06-27-2006, 09:51 PM
Belle Glade chief denies ordering wrongful arrest
By Mike Clary
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 27, 2006
Among several allegations made in the grand jury report concerning the conduct of Belle Glade Police Chief Albert Dowdell was the suggestion that he wrongly ordered his officers to arrest Darren Hatcher on an attempted murder charge in connection with an Oct. 7, 2005, nightclub shooting.
Hatcher, 35, was arrested in November and held in jail for 30 days before the charge was dropped by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, which cited a lack of evidence.
Hatcher, of Clewiston, has filed notice that he will sue the city of Belle Glade for wrongful arrest and emotional distress.
Dowdell denies that he ordered Hatcher's arrest in the aftermath of a fight between Hatcher and a Belle Glade woman, saying that the arrest was determined by investigating officers. But the suspended chief insisted Monday that several witnesses have named Hatcher as the man who shot Derrick Bryant in the right thigh outside Club 21.
"We arrested the right man," said Dowdell.
Also naming Hatcher as the gunman is Bryant, 29. "No doubt in my mind," said Bryant last week in a telephone interview. "I was looking right at the dude."
Bryant, of Hendry County, said he named Hatcher as the man who shot him when he testified before the grand jury. But, he added, prosecutors seemed more interested in the conduct of the Belle Glade police than his wounding.
Acting Belle Glade police chief Calipto Gonzalez has said the investigation into the shooting has not been reopened.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Mike Clary
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 27, 2006
Among several allegations made in the grand jury report concerning the conduct of Belle Glade Police Chief Albert Dowdell was the suggestion that he wrongly ordered his officers to arrest Darren Hatcher on an attempted murder charge in connection with an Oct. 7, 2005, nightclub shooting.
Hatcher, 35, was arrested in November and held in jail for 30 days before the charge was dropped by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, which cited a lack of evidence.
Hatcher, of Clewiston, has filed notice that he will sue the city of Belle Glade for wrongful arrest and emotional distress.
Dowdell denies that he ordered Hatcher's arrest in the aftermath of a fight between Hatcher and a Belle Glade woman, saying that the arrest was determined by investigating officers. But the suspended chief insisted Monday that several witnesses have named Hatcher as the man who shot Derrick Bryant in the right thigh outside Club 21.
"We arrested the right man," said Dowdell.
Also naming Hatcher as the gunman is Bryant, 29. "No doubt in my mind," said Bryant last week in a telephone interview. "I was looking right at the dude."
Bryant, of Hendry County, said he named Hatcher as the man who shot him when he testified before the grand jury. But, he added, prosecutors seemed more interested in the conduct of the Belle Glade police than his wounding.
Acting Belle Glade police chief Calipto Gonzalez has said the investigation into the shooting has not been reopened.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel