Keep faith

I want to start off by saying that I created this post as I wanted to state my general opinion on this matter. I am a law enforcement officer in Miami Dade County and although I know we make mistakes sometimes it is very important that the actual facts be portrayed rather than only some details that sound corrupt in general. My take is the following:

1. Officer Romero was involved in a traffic accident, no doubt. I am not familiar with the Town of Medley nor that intersection. The video portrays the officer being at fault for the accident. But what the video does not show is the actual display of the traffic signal. Also what has not been mentioned is what the nature of the officer being in that area. Was he conducting normal patrol activities or was he responding for a call of service? It is certain the officer was not traveling in emergency mode which is clearly noted.
2. The aftermath of the accident is very scarce. One thing I did observe was the text book conduct of the officer in activating the lights and conducting a pat down of the other party. The officer has received several negative comments on the above. Taking in the environment and the circumstances everyone has to understand that being an involved party in a traffic crash is very irritating and frustrating, no matter who is at fault. Just like initiating a traffic stop, as a police officer you do not know who you are encountering. You have to perceive that the other party was in some way angry at the circumstances and as a police officer, no matter the situation, your safety is paramount to everything, therefore the pat down was not only reasonable, but given the fact that the accident took place in a dark deserted area, it was a great move.
3. Back up officers responded to the scene and then it’s all hearsay from there. It is stated that Officer Romero performed FST’s on the driver. Why? Media outlets have posted the driver had red eyes and slurred speech, both indicators of driving while impaired. Was there a scent of alcohol on the person’s breath? The answer to this has not been cited. Regardless, the symptoms above make the performed FST’s reasonable. But, why was the involved Officer executing the test? This was a mistake. The involved officer should have been in the cut somewhere answering questions not being involved in the investigation. Although the actions are not illegal, it should be a violation of policy. The supervisor should have not allowed this.
4. The driver fails the FST’s and is placed into custody. Completely legal. He is then taken to a DUI Room where he provided breath samples which yielded .0000. Ok. The sample gets measured for alcohol volume. If no alcohol as in the drivers system could it be possible that he was impaired by medication or other narcotic? Was a Drug Recognition requested? I am not certain, but the driver was then released. So in a nutshell the PO’s had every reason to arrest the driver. The Driver was allowed the opportunity to clear himself which he took and actually cleared himself at which point the officers released him back at the arrest location. SUPER LEGAL!. A Bolo goes out for an armed robbery subject in the area. You observe a subject matching the exact description walking. As an officer you draw your firearm, give loud verbal commands, and take the subject into custody. Is it an arrest, no but the person is not free to leave so he is under police custody. A show up is conducted and the victim says that is not the subject. You let him the person go at that time. What is the difference?
5. The driver is then cited for being at fault. Who wrote the ticket and on what grounds? Only the investigating officer can answer that. Did the driver take the citation to court? If so what was the outcome? Nothing has been said about this issue?
6. Cover up? I don’t think so. Inaccurate police work, maybe. People are stating this case is similar to the Hollywood case. Is there clear evidence of the officers doing a little Walt Disney? Not that I have seen.
7. Political attack? Who knows?

To the 3 officers who were terminated,
My prayers are with you and your families. You guys are going through a very hard time right now and I can only say to you to try to be strong. Justice will prevail and so will you guys. Keep in mind that we live in very open minded times. The acts of some officers in the past make us all look bad and when something portrayed comparable as in your case, everyone thinks the worst. I am here to tell you that unlike the rest of the naïve people out there that will not offer you the opportunity for you to explain yourselves, please know that not only am I but also I am pulling for you guys as well. Do not feed into the media as when was the last time any media outlet put out any positive news about law enforcement? It’s been a while. That’s the way it is. It has to be hard to know that you are being questioned by everyone, unfortunately it comes with the territory. Believe in the system, although sometimes flawed, I truly believe you guys will come out of this just fine. At least you know now that other than your families you all have one more supporter. Good Luck, be patient, it will all work out.

Dear Supporter,

I have never read such a fair, intelligent blog in my life.
Just to answer some of your questions,

Freddy Romero was on regular patrol that night.

Freddy Romero did not perform the FST. Fernando Perez did. The Sgt. called for him, so there would be a 3rd party involved. Noone knows this, becauase Fernando Perez is the chiefs ex-brother in law and she did not make him part of this investigation.

A drug request was asked for by Fernando Perez, the only person available for that was on a call and would not be able to clear for another 2 hrs. There is evidence of all of this, since he called it in on the radio.

The case was dropped in court b/c the police officers were suspended. They were not allowed to show up in court. However, funny that the chief allowed the Sgt. to still participate in a 1 week CIT training while he was suspended but not go to court.

The driver also had a suspended DL prior to this accident. The driver admitted to having beer that night.

The video doesn't show the entire incident b/c of course the chief only gave the media what she wanted to give them. However, the video shows the crash and the driver backing up and crashing against the police car a second time. Maybe he was confused, maybe he was nervous, maybe he was asleep at the wheel, maybe he was trying to flee and changed his mind. we don't know.

I think we can all read between the lines and see why this happened to these innocent officers. It's like their lawyer says, it's an obvious witch hunt. It's sad that these officers have had to go through this, but as you said... Justice will prevail.

Stay strong men, the truth will come out.

"I have never read such a fair, intelligent blog in my life.

Thats because Artie hasn't gotten on it yet.

It'll be all down hill as soon as he finishes thumbing through his "zingers" book.

"I have never read such a fair, intelligent blog in my life.

Thats because Artie hasn't gotten on it yet.

It'll be all down hill as soon as he finishes thumbing through his "zingers" book.

He can read?

Breaking news, Secret documents are uncovered and released to all. Back in September of 2011, M.A.D. Medley Air Defense had a drone in the air. The drone had numerous capabilities. One was a very sensative mic able to pick up sounds miles away. While flying over Medley air space the drone picked up a very disturbing sound, at first we believed it to be a screaming crying woman then a screaming banjii other sicologist believe it to be a very large balloon leaking air as if knowing it was no longer going to be a big balloon anymore. We know that citrus is nearby, we thought that maybe one of it's patients got loose and was hiding in the Medley area. Here is the Quote you be the judge “I f---ed up, Chief. You don’t even have to do an investigation. Just demote me to an officer and send me to the range,” Olmedo said, according to Said-Jinete’s report detailing the findings of an investigation. LOL

As I stated in the original post, that video posted only shows 3 minutes of footage and may add no audio. Audio plays an important roll here. As so does watching the whole entire video so the public has the opportunity to see what really occurred on that night. Hence the Rodney King Story. A minute and change of footage was enough to start a riot in Los Angeles. I guarantee you no one bothered to read more into that incident. Sgt. Stacey Koon of the LAPD was the one who wrote the C.O.P Report (Control of Persons Report, equivalent to a Use of Force Report here in Miami Dade) within an hour after the incident. When you read the report and all the included details you have to wonder how someone could make up such a false story as the media portrayed it to be and not to mention if you watch the entire incident with the report in front of you, anyone will see that the report and the footage are concise.
The Hollywood PD Case is was clear. The officers in that case messed up. And why? For the officer not to get a traffic citation. This is an example of a cover up story. I do not agree with what those officers did but I do support them as everyone makes mistakes some bigger than others.
The Medley Case is in nowhere near the Hollywood Case, you can’t even compare the two. Why? No Cover up. I have to be honest, this is a public forum and although the majority of the readers are law enforcement I know for a fact the media jumps in here and stirs the pot but the most this case seems to be is sloppy police work. And I mean the way the accident was handled. That’s it.
The comments made after the original post stated Romero did not perform the FST’s. Another officer did. One of the most questioned actions performed by the officers was moving forward with the DUI Investigation. So now we have a fourth officer who has never been mentioned that actually made the determination that the driver impaired.
Another good point, the accident occurred in August 2011? Why is all of this coming out now? Why so long. If the Chief of Police is taking credit for this as she did then why didn’t she figure this out sooner? I mean no disrespect but I’m pretty sure Medley does not have a stack of IA Complaints and even if they did, these are some serious accusations. It all sounds weird to me. I know the word “witch hunt,” and “politics” have come up but I am no place to discuss that as I don’t work for Medley.
All the points that were made in prior comments need to be made public for the officers sake. Because of that one sided story that was published and the news stations piggy backing on it the values and morals of those officers are being questioned. That’s not fair. If you tell me every single fact was brought to light and someone decides to question them that is reasonable as everyone is entitles to there own opinion. But don’t go on to crucify people when you only hear what you are wanted to hear.
It just bothers me when the media and even sworn personal attack officers with a vengeance not knowing that those same attacks hit home. To those officers that are making that mistake, remember, the likely hood of these officers coming back to work is very good from what I can see. And god forbid you need to hit that red button, but if you do, it might be one of these officers responding and then what? How are you going to live with yourself knowing that the same officer who took saved you when it counted?
I could go on and on. Again to my 3 brothers keep your head up, learn from your mistakes if you made any and when you get back in that uniform remember this occurrence for the good and the bad. I hope it keeps you humble. Remember when you put on that uniform what you and your family went through for you to put it back on. Don’t be vindictive but don’t forget either.

Hi Supporter, I'm sure there's more documentation than just a 3 minute video. I would hope that the Dept conducted an investigation and found a reason to fire these officers. Does their termination papers read, you were fired because of the video. It's Sad of course, but I would think it's sadder to J.P. and F.R. after seeing this “I f---ed up, Chief. You don’t even have to do an investigation. Just demote me to an officer and send me to the range,” Olmedo said, according to Said-Jinete’s report detailing the findings of an investigation. LOL

Scholar
I am so disgusted with your post. Its not even funny anymore. Why do hate O, it sounds personal. Do you feel the same for the other 2 officers?

My bad. . .

It wasn't a book of zingers. Apparently it was “Military Surveillance for Idiots.”

Question:
How does he have time to be on every Medley blog?

He must have a lot of time on his hands. You would think it was a full time job!

We’ll scratch it up as one of the perks (correction: the only perk) of being married to the chief!
LMFAO!!!

:evil:

That was great! :lol: [img]%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20[/img]