Last month, an off-duty Lakeland police officer, Jerry Monroe, was cut-off and flipped off while driving.  So, like any normal citizen, he goes on his way, mad.  Oh wait.  There’s film?  OK, so he didn’t go on his way, he followed the driver and beat him until he was sent to the hospital.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Officer later arrested Monroe and he was fired by Lakeland.

In March, the department had to change almost 200 traffic citations into warnings because it wasn’t clear that the road was closed.  If you look at the video, it is apparent how confusing it is, and a supervisor should have picked up on this and stopped it.

Lawsuits:

Florence, today and at time of alleged beating.

Florence, today and at time of alleged beating.

  • Florence v. City of Lakeland, pending, plaintiff alleges that officers beat him in the face with a metal object and notes that all charges against Florence were dropped by the State’s Attorney.
  • Youssef v. City of Lakeland, pending, plaintiff was being handcuffed when officer negligently released K9, which bit her.  All charges were dropped against Youssef as she was not doing anything illegal at the time of contact.
  • Fountain v. City of Lakeland, No. 8:11–CV–52–T–17TBM, 2011 WL 3703454 (M.D. Fla. 2011) (officers’ who repeatedly tasered subject denied qualified immunity, city denied immunity).
  • Wynn v. City of Lakeland, 727 F. Supp. 2d 1309 (M.D. Fla. 2010) (officer who struck subject in face with flashlight, breaking three bones, denied qualified immunity).
  • Diaz v. City of Lakeland, No. 8:08-cv-1203-T-33TBM, 2010 WL 148728 (M.D. Fla. 2010) (pro se plaintiff’s allegations of excessive force dismissed for failure to state a claim).
  • Jackson v. City of Lakeland, No. 2005 CA 3847, 2009 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 411284 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Jury Verdict) (jury awarded $550,000 to plaintiff who was shot by officer over a traffic violation).
  • Carson v. City of Lakeland, No. 8:08–cv–2461–T–24 TGW, 2009 WL 88487 (M.D. Fla. 2009) (officer’s who kicked in door without a warrant & released a K9 which bit the subject were denied a motion to dismiss).
  • Freeman v. Mack, No. 8:08–cv–1612–T–23EAJ, 2008 WL 4790532 (M.D. Fla. 2008) (officer who released K9 on subject granted motion to dismiss, remanded to state court for action on state claims).
  • Cornett v. City of Lakeland, No. 8:06-cv-02386-T-17TBM, 2008 WL 2740328 (M.D. Fla. 2008) (officer who released K9 on surrendering subject granted qualified immunity).
  • Holm v. City of Lakeland, as next friend of Gadd, who was killed when a car being chased by police struck his vehicle.
  • Johnson v. Young, No. 8:06-CV-244-26TGW, 2006 WL 680655 (M.D. Fla. 2006) (officer accused of illegal search and false arrest granted qualified immunity, remanded to state court for action on state claims).