Cellphone video that witnesses took of a fight between two off-duty Monroe County sheriff's deputies and three Navy sailors last weekend shows the cops tried to show restraint until force was unavoidable, the deputy's boss said Thursday.
The Key West Police officers who arrested the men despite several witnesses, including the ones who shot the video, are being criticized by the sheriff.
A hasty decision was made after a poor investigation, according to the Miami Herald/FLKeysnews.com.
The two deputies were arrested on disorderly conduct charges. Key West cops say that he punched James Black in the face, causing him to lose consciousness and hit his head on the sidewalk.
Angel Low, 26, and Jose Bejar Jr., 22, were arrested on disorderly conduct charges. Black was taken to a hospital with a serious head injury and wasn't arrested.
There was a fight at 1:45 a.m. There is a Walgreens on the corner of Duval Street. After the fight, Ramsay put his deputy on leave because of his history of taking an uncompromising approach toward members of his staff accused of wrongdoing. He put them back to work after watching the video.
The arrest was unjust. He said that the internal affairs investigation was still going on and that they did not violate the law.
The witnesses are defending the deputies.
Several people are heard telling the Key West officers that the sailors were the ones who attacked them in the body camera footage.
The officers did not take statements from the witnesses or watch the video, which was taken by five women in Key West for a birthday party. One of the women told Ramsay that the sailors started the fight after hearing about the arrest of the deputy.
You want to speak with witnesses to either prove or dispute what happened.
The sailors were in town from another base when they were trying to "mack" on a group of women. The sailors turned their attention to the women when they weren't receptive.
They were yelling at Pike while he was on the phone.
The fight.
The sailors crossed the street to confront the deputies. A sailor wearing a white T-shirt punches a man in the face in a video. The sailor charged at him, and Pike wrestled him to the ground.
For a few seconds, the sailor is prevented from getting up, but he is not being hit.
He uses a lot of restraint.
One sailor wearing a black shirt pushes the other sailor to his feet so that they can get to his feet. The man in the white T-shirt fell back on the street after being punched by Pike.
Black confronted Pike, who punched him once in the face, and then one more time as Black approached him. Black collapsed after being hit. The Key West police report stated that Pike pushed Black after hitting him, but the video footage doesn't show that.
Peik stopped. He didn't hit him a lot. He stopped after the attack stopped.
Curry stood in the way of the sailor in the white shirt who was going after Pike. This was the only time Curry was seen in the fight.
It was three-on-one. The other deputy is not doing anything.
The officers are on the scene.
Key West police officers arrived and yelled at everyone to sit on the ground.
Thomas Clark told his supervisor that it appeared that Pike was defending himself.
Clark told Rodriguez that the three active duty Navy guys were attacking the deputy. He knocked this guy out.
Is it in self-defense? Rodriguez is asking.
Clark says it looked like self-defense.
There is a dispute in the 500 block of Duval Street where the camera footage shows Clark walking. Black was struck and fell onto his back, hitting his head on the sidewalk.
Clark watches Black hit the sidewalk. He yelled to the men to stay down as he walked toward the sidewalk.
The Key West Police Officer told Curry and Pike that he watched the guy bounce off the concrete like a basketball.
Key West officers separated the sailors and deputies.
Black was helped onto his feet and then asked for his identification by the officer in the video. He is walking to the ambulance with a neck brace on.
On another officer's body-worn camera video, Pike is seen telling police that he and Curry were walking to get pizza when the sailors started talking.
One sailor hit him after pushing him to the ground. I see myself bleeding.
He hit the sailor once after getting up.
Roberts told him that he had a right to defend himself as soon as he put his hand on him.
At one point before the arrest, Clark tells Pike that it looked like he was defending himself. Clark is worried that Black will have to be flown. He says he needs to talk with his supervisor.
The sailors Low and Bejar were taken to the Stock Island detention center along with the off duty sailors.
Police said that the aviation mechanic had a brain bleed after hitting his head on the sidewalk.
Black was in stable condition on Wednesday, according to the Commander Navy Reserve Force Command spokeswoman.
Clark and Roberts were not the only ones who thought it was a self-defense case.
A man wearing a body-worn camera said he saw three men on top of another man.
The witness, who calls himself Chuck Carter, told Clark that he was fighting them all off of him. They were laying on the curb on top of him when I first started walking. He was fighting them off when he got up.
Lewis can not comment on any possible actions while the investigation is ongoing.
Sailors are being investigated by the Navy.
Lewis said that Low and Bejar had returned to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while Black was in the hospital.
Lewis said in an email that the incident is under investigation. The Navy takes allegations of criminal activity very seriously and gives full cooperation to all appropriate investigative and law enforcement authorities whenever they occur.
Clark tells a sailor they should have known better.
Clark says he is in a bad spot. You are probably going to jail. It is not fair that you guys can't handle yourselves when you are drinking. You understand? You are putting me in the worst situation ever having to arrest active duty.
Rodriguez, as supervisor, wrongly decided to arrest all four men on disorderly conduct rather than speak with witnesses, gather evidence and find out what happened, according to Ramsay.
Had Ramsay not seen the video, the careers of the deputies could have been ruined. He said at least one of the sailors, who was wearing a black shirt, may have been trying to separate the men.
He faces demotion or expulsion from the Navy because of his arrest.
Rodriguez made the situation into what it is today, which is a shame.
Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg said Thursday that he stands by his officers.
Brandenburg told the Herald that he was not going to second guess the decision of his officers. It is up to the judge and the State Attorney to decide if the arrested men are to blame.
Dennis Ward said that he and his investigators have seen the video and most of the officers body cameras, but have not made a decision on moving forward with the charges.
We have to read more witness statements and do intakes.
