Tag Archive: Federal Lawsuit


Orlando Pays $15,000 To Man Who Was Jailed For Video-Recording Cops

 

 

 

Alberto Troche

 Click pic to go to video

 

” The city of Orlando has agreed to pay $15,000 to a man who was jailed and had a cell phone pulled from his hand by a police officer because he video-recorded officers arresting another man who was calling for help.

  Alberto Troche, 26, of Orlando, sued the city and Officer Peter Delio in March in Orlando federal court, accusing them of violating his civil rights.

  Troche and the city agreed to a $15,000 settlement several weeks ago, according to federal court records.

  Now, his lawyers have asked a U.S. magistrate to make the city pay another $44,000 for the hours they worked on the case.

  The Orlando Police Department has also changed its policies on how to handle people who video-record them in action, said Troche’s attorney, J Marc Jones.

  Officers may not order members of the public to stop video-recording them or arrest or try to stop them, so long as they are in a public place, have not crossed a police line and are not interfering, according to a policy directive signed by Police Chief John Mina two months after Troche filed suit. 

  Officers also may not demand that a person recording them identify themselves, may not demand to know why they are making the recording and may not intentionally block or obstruct their camera, according to the directive.

” A bystander has the right under the First Amendment to observe and record … (police officers) in public discharge their duties,” the directive says.”

 

Orlando Sentinel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer In Viral Traffic Stop Video Faces Federal Lawsuit

 

 

 

 

” It started with a traffic stop, then turned into a search for drugs. The entire incident was caught on tape and the video went viral. Now, the police officer in the video is heading to court for his decisions that day. While he said he had probable cause to search the car, the driver — and now a federal judge — disagree.

  The traffic stop happened on a December morning in 2011. Terrance Huff and his friend, Jon Seaton, were heading home to Ohio when a Collinsville Police Officer pulled them over for allegedly swerving into another lane on Interstate 70. The officer gave Huff a written warning, saying it would not cost him anything. Huff denies swerving, but didn’t argue with the officer. What happened next, though, is why Huff and Seaton are suing Officer Michael Reichert. First, Reichert says Seaton seemed nervous, then he asks Huff about an arrest that happened in 2001. Huff and Seaton are then patted down and Huff is repeatedly asked if there are drugs in the car.”

 

    This affair and Mr Huff’s documentary of it caught the attention of Megyn Kelly and Fox News who invited some legal experts to discuss the merits of Mr’s Huff and Seaton lawsuit …

 

 

” Months later, Huff, who is a documentary filmmaker, obtained the video of the stop and posted it online. Some people who watched it suggested Huff and Seaton file a lawsuit, so they did. The case made its way to a federal appeals court. And now, a judge has ruled Reichert will stand trial for unreasonable seizure, false arrest, and unreasonable search.”

   Officer Reichart has a storied history and not one that inspires confidence . He was fired from Collinsville PD in 2006 and sued his way back on to the force . This man has no business in law enforcement . That much is plain to see from a simple web search but the cops always seem to protect their own .

    This is another case of the police/prosecutors reviewing the evidence and deciding that the police had done no wrong , and thus had to be brought in front of a judge who has thankfully ruled otherwise . The policy of the police reviewing their own behavior is outdated in these times of rampant misuse of authority . It is time for some sort of civilian review board . Read more here .