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After a beat down in an elevator, Joshua Daniel Ortiz ended up with his nose broken and facing a charge of battering a Fort Lauderdale police officer.
The 22-year-old Sunrise man was surprised and delighted to learn Wednesday that Broward prosecutors were dropping the case against him after reviewing an elevator surveillance video showing three officers aggressively rush and beat Ortiz to the ground. Once the Dec. 5 video surfaced, it altered the course of the case. It contradicted police reports that Ortiz provoked and attacked Officers Derek Lade, Stefan Silver and Steve Smith.
“They were just sitting there watching my life go down the drain with those charges,” Ortiz said Wednesday. “I’ve been going crazy thinking my life is over. It’s barely started and it’s over.”The looming legal charges delayed Ortiz’s enrollment in college classes, he said. Police first charged Ortiz with felony battery on a law enforcement officer. But after seeing the video obtained by Ortiz’s defense attorney, Stephen Melnick, prosecutors downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor resisting charge. Upon further review, prosecutors dropped the case entirely.
Yes Officer….there are surveillance cameras in banks!!!! I know that’s hard for some of you to comprehend. But when you feel the overwhelming urge to beat the snot out of someone, use your head and do it in a back alleyway like the good old days.
Why do so many cops have penis-size issues…?
Look on the good side. At least we have brave citizen heroes, like the guy in Oakland, who just took out 4 useless pigs last week. That brought a huge smile to my face.
That rookie should of dragged him out of the elevator. Or a shot of OC would of cleared it out.
Has DU, a big prison inmate demographic?
wtf, why is this kid HAPPY with the fact the charges have been dropped. I would not rest until these fuckers were all fired or i had a few mil in my bank account. this shit has GOT to stop, i refuse to allow the US turn into england.
#2 That shooter is suspected in rapes of two women, was on parole for robbery and was a dead beat. Is that your Urban Hero? What makes you think he wouldn’t of shot your grandma at an atm and raped your teenage sister on her way to school. Fuck you and the horse your road in on.
The linked article provides the meat of the issue near the bottom.
The takedown appears reasonable to me in and of itself, its the provocation for the event that is questionable.
Why would the cops lie if they had sufficient reason to begin with?
All the involved cops, and their superiors, should be fired for the brown shirts they are. Won’t happen–its just what should happen.
Cowboy cops once again. The incident started because one of the cops came at him “in force” after he shouted an insult at them. Lame reaction on the part of the cowboy cops. Assholes all of them. Come bust me punkettes.
Reminds me of the cop who told the NFL guy trying to get to his dying mother-in-law basically not to raise his voice to him or he would be arrested. Apparently trying to explain something to a cop who won’t shut-up is now illegal in Texas.
All of them, including the Texas cowboy don’t deserve to be cops and should be fired and banned from police work for life. They don’t have the maturity or thinking skills to function properly under duress.
Now that retired cop in the previous DU post is a real cop. Wise, level headed and not prone to bully policing. A true protect and serve guy. To bad he is retired.
I disagree, the boy behaved provocatively. Asking “what’s you problem?!” and moved aggressively towards the officer.
People should be polite when they speak to the police. It’s not like the officer jumped him out of the blue.
Breaking his nose though is somewhat an over reaction 🙂
Arresting him for 24 hours would be enough.
I believe that the four officers should/could be charged with filing a false police report, felony assault, and assault while in possession of a firearm.
In Detroit we have two police officers, one assistant county prosecutor and one judge all facing numerous charges after it was found that the during a drug trial police committed perjury, the prosecutor knew it and the judge covered it up.
Prosecuting law enforcement officers when they assault people than file false reports to cover it up is the only way this type of behavior will stop.
You should always act like you are being watched. The odds are good that you are and countless means are now on hand to record what you did.
Just remember boys and girls that just because Santa isn’t watching you doesn’t mean nobody is.
According to a poll at the site (half way down the page), 76% of respondents think the officers should be fired and prosecuted.
Yup, I’m in the majority.
Well at least the system seems to be working as it should in this case.
It does beg the obvious question, how many people have the cops railroaded because there was no video tape?
#13. Exactly! It’s only working because it’s on TAPE!
If the damn cops had only told the truth in their reports, this case would have been cleared up in a day. Now I think the bastards need to get prosecuted.
Don
It takes two to tango! These kids seem to not respect the law and challenge it at every chance. What ever happened to just going quietly and have your day in court?
These days nobody knows what drugs the kids are on or how it will affect them. We miss the point that respect is missing in society for authority. Granted I have seen exsessive force used when it should not have been. But cops are trained not to allow a situation to get out of control. Better to side on a little more force then let a subject get a gun away from a officer and start shooting.
This is the kind of lawlessness admired by the right and confused with law enforcement. Too many COPS episodes, I suppose.
“…But when you feel the overwhelming urge to beat the snot out of someone, use your head and do it in a back alleyway like the good old days.”
That’s the problem inst it… Cops CANT use their heads!
I work at a high school and last week we called the cops as a preventative measure. We had 18+ year old males circling the school by car for more then 45 minutes, actively seeking a specific student. When we called it in to have a cop car disperse the trouble makers, we were told to call back when something back happened.
A student got hit by a lead pipe to the head and a street fight broke out between about 20+ people and to make it more interesting the fight moved to a busy 3 lane boulevard surrounded my traffic…
Could have been worst but more importantly, could have been defused and avoided.
Peter_M
“…But when you feel the overwhelming urge to beat the snot out of someone, use your head and do it in a back alleyway like the good old days.”
That’s the problem inst it… Cops CANT use their heads!
I work at a high school and last week we called the cops as a preventative measure. We had 18+ year old males circling the school by car for more then 45 minutes, actively seeking a specific student. When we called it in to have a cop car disperse the trouble makers, we were told to call back when something bad happened.
A student got hit by a lead pipe to the head and a street fight broke out between about 20+ people and to make it more interesting the fight moved to a busy 3 lane boulevard surrounded my traffic…
Could have been worst but more importantly, could have been defused and avoided. Thank you for using your heard officer!
Peter_M
Yes, there are some bad cops out of the tens of thousands and they should be dealt with. But you also have to consider the low life trash the police have to deal with on a daily basis. You have to be a bit of a hard ass to deal with some of these people. I would like to see some of the idiots standing up for this piece of garbage in Oakland, have to do the job of these police officers for a week and I bet they’ll be singing a different tune real fast when their ass is on the line.
Why don’t you whiney little libs become cops and change the system you don’t like. Oh wait, you can’t, you have to be human to join the force and not squealing little mice!
#21 Guy Fawkes, why don’t you move to Russia, you are obviously not an American, that is you don’t believe Americans have rights.
I hear the police in Russia are just the way you like them.
#16 jescott418, that day never existed. Recall the 60’s?
Some cops grow a sack when a badge is placed on their shirt. Take the badge off, and square-off one-to-one and see what happens.
They should all be fired, and charges filed on behalf of the dude who got his ass kicked for no reason.
#21, Guy Fucks,
Why don’t you whiney little libs become cops and change the system you don’t like.
Is this the Constitution all those right wing nut types like to boast about? The system where the police work for the people?
questions is, did he do the right thing and counter sue / sue the police?
Does no one else find it hillarious that a person with the monicker “Guy Fawkes” is advocating for greater police beatdown authority?
#10, Detroit said:
“Prosecuting law enforcement officers when they assault people than file false reports to cover it up is the only way this type of behavior will stop.”
Yes, true. But in many states/counties the DA’s office has prosecutorial control, and are in league with their police felons, I mean fellows. So prosecutions of police officers rarely happen, except in egregious circumstances (or when the DA is up for reelection).
Outright lying on a police report should be prosecutable instead of, “Oops! Sorry. I may have overstated things a bit.” And then a slight reprimand. A badge is a symbol of the authority of the law and NOT a license to be a thug. But, cops can be criminals who want a steady income and to not live in jail but, be allowed to behave in the same exact thug ways.
The NFL player and his wife trying to get to her dying mother in time are LUCKY AS HELL that the cop didn’t shoot them for a traffic violation.
If you don’t want to be punished by a police officer then don’t antagonize them. What kind of fucking moron decides to talk shit and buck up to a guy in body armour carrying weapons. Myabe if more people actually respected officers they wouldn’t get themselves into this kind of shit. Next time a cop tells you to do something, do it quick and don’t argue. Moron deserved it.
Fu@* the police. weak ass punks.