The two deputies criminally charged with lying in
their reports about an altercation with a 13-year-old at the Palm Beach
County Sheriff's Office Eagle Academy both said that the teen provoked
the incident by clenching and raising his fists, according to documents
released today.
Surveillance video of the incident at the military-style academy in
Belle Glade, also released today, shows that the teen was sitting on
his foot locker on March 4, refusing to stand up, when he was
approached by Deputy Jason Rosen.
In his report that day, Rosen wrote that the teen "stood up clenching both fists and slanted his stance."
Rosen said that he again showed the teen the proper way to stand at
attention, at which point the teen "started to raise his fists at which
time I grabbed his left arm in a custodial touch technique."
Rosen wrote that the teen tried to pull away.
"In order to protect myself" and the recruit, he wrote, "I immediately took him to the ground using the arm bar technique."
Rosen said the teen still continued to resist, and he escorted him outside.
There are no cameras outside the barracks, but Rosen said the teen then tried to punch him, which the teen denies.
Deputy George Darley wrote a similar witness statement of what
happened in the barracks, saying the teen "stood up in an aggressive
position, slanting his stance and clenching both fists, as he started
to raise his fists DI (drill instructor) Rosen grabbed his left arm in
an arm bar and took him to the ground," Darley wrote.
But a sheriff's office detective who conducted the criminal
investigation of the incident said he saw no evidence in the video that
the teen balled his fists.
The video shows that Rosen pulled the teen up by his sweat shirt
after he refused to stand at attention as required, the detective
wrote, then swung him around by his arm and threw him onto the tile
floor.
The teen, now 14, told sheriff's office investigators that he did
nothing to provoke the altercation in the early morning of March 4,
other than refuse to stand up.
He suffered "minor abrasions" according to the sheriff's office report.
Rosen was indicted last week on a third degree felony charge of official misconduct and misdemeanor battery charge.
Darley was also indicted on an official misconduct charge for
allegedly falsifying his report. Both were booked at the jail and
released.
They remain on paid administrative leave, pending outcome of the
case. Rosen's attorney, Scott Richardson, says he plans to enter a plea
of not guilty but can't speak about the video and reports.
"I haven't received them yet, and until I see them I can't comment" Richardson said.
Darley's attorney is on vacation and could not be reached for comment today.
Former Sheriff Bob Neumann founded the Eagle Academy in 1997 to help
boys and girls ages 13 to 16 who are getting in trouble at home or have
a history of problems such as truancy and fighting.
The program, which graduates about 130 teens a year, is voluntary.
Teens who apply for admission have to write an essay about why they
want to sign up.
Boys have their heads shaved, and all recruits sleep in
barracks-like dorms. They rise at 4 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. on
weekends for exercises and marching before school.
After the first phase of the program, which stresses discipline,
deputies trained as drill instructors are supposed to work with the
teens as mentors.
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