By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 11, 2004
TAMPA - WFTS-Ch. 28 investigative reporter Mike Mason has done plenty of segments alleging problems within the Tampa Police Department.
Now, it appears, one mess-up has hit close to home.
The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Mason's driver's license Jan. 26, following a Nov. 5 accident in which the driver of a 1995 Nissan struck Mason as he crossed Swann Avenue on his Eddie Bauer bicycle.
The DMV suspended Mason's license based on the accident report filed by Tampa officer J. Man-Son-Hing, who wrote that at the time of the accident, Mason's insurance coverage was "none."
Trouble is, Mason did have vehicle insurance. Besides, why would he need car insurance for a bicycle ride?
In a Feb. 16 letter to Mason, the DMV offered a mea culpa: "If this information had been available to us earlier, you would not have been suspended, since you were already in compliance on the date of the event. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you in this regard."
Mason's attorney Steve Romine, who works in powerhouse Barry Cohen's law firm, said TPD's accident report was "just wrong."
The ordeal isn't likely to soothe relations between Mason and the department.
Plenty of brass make no secret of their dislike of him and his reporting.
MILITARY KEEPS EYE ON CASE: Once the civilian authorities are done with him, longtime U.S. Navy man William R. Napier could also face penalties from the military.
For now, the military will watch and wait as the State Attorney's Office pursues a charge of vehicular homicide against Napier, who was arrested Tuesday in connection with the Jan. 3 death of jogger Melissa McKenzie along Bayshore Boulevard.
Police say Napier, who has been in the Navy for nearly 16 years, was weaving in and out of traffic on his motorcycle and going double the 40 mph speed limit when he hit McKenzie, a married mother of one.
Napier, 39, was released from the county jail early Wednesday on $7,500 bail, jail records show. That means until the courts decide, Napier is free to return to his Brandon home. He can continue working at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, where he has been assigned for the past three years.
Officials would not release details on his duties there. They said it's too early to say what, if any, action the military will take against Napier, who is a petty officer first class.
"We're aware of what's going on, but we observe from the sidelines until civilian authorities are finished," said Capt. Bruce Frame, CentCom spokesman. "Then, the military reserves the right to take action, whether it's punitive or non-punitive. We could take legal action or administrative action, which wouldn't necessarily go on their record."
Frame said that could mean a letter of caution or a verbal reprimand, even a requirement to go through some sort of counseling.
"But it completely depends on the severity of the circumstances of the case," he said, "and the extent to which authorities take action."
If convicted of the second-degree felony, Napier could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison.
OFFICERS VOTE IN UNION: Hillsborough corrections officers didn't show the impressive voter turnout that patrol officers did last month, but they voted in favor of collective bargaining just the same.
According to last week's count by the Public Employees Relations Commission in Tallahassee, 320 voted in favor of being represented by the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, and 275 voted no.
Another 200 or so corrections officers didn't bother to mail in the ballots sent out last month.
Corrections officers don't have to join the union. But any contract worked out would apply to all of them - even all those officers who never voted one way or the other.
