Former NPPD officer lied to investigators

North Port Sun Website


Report: Former NPPD officer lied to investigators

By DREW WINCHESTER
Staff Writer
NORTH PORT -- The internal affairs investigation of Melanie Turner released on Friday shows the former North Port police officer lied to Sarasota County Sheriff's investigators following the alleged sexual battery of a woman at a house party attended by Turner and Officer Ricky Urbina in March.
Both were accused of sexually assaulting the 38-year-old woman in a bedroom after Urbina handcuffed her, but it was later determined the woman was a willing participant in the sex acts performed by Urbina, which Turner accompanied.
The internal affairs report shows that less than four hours prior to being interviewed by the sheriff's office, Turner told a DeSoto County Sheriff's deputy named Jared Paynter that she had been accused of sexually assaulting the 38-year-old woman, and that she "laughed and joked around" with the woman and Urbina in the bedroom, but that was all.
Less than four hours later, she then told the Sarasota Sheriff's Office she had no recollection of the night's events, both prior to and after what happened in the bedroom. Turner twice told investigators, under oath, that she had no recollection of the night, the report shows.
Turner was arrested in the incident, but she resigned from the NPPD and the charges against her were later dropped. Urbina took his own life before he could be charged.
***Read the full story in tomorrow's North Port Sun.***

SHT


By Shelby Webb
Published: Friday, June 6, 2014 at 2:11 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 6, 2014 at 4:47 p.m.
NORTH PORT - More than two months after a sexually themed party led to the suicide of one officer and the resignation of another, the North Port Police Department released an internal investigation into its officers’ conduct at the March 1 event.

Facts
WARNING: REPORT CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
CLICK HERE https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... mmary.html (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1184132-north-port-police-internal-investigation-summary.html) to read the 8-page internal repairs report.
An eight-page summary shows how Officer Melanie Turner, who resigned shortly before the investigation was complete, lied to investigators, used an on-duty officer’s handcuffs for a sexual act and affected the “good order and reputation” of the North Port Police Department.

Three other officers also were named in the report, including Kishia Veigel, who was at the party, witnessed the misconduct and now faces a two-day suspension for not reporting the case to her supervisors.

Another officer, Jeff Wilson, was found to have acted appropriately. Wilson was outside during the time of the alleged misconduct but immediately notified his supervisors and authorities when he learned what happened.

Ricky Urbina, who was accused of sexual battery and false imprisonment, killed himself as Sarasota County sheriff’s deputies were en route to take him into custody.

The release of the internal investigation is one of the final pieces in a sordid affair that has called into question North Port’s handling of discipline and the culture among its police officers.

After the victim told off-duty officers at the party about the alleged sexual battery, sheriff’s investigators launched an inquiry and moved to arrest both Urbina and Turner on March 20.

The State Attorney’s Office later declined to prosecute Turner, citing a lack of evidence in the case.

The North Port Police Department’s internal investigation into the party began on April 23, after the conclusion of the criminal investigation.

The investigation’s summary shows how Urbina, who arrived at the party while on duty and wearing his full uniform, was invited by Turner.

Minutes after he arrived, the investigation summary said, Turner grabbed his handcuffs and restrained a male partygoer before removing the handcuffs.

Shortly after the male partygoer was released from handcuffs, Urbina used the same handcuffs to restrain the alleged victim while Turner “passively” participated.

Once the female partygoer was handcuffed, Urbina began a mock “pat down,” gliding his fingers down the inside of the female’s legs up to her groin area.

He rubbed underneath and on top of her breasts.

Urbina then helped the victim down to her knees, grabbed the victim by the hair, and pulled her head backward, while making a gesture meant to imitate a sex act.

Veigel, a fellow North Port officer, saw this portion of the incident and told investigators “it seemed like (the victim) was half thinking this was a joke and half thinking this was inappropriate.”

“She seemed a little uneasy, but still kind of laughing along basically,” Veigel told investigators.

After the gesture, Urbina helped the victim to her feet and led her into the home’s master bedroom along with Turner.

Veigel told investigators she did not see the three go into the bedroom, but she did see them leave.

Shortly after the victim told others she was sexually battered, Wilson, another officer who was also at the party, asked Turner what happened in the bedroom.

Wilson told investigators he was outside during the episode and did not see the alleged victim handcuffed or the trio enter the room.

Turner told Wilson nothing happened and she didn’t know what he was talking about.

The victim’s boyfriend then confronted Turner, “screaming” that she was not welcome at his house.

Veigel told Turner it would be best if she went home.

It is not clear how Turner, who admitted to being drunk at the party, got back to her home.

But shortly after she arrived, she spoke with an off-duty DeSoto County sheriff’s deputy about the allegations. The DeSoto deputy told investigators that Turner admitted she, Urbina and the victim went into the bedroom, but just “laughed and joked around.”

When Sarasota County deputies asked her about what happened in the bedroom — just a few hours after her conversation with the off-duty DeSoto deputy — Turner said she did not remember going into the bedroom with Urbina or the other woman.

Sarasota deputies also asked if she had handcuffed or removed handcuffs from anyone at the party. She replied: “No, I didn’t have my handcuffs with me.”

“Both of her denials (under oath) to Sheriff’s detectives directly contradicted information provided to (the DeSoto deputy) hours earlier,” the North Port internal affairs investigation found.

As the Sarasota County criminal investigation wrapped up, North Port internal investigators set up meetings with Turner and Veigel.

Turner and her Tampa-based attorney, Diane Morton, met with investigators at 10 a.m. May 15.

Both women reviewed investigation documents, which contained the allegations against Turner.

Turner resigned by 2:30 p.m. the same day without making any statements to internal investigators.

Despite Turner’s resignation, North Port investigators continued their inquiry and sustained several allegations against her, including: conduct unbecoming an officer, moral character violation and untruthfulness in an official proceeding.

One allegation against Turner — “conformance with laws” — was not sustained because there was “not enough information” to show that she violated that standard.

North Port Police Chief Kevin Vespia said he has sent a request to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement regarding Turner’s status as a state certified Florida law enforcement officer.

Veigel was cited for “conduct unbecoming” because investigators say she failed to stop Urbina when he handcuffed and “patted down” the alleged victim.

“Officer Veigel’s failure to intervene and/or promptly report the actions of Officer Urbina allowed the act to escalate in the bedroom,” the investigation summary said.

Veigel will be placed on a two-day suspension, the maximum penalty allowed under the North Port Police Department’s Standard Operating Procedures.

After the internal investigation summary was released, Vespia said the conduct at the party was inexcusable.

“I will not stand here and make excuses for the actions of these few officers who violated our policy and the public trust, as they were wrong and they know they acted inappropriately,” Vespia said in a statement.

“However, I will defend the majority of employees within the North Port Police Department who continually do the right thing each and every day. I ask the citizens to please not judge the many great employees we have here in the department based on the actions of a few.”

I can't help but notice that in both PDF online versions of this report and the PDF of the SAO's report declining prosecution that the use of "probable cause" is prominently stressed with regard to the arrest of Turner and, more importantly, the attempted arrest of Urbina. In spite of the fact that both McHugh at the SAO and Uebelecker write that there is insufficient evidence to show that Turner (and, by implication, Urbina) broke any laws, the Sheriff's Office saw fit to determine that there was probable cause for the arrest warrants. Both the SAO and Uebelecker make it a point to prominently posit that the lower threshold of probable cause for arrest existed, thus giving supporting corroboration to justify the SSO's actions.

I am somewhat skeptical on this score.

At the end of the legal daisy chain, it is a judge that ultimately determines in the past tense if probable cause for arrest actually exists in any given case. God forbid if sometime in the future, a judge determines that the threshold of probable cause was never met for the same reasons that McHugh and Uebelecker write that there is insufficient evidence to show that any laws were broken or that a crime occurred. Because if that happened, there might be some shared blame by the SSO, NPPD, as well as Urbina himself, in Urbina's "untimely death" (as Uebelecker termed it in his report -- not tragic, just "untimely", as though Urbina's death would have been great if it had happened at another time).

I should hope that Urbina's widow would consult an attorney to explore this question.

Untimely? <------- Unbelievable

After the internal investigation summary was released, Vespia said the conduct at the party was inexcusable.

“I will not stand here and make excuses for the actions of these few officers who violated our policy and the public trust."

FEW?!!!!!!!!
Kevin you are either clueless, in self denial, or an out right liar.