Panama City, Bay County, Florida
Sunday, March 9, 2014
By: Kevin Earl Wood, Email: allunited@bellsouth.net
Orange County, Florida
On September 4, 2013 University of Central Florida (UCF) business student Victoria King was heading to the UCF medical clinic for an evaluation appointment to address excessive bleeding.
While driving on the UCF campus to the clinic, in a car borrowed from her mother, she was pulled over by a UCF Police Department (UCFPD) police officer, Timothy Isaacs, for having a bad tail light, an extremely minor traffic infraction.
By the time the traffic stop was over, Ms. King was threatened to have her window broken out by Isaacs and another female officer, Mica Wenner, if she did not roll it down “all the way” to receive her minor bad tail light ticket.
Bay Community News has previously reported on this story describing in detail the facts, law, and events involved in the traffic stop. Fortunately, Officer Isaacs was wearing an audio/video camera that captured the entire event, whether to his benefit or demise. This complete video can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here. As the story reported, the national Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) has joined to advocate for Ms. King’s civil rights to question police conduct without risking violence and arrest.
Although this story did not arise from North Florida that Bay Community News normally covers, it was considered a story that has great public importance to every citizen in the State of Florida, or elsewhere in this country, and of course North Florida, as well as our local area.
This story asks the question, “if a driver of a motor vehicle during a minor traffic stop for a bad tail light is reluctant to roll their car window “all the way” down for whatever reason to communicate to the officer and receive their copy of a minor ticket, can a police officer escalate the minor traffic stop to a violent confrontation, bust out the window, drag the driver out of the car, take the driver to the pavement, and charge the driver with resisting a law enforcement officer for not rolling down the window “all the way?”
Officer Isaacs claims that Ms. King had to roll her window down “all the way” allegedly “for his safety.” Yet, in the video it is clear that Ms. King never appears to present any threat to the officer. To the contrary, it appears that Officer Isaacs had intent to search the vehicle through the pretext of requiring Ms. King to roll down the window to effect a search. In Florida, as well throughout this country, it is well established that police officers cannot search a vehicle without the consent of the driver without a search warrant. This is a constitutional right of citizens guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution that states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This story also addresses the right of a citizen to question police conduct. Officer Isaacs was recently questioned by Orlando criminal defense attorney Roger Weeden, who represents Ms. King, during a legal deposition that went as follows in part:
Attorney Weeden: Okay. And would you agree a citizen has a right to ask a police officer–
Officer Isaacs: Yes. Absolutely.
Attorney Weeden: –what authority they have for citations?
During the traffic stop Ms. King asked Officer Isaacs, “what law”, requires her to roll her window down “all the way.” Officer Isaacs never answered Ms. King’s question.
Officer Isaacs disingenuously represented to Ms. King that she had to roll the window down “all the way” so that he could have her “sign” the ticket. Florida law, as described in the prior story by Bay Community News, does not require a driver of a motor vehicle to sign a minor “noncriminal” traffic ticket that does not require a “mandatory hearing” in court. If the ticket requires a “mandatory hearing” or is a “criminal” traffic ticket then Florida motorists do have to sign the ticket or risk arrest for not doing so under Florida law.
The bottom line is that this officer could have handed Ms. King her yellow copy of the ticket through the partially rolled down window and let Ms. King go on her way to her emergency medical appointment, but by his actions refused to do so. In fact, Ms. King at one point reached out of the window to receive the ticket, but Officer Issacs refused to give her her yellow copy.
Ms. King Reaches Out of Her Half-Rolled Down Car Window to Receive the Traffic Citation Clipboard to Sign the Citation
Again, in his deposition Officer Isaacs was questioned by attorney Weeden as follows.
Mr. Weeden: Well, did you tell her she didn’t have to sign the ticket?
Officer Isaacs: No. We never really got to that point, sir.
Mr. Weeden: You never told her that?
Officer Isaacs: No. We never, like I said.
Mr. Weeden: Did you tell her you wanted her to sign the ticket?
Officer Isaacs: Yes, I believe I did.
Mr. Weeden: There was no obligation for her to sign the ticket, was there?
Officer Isaacs: No sir.
Mr. Weeden: When did you learn that?
Officer Isaacs: I couldn’t tell you. I want to say it was in a case brief that was sent out to law enforcement probably about two years ago. I can’t tell you specifically.
Mr. Weeden: But for two years, you’ve known that, that a driver has no duty –
Officer Isaacs: Yes.
Mr. Weeden: – or requirement to sign a traffic ticket?
Officer Isaacs: Yes. Absolutely. And I say two years. I’m guesstimating there.
Shortly after the September 4, 2013 traffic stop Ms. King filed a formal complaint with the Internal Affairs (IA) Investigations unit of the UCFPD, specifically with Lt. Bill Hope, alleging misconduct of Officer Isaacs.
UCFPD IA sat on the investigation for months and finally on January 22, 2014 issued a final report on the complaint. The report blatantly “avoided” and “concealed” the issues that (1) Ms. King did not have to sign the ticket and (2) that Officer Isaacs could have just handed Ms. King her yellow copy of the ticket and let her go on her way to her medical appointment. The report was prepared by Lt. Bill Hope and signed off on and approved by UCFPD Chief of Police Richard Beary and Deputy UCFPD Chief of Police Michael Zelanes.
Florida law makes it a criminal offense for a public official or employee to (1) falsify an official public record, (2) “avoid” an official public record, or to (3) “conceal any issue” in an official public record. Section 839.13 Florida Statutes provides in pertinent part:
839.13 Falsifying records.—
(1) …if any …public officer, or employee or agent of or contractor with a public agency, or any person whatsoever, shall…falsify or avoid any record…shall knowingly and willfully take off, discharge or conceal any issue…or if any person shall cause or procure any of the offenses aforesaid to be committed, or be in anywise concerned therein, the person so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been formally requested to review Officer Isaac’s conduct and a possible violation of Section 839.13 by UCFPD officials Lt. Bill Hope, Chief Richard Beary, and Deputy Chief Michael Zelanes. The Orlando, Florida, FDLE Office and FDLE Agent Alphonso Williams and his superiors are currently reviewing the case for further action. Bay Community News will report further on the story once a response from FDLE is received.
This is a sad case in which a young black UCF female student is trying to improve herself through education and has now been labeled as a citizen who has an arrest record for two felonies (resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer) and a misdemeanor (resisting an officer without violence) merely because Officer Isaacs by the evidence and video recording of the incident was obsessed with, and incensed by, Ms. King not rolling down her window “all the way.”
In the future, if Ms. King has to fill out an employment or other application and is asked, “have you ever been arrested for a felony” she will have to answer “yes” and possibly be denied employment or other opportunities. If Officer Isaacs had just handed Ms. King her yellow copy of the ticket, Ms. King would not now be suffering from this derogatory record. Ms. King reportedly has no prior criminal or arrest record.
Ms. King’s defense is that rolling down her window half-way, or even partially, was sufficient to allow her and the officer (1) to communicate with Ms. King and (2) to allow the officer to hand Ms. King her yellow copy of the minor inoperative tail light ticket to complete the traffic stop.
Attorney Weeden will be presenting this defense for Ms. King in her pending criminal case arguing that any action by the officer to order her to do anything beyond handing her the copy of the ticket, such as rolling down the window “all the way”, was not only unnecessary but was unlawful and unconstitutional to complete the traffic stop.
For example, for an officer to order a driver to strip naked, stand on his or her head, or go jump in a lake would be unlawful and unconstitutional orders not necessary to the completion of a minor traffic stop.
As the video shows, Officer Isaacs and his fellow officer, Mica Wenner, threatened to break Ms. King’s mother’s car window if she didn’t roll down the window. Ms. King rolled the window down thereafter sufficient to (1) communicate with the officer and (2) receive her yellow copy of the ticket. Instead of handing Ms. King her copy of the ticket and let her go on her way to her medical appointment, Officer Isaacs demanded that Ms. King step out of the vehicle and Ms. King declined.
Officer Isaacs then reached through the partially open window allegedly to open the door and apparently reflexively Ms. King began rolling up the window. Officer Isaacs then pulled on and shattered the window, opened the door, dragged Ms. King out of the vehicle and to the pavement, handcuffed her, arrested her, and charged her with the two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge.
First Video Frame Of Glass Shattering When Officer Isaacs Pulls Out His Arms and Hands After Ms. King Rolled Up the Window
Thankfully, State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton has abandoned the two felony charges and Ms. King currently faces only the misdemeanor resisting charge in county court in Orange County, Florida, represented by Mr. Weeden. Mr. Weeden has accepted the case pro bono (without fees) at the request of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) who became involved in the case as Bay Community News has previously reported.
Women drivers are naturally reluctant to have excessive contact beyond what is necessary to complete a traffic stop with male officers and may be naturally reluctant to roll down their windows “all the way.” The Miami Herald has reported that one Miami-Dade police officer has been arrested by federal authorities for a pattern of sexually harassing female motorists during traffic stops.
Even if Ms. King wins her remaining misdemeanor case, she will still be scarred with an arrest record that could have been avoided if Officer Issacs simply and professionally, according to the law, just handed Ms. King her yellow copy of the ticket that she did not have to sign.
It is apparent from the UCF final IA report that UCF is avoiding and concealing this issue as well as the fact that Ms. King did not have to “sign” the ticket. This officer is now back on the street without any kind of formal reprimand or counselling without any deterrence to keep him from repeating this conduct in the future. If he repeats this conduct, he will again mostly get away with it at UCF if FDLE does not intercede to deter such future conduct.