail records. He was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital and by 7:05 a.m., he was dead.
According to the Lee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Green died of a heart attack brought on by blood clots that were “due to or a consequence of” his immobility.
The sheriff’s office issued a press release the day Green died saying he had “an extensive medical history while in custody.”
Blackburn doubts he’ll ever know what really happened to his stepfather. But he says he’s got a hunch.
“I think that because he was turned over to the Department of Children & Families that the jail personnel relaxed their care because he was now somebody else's problem,” Blackburn said. “I mean, realistically, how could someone develop enough blood clots that would suffocate them to death and daily medical personnel don't notice it? Give me a break.”
On November 30, 2001, Michelle Goebert, a pregnant inmate in Lee County, Florida, was taken from jail to the hospital because she had been leaking amniotic fluid for eleven days. Two days later her fetus’ heartbeat stopped,doctors induced labor, and the child was stillborn. Goebert filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the county’s sheriff, the jail facility commander, the jail doctor, and the jail’s medical service provider, alleging deliberate indifference to her serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Read the civil suit case file :http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200610606.pdf
My questions would be : Who was in charge of the jail back in 2000 and 2001, We know Mike Scott was not the sheriff then but was Col. Michael Waite in charge of the jail then ?
After internet research, I can not come to a conclusion without calling LCSO and asking public information, However, I will make that call and request the public records...
BEFORE !Ciresi appealed to the Civil Service Board, claiming there was no legitimate reason for his demotion and that the reasons for his reduction in rank weren’t put in writing.
“Quite frankly, we don’t know why this happened. His personnel record shows no disciplinary action leading up to the demotion. This action was not supported by the rules and should be reversed,” Ciresi’s attorney, Doug Wilson, told the board.
However, Scott testified that Ciresi held a command level rank — the third highest in the agency — and answered to the sheriff.
“The sheriff has the ability to reorganize, conduct investigations and to demote. I don’t write reports to myself,” Scott said.
There were plenty of reasons to demote Ciresi, the sheriff said.
When the Sheriff was questioned about why he had not produced written documentation to show reasons for the demotion, the Sheriff basically replied he was the sheriff and had the ability to do so.
This Crazy ass Civil Service board ruled the Crazy Sheriff is not required to produce proof,
Chris Arey later voted the sheriff did not have just cause to demote Ciresi. standing up for what they believed to be right, knowing that the vote could of hurt his career severely...
If Ciresi signed anything on paper than the Sheriff should of produced it but since he was able to get away with that, Proves to me that this man is a serious problem and will continue to get away with every thing with the back up by the Civil Board of Nuts , FDLE and Commission of Ethics.
Nothing is going to change until we are all :
" SCOTT FREE " of this man. Luckily. I don't have to work for him but I feel for those who do ..He has been completely out of control abusing his almighty powers..
This is getting so bizarre that no one is safe from this man, Jobs are lost, demotions and pay cuts, refusal to allow outsiders investigate his department, the lying is so bad that he contradicts himself over and over to the press and to the employees, He almost like the mad scientist..He needs to get a grip and stop embarrassing this county.

"The later determined fact that the threatened weapon was a BB gun in no way changes the fact that the presented events could only be treated as a lethal threat to his life," Kevin Smith, chief investigator for the SAO said in a summary of his investigation into the shooting in Bonita Springs.
Sheriff's Sgt. Eric Nalewaik had no way of knowing the weapon Guy Howard Petrey, 47, was pointing at him February 12th was a BB gun that resembled a 9 mm Smith and Wesson pistol, said Kevin Smith and of course The State Attorney Stephen Russell agreed with the findings."I am convinced that the actions of Sergeant Nalewaik were in self defense and a legally justifiable use of deadly force," Russell said in a letter Friday to Sheriff Mike Scott.
Allen and Sonier drove by Petrey’s Torchfire Trail home and saw him smoking a cigarette. He appeared paranoid and edgy, they radioed Nalewaik and Dektas.
When Nalewaik came to the house on foot, he saw Petrey inside the lanai and he called out to him. Petrey turned and “looked through him,” Nalewaik said.
“He looked a little bit surprised but then it almost went into he had — almost like he had a plan,” Nalewaik told an investigator after the shooting. “And he said, ‘I’ve got something for you.’”
This is Hear say and Assumptions...
That’s when Petrey picked up the BB gun, a replica Smith & Wesson 9 mm, and pointed it at the sergeant. Nalewaik opened fire.
Petrey was hit three times, once in the chest, another time in the lower back and again in his torso, the latter a graze wound.
Wow: I don't think that was the right reaction after 11 years and a specialist in dealing with mentally ill suspects.. And shot in the lower back ? Back would mean Behind him.. At what point did he turn around ?
“Clearly, the situation was one in which Sgt. Nalewaik reasonably believed that Petrey presented an immediate threat to himself and other deputies,” Assistant State Attorney Dean R. Plattner wrote in the report summary.
Lee County deputy fired after alleged actions with inmate
A deputy has lost her job after an investigation concluded she had been sending food and notes to an inmate, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Fay St. Rose, a corrections officer with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, was found to have taken part in improper conduct, neglect of duty, insubordination, and failed in her job knowledge and performance for passing on messages on paper towels and candy bars to an inmate earlier this year, according to a withdrawal of appointment document from the sheriff’s office.
The food and letters were apparently hidden in the inmate’s legal material.
The document also said St. Rose admitted giving her cell phone number and having three party calls from the inmate.
The report also said she has 15 days to appeal this decision.
OMG, They stop mail and only made postcards come in, They shake down right after commissary is handed out and them they resell it over and over by calling it contraband. ( Racketeering ) They use the inmates as sport and the mental ill inmates for fun with weapons and Oh Lets Not Forget : Abuse and KILL the inmates...
She doesn't need to appeal , She needs to spill it all to the media and stop what is going on that jail , Save her integrity and throw the real " Improper conduct, neglect of duty, insubordination, and failed in job knowledge and performance " Deputies under the BUS...The LCSO is a disgrace !
What about the Murders, What happened to them ? Did they get the candy bar after killing Nick Christie?
Have they been charged yet ? Are they still working or off with pay ?
They should be in jail right NOW ! ! MURDERS ! !
Other deputies need to be in jail for Domestic violence and Sexual Assault and they're not ;They got promotions and raises..
At least she had compassion and tried to help people who have not been proven guilty of crimes YET
And where the Hell is the State Attorney ???
Why haven't those guards been charged yet ???
Mike Scott : You should hang your head in shame !
“We can’t investigate the chief without the chief,” Scott said.
He questioned the timing of Ferrante’s medical leave, but Ferrante said the medical issues, which he declined to discuss, had been ongoing.
“So, really I’m on sick leave, yet they continued to report that I was being investigated,” Ferrante said. “Well, which one is it? I mean, this is my reputation, and if the reason they didn’t move forward on this was because I was on sick leave, then why didn’t they even try to interview anyone else?”
In actuality: we don't even know if Ferrante is having medical issues because he is on FMLA; which can mean "care of family member."
Ferrante said he was never formally notified of the accusations against him, and no other witnesses made sworn statements — steps that should be taken under the state’s officer bill of rights.
Today, Scott plans to release his self-penned response to sheriff’s attorney Abbi Smith about an incident in which she alleged the chief attempted to intimidate her into purging a document from Dominick Ferrante’s file. Her statement is below.
Ferrante said the only communication he had with Smith was during the meeting the sheriff invited him to; he said he never spoke to her alone about the matter. The sheriff said the chief was out of town during that meeting.
Just before his brother resigned, Ferrante was facing a civil service board hearing about his treatment of Sgt. Ryan Bell during a meeting in November to sort out disagreements in the Forensics Unit. It was alleged he cursed and threatened Bell.In all fairness,
Look at the civil court of LeeClerk.org, Mike Scotts is mentioned 24 times in civil suits so far, with some still open and pending..
The former chief said he sometimes used “language for men, behind closed doors,” which he said is common in law enforcement. But he said the sheriff didn’t frown upon it, and in fact sometimes encouraged his next-in-command to give certain employees “the chief’s special,” meaning an especially stern tongue-lashing.
“He just made sure he wasn’t in the room when it happened,” Ferrante said, noting his discipline was always, “fair, firm and consistent.”
The sheriff said Ferrante is lying.
“I think that statement’s probably right up there with the whole claim about having a, ‘chief’s probation,’” Scott said. “We don’t have a chief’s probation, we don’t have ‘chief’s specials.’ And as far as all this, ‘men talk,’ I don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t speak to my employees that way, and I wouldn’t expect my administrative staff to speak to other employees that way.”
In the last year, Ferrante said he and the sheriff spoke at least twice about his performance, and the sheriff never questioned his tactics.
But Ferrante questions Scott’s credibility, pointing to the fact that on the day he announced his retirement, Scott described his career as, “impeccable.” Days later, Scott blasted Ferrante, saying he had repeatedly counseled against his harsh tone with employees, and also about the reported incident with Smith.“If it was true that he had to repeatedly counsel me, then I would consider it his failure as a sheriff that he didn’t remove me from this position sooner,” Ferrante said. “You don’t repeatedly counsel your second-in-command about something like that. You take action.”
Scott said if Ferrante had merely retired after the Bell incident, the outcome might have been different. He said the Smith incident was, “the last straw.”
But internal investigations, Ferrante said, protect the agency and the employee. He said one should have been carried out, especially when the public was told it was.
“They would have had to take sworn statements,” Ferrante said. “The truth might have actually come out.”
RITA B.
North Fort Myers
RITA: My two "attacks'' on the sheriff since I've known him were for not firing Cpl. Michael Detar after he used a Taser as a joke on someone at a party and his Hussein reference to President Barack Obama at a rally. Bushong deserves a chance to tell his side of the story.
- - -
SAM: While I hold Sheriff Scott in very high regard, I feel that it would be to his advantage to allow an unbiased third party to do the investigation of recent killings by his deputies. One question for the sheriff is this: Will you openly and completely publish the full and unbiased reports related to these investigations? Not the summary, but the full report. If the answer is no, The News-Press needs to get in gear and demand to know why not and demand an independent investigation.
Lt. Lee Bushong, 34, a 10 year veteran, was demoted after sending a threatening e-mail to employees, and was fired after calling one of those employees and swearing at him, according to internal affairs reports.
It started in late January. Bushong, reports said, sent an e-mail warning his employees in the Intelligence Unit against taking consecutive vacation weeks. In the e-mail, the investigation indicated he singled out Deputy Steve Drum, who took time off to tend to a child after surgery.
Bushong also told employees he would, "hang a small portion of your (expletive) on my wall for decoration" if the directive wasn't followed.
One of the employees forwarded the e-mail to superiors.
Bushong was questioned, and admitted to sending the e-mail, agreeing it was unprofessional. He was found to have violated the agency's policies with improper conduct and insubordination by abusiveness, and was demoted to deputy.
Then in March, another investigation was initiated after it was alleged Bushong called Drum, swore at him repeatedly and called him names. Bushong later said he wanted to ask Drum why he didn't follow the chain of command.
Per agency policy, employees are to be placed on paid administrative leave pending outcome of an internal affairs investigation. Orders were given to Maj. Scott Ciresi to inform Bushong he was being placed on leave while he was investigated for his conduct toward Drum.
However, the report states, Ciresi passed off the duty to a lieutenant. There are conflicting statements, but somehow, three other lieutenants came along to help deliver the news to Bushong, who was cleaning out his office. One of those, Lt. Shane Hingson, had been involved in an earlier dispute weeks prior with Bushong, Capt. Dominick Ferrante (who later resigned) and Capt. Gary Kamp.
When the three lieutenants arrived, Bushong became upset. Hingson eventually summoned Ciresi because it was "getting ugly."
It was later determined Ciresi "mishandled" the situation by allowing the lieutenants to deliver the news to Bushong, but no formal investigation was conducted.
Ciresi was later demoted from major to captain, although the reason given by the sheriff's office was it was part of the agency's restructuring.
On March 25, Bushong's second internal investigation determined he was abusive to Drum, but did not find he was insubordinate to the three lieutenants. He was fired Friday.
Bushong is appealing the decision; In a statement, Sheriff Mike Scott said, "It is always regrettable to part company under unfavorable circumstances; however, inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated."
Inappropriate & unprofessional behavior is normal activity at the LCSO, Mike Scott himself could not even reply to emails without being rude & unprofessionalIn his personnel file, released Monday, the former U.S. Marine sergeant repeatedly received stellar reviews and several letters of commendation, including for his part in saving two lives - one who had threatened suicide and another who had driven into a pond. He is described by his superiors as someone who is motivated, polite, an excellent writer and a good team player.
His records indicate he was counseled in the last few years for not going through the proper chain of command and the need to cultivate better relationships with other lieutenants and sergeants.
The intelligence unit Bushong oversaw included the gang unit, homeland security, crime tracking, career support and Crimestoppers. Bushong also is a member of the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force.To: File
Thru: Captain James Leavens
From: Lieutenant Kathryn Rairden 93-148
Date: September 17, 2008
Ref: IA-2008-024
8. Falsification of Official Documents:
Balke stated Sergeant Bell had Crime Scene Tech - Randy Eubanks remove Corporal Mike Detar's name
from Crime Scene reports for the purposes of hiding the information from the Media.
Randy Eubanks stated he was told to remove Detar's name from the report, but the comment typed by
Sergeant Bell stated "She has never overtly accused Detar; she has only implied that he may have done this.
Therefore we should leave his name out of the report." CST Eubanks stated he did not have a problem
removing Detar's name from the "Suspect" section but refused to remove his name from the report entirely.
CST Eubanks stated he did not recall being told to remove the name for the purposes of "hiding" the
information from the Media.
Sergeant Bell stated he did not have CST Eubanks remove Corporal Mike Detar's name from a Crime Scene
Report for the purposes of "hiding it from the Media."
Conclusion: This is not a falsification of official documents, but rather a perception issue. There were
extenuating circumstances surrounding this case that once explained, made sense to CST Eubanks. It does
not appear as if the explanation was ever forwarded to the Crime Scene Manager, Harry Balke. The only
place Detar's name was removed from this report is as the listed "SUSPECT," which at the time there were
several.
Direct Link:
www.nbc-2.com/News/documents/090310_IA_balke.pdf
Abbi Smith, The file for Capt. Dominick Ferrante had first to be reviewed by the sheriff’s legal staff, and while aide Abbi Smith was looking over the documents prior to their release, Charles Ferrante reportedly approached her. He told her the documents about the confrontation involving his brother did not belong in the file. The documents detailed the sheriff’s exoneration of the other deputy in the dispute.
“I told him the signature on the page was an original, and I believed the sheriff meant for it to be there,” Smith wrote in a memo to Scott dated March 11. “He again told me that it did not belong there. I stood to leave the room, and he walked with me. ... I told (my supervisor) that I felt that the chief was trying to get me to remove the paper from the file, and I refused to do so.”
Charles Ferrante Did Not say : Give it to me, But she felt threatened in some way in her opinion. Good thing Abbi wasn't sexually assaulted or beaten by him because that would of been dismissed by the Sheriff and Internal Affairs, criminal charges would brought against her for some reason by the state attorney and turned on her . She may want to read about sexual violence ...Just in case !