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Lawyer arrested in traffic dispute
By JAMIE JONES
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- Prominent local lawyer Joseph E. Johnston Jr. was put on the ground, handcuffed and arrested this weekend after he argued with a sheriff's deputy who was directing church traffic. Authorities said Johnston, 79, father of Brooksville Mayor Joe Johnston III and a former state senator and School Board attorney, was upset after a deputy directing traffic Sunday outside St. Anthony Catholic Church on Cortez Boulevard asked him to stop to allow church traffic onto the road. Johnston did not return calls for comment Tuesday. His son, the mayor, said he could not discuss what happened but said there was more to the story and "the facts will come out in time." Here are the facts as stated in a police report: The deputy, Anthony Mazza, said Johnston, driving a 1993 silver Mercedes, began traveling east before the deputy commanded him to go. Mazza motioned for Johnston to stop. He did, and when Mazza explained why Johnston couldn't move, Johnston appeared agitated and said, "The lane is clear, so I can drive through if I want to," authorities said. Mazza further explained why Johnston couldn't go. Johnston said, "I don't have to stay here." He drove away, and Mazza got into his car and pulled Johnston over. When Mazza approached again, Johnston appeared enraged and yelled, "Are you new on the force?" Mazza asked Johnston to turn off his car. Johnston said he did not have to. When the deputy repeated the demand, Johnston said, "You better not touch this car." Johnston turned off the car and as Mazza tried to write a ticket, Johnston kept trying to get out of his car, the report said. At one point, Johnston got out, waved his arms and told Mazza he had people waiting on him at home, the report said. Mazza tried escorting Johnston back to his car, but thought Johnston was going to hit him. Mazza grasped Johnston's upper body and he continued to struggle, so the deputy "placed" him on the ground, according to a report. Johnston struck his head on the pavement but refused medical assistance, authorities said. Johnston, of 191 Mount Fair Ave., was put in the back of a patrol car. On the way to the jail, the deputy said he asked Johnston why he refused to listen to him. "I really don't know why. I agree with you," Johnston replied, according to the Sheriff's Office. Johnston, a former city attorney and lawyer who represented the local School Board for more than 30 years before retiring in 1991, was charged with a traffic violation and resisting an officer. He was released on a $750 bail Sunday afternoon. Mazza, who was hired by the Sheriff's Office in March 2000, has one complaint of excessive force in his file. According to authorities, Mazza had a drunken man in the back of his car in April who yelled obscenities and struck his head against the cage in the patrol car. Mazza said he tried to calm the 44-year-old man, but he then tried to grab Mazza's throat. The two fought and the civilian was charged with assault and battery of a law enforcement officer. The man later accused Mazza of excessive force and the Sheriff's Office conducted an administrative inquiry. The charges were unsustained because supervisors could neither prove or disprove what the man said, according to Lt. Joe Paez.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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From today's Hernando Times |
