Troopers sue after discipline sought

The highway patrol officers say their rights were violated during an investigation of an officer's report that they detained him illegally.

By JAMIE MALERNEE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 14, 2001

BROOKSVILLE -- Three members of the Florida Highway Patrol face disciplinary action after another trooper says they threatened him and detained him against his will at the Hernando County courthouse last year.

In response, the trio is suing the Florida Highway Patrol, saying the allegations are baseless and the investigation violated their rights. Also named in the suit is the Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles.

The allegations stem from a September 2000 court hearing in which Trooper John Muniz of Orlando protested a speeding ticket that another trooper gave his fiancee.

Brooksville troopers heard that Muniz was going to testify in her defense and went out to investigate whether Muniz was violating any agency policies, their lawyer said. After the court hearing, Muniz was taken aside by Lt. Gregory LaMont, Sgt. Kirby Overcash and Trooper Bradford Wagner.

What happened next is in dispute. Muniz says LaMont pushed him into a jury room and the trio held him there, threatening to arrest him and refusing to let him call a lawyer or use the bathroom. At first, they accused him of impersonating an officer, according to a written complaint. When he showed them his identification, they became angry he had testified against another trooper, Muniz told his superiors.

"The very same uniform I wear to enforce the law and to uphold justice was committing an injustice against me," Muniz wrote. "The agency I am a member of was falsely imprisoning me and kidnapping me and assaulting me . . . . These troopers traumatized me with threats . . . and I fear for the public who encounters these troopers."

The three other FHP officers say they did nothing of the sort and were simply questioning Muniz. Their lawyer, George Angeliadis, says it is Muniz who is angry because they were looking into whether he was trying to use his position to get his fiancee out of a ticket.

Muniz had been a passenger in her car when she was pulled over for going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone on July 4, 2000. In retaliation, their lawyer says, Muniz filed a complaint against them the next day.

"He was upset that his girlfriend got a ticket. He made some comments about, 'What kind of trooper gives another trooper a ticket?' " Angeliadis said.

After Muniz filed his complaint, FHP officials launched their own investigation and later referred the case to the State Attorney's Office for prosecution. But after reviewing the file in January, Assistant State Attorney Reginald Black said he found no evidence of anything illegal.

"We did not see a reasonable interpretation of the facts that could constitute a crime," Black said Wednesday. "(The allegations) did not inspire confidence in us."

Meanwhile, the FHP continued its own inquiry. That's where the trio says their rights were violated. According to their lawsuit, all officers have a right to know what they are accused of and to see any written complaints against them. On three occasions, their lawyer asked to see such records and was either denied or told they did not exist, records state. During questioning, Angeliadis said he was barred from aiding them.

"I was told I was not allowed to speak, I was not allowed to object, I was not allowed to represent my clients," he said.

Because of such violations, Angeliadis said, he filed for an emergency injunction to stop another disciplinary meeting where the men would be questioned again. Circuit Judge Curtis Neal approved the request and the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed.

Now, Angeliadis plans to request that the judge grant a permanent injunction. The effect of such an order, he said, would be to require the FHP to either drop its inquiry or start over.

"This investigation has been biased from the beginning," he said.

FHP authorities did not wish to comment on the case until it is resolved.

Muniz, 32, who was hired is 1993 and has no disciplinary record in his file, declined to comment Tuesday. So did Overcash, 41, who has been with the FHP for 15 years. The only mark on his record was an eight-hour suspension he was given in 1986 for an on-duty accident.

LaMont, 39, a 20-year-veteran of the force, did not return phone calls. He also has an eight-hour suspension on his record for an on-duty accident. He was reprimanded in 1984 for failing to appear in court regarding a fatal crash.

Wagner, 35, who has been with the patrol since 1990 and has no discipline record, could not be reached for comment. He is out of the country on vacation for six weeks, officials said.

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