7 June 13-19, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | FARE FOUL Lawsuit: Police battered epileptic bus rider they mistook for murder suspect. BY ALEX DELUCA O ne morning last July, Errol Leath was get- ting off a county bus in Lauderdale Lakes when he was suddenly swarmed by a heavily armed police unit. “You right there! Don’t fucking move!” an officer shouted at him. Video shows a group of Fort Lauderdale police officers and U.S. Marshals pouncing onto the 33-year-old man on the grass at the bus stop and forcing his head into the ground before handcuffing him. Leath finds himself surrounded by cops, several of whom are pointing large rifles at him, as he lies face- down with officers restraining him. It was a dramatic scene fit for, say, a murder suspect. The only problem? Leath wasn’t suspected of murder — or any crime, for that matter. In a lawsuit filed May 30 against the City of Fort Lauderdale and six of its officers, Leath accuses police of violently detaining and battering him after mistaking him for a Broward County murder suspect. He says the startling encounter left him with “severe physical and mental trauma.” “The only similari- ties between Mr. Leath and the suspect are that they are both Black men with simi- lar hairstyles and height; that’s where the similarities end,” his attorney, Brett Rogers, wrote in a statement to New Times. “This incident should never have oc- curred. Members of the fugitive unit made abundant mistakes in this poorly executed, reckless, and haphazard operation.” Leath, who has epilepsy and can’t drive, was riding a county bus on July 19, 2023, as police searched the area for a murder sus- pect: a man named Daenon Malik King. The lawsuit says that police targeted Leath even though he and King looked far from alike — for instance, they have “com- pletely different” facial features, and Leath, unlike King, has no tattoos. “I’m getting off the bus thinking they’re going after someone else. I’m trying to get out the way.” Leath said in an interview with WSVN following the incident. “I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy to go through that.” Body-worn camera video shows the po- lice unit, with their weapons drawn and wearing tactical vests, running up on Leath and other people who are exiting the Bro- ward County bus. One startled passenger is seen falling to his knees and throwing his hands above his head. Just feet away, a frightened Leath begins to flee. When police order him to stop, Leath lies down on the grass, at which point an offi- cer wraps an arm around his neck and smoth- ers him into the ground, pressing a knee against his back. “What did I do?” Leath asks. “Don’t fucking move man,” an officer tells him. “What did I do?” he asks again. “I got epilepsy, bro.” The video shows officers searching through Leath’s fanny pack and finding his ID, epilepsy medication, and a Bible. After an officer asks Leath his name, and he confirms it, the cops quickly uncuff him and explain there was a misunderstanding –– they claim he “looked identical” to King, who was arrested weeks later on second-degree murder charges in the shooting of an elderly man. “Listen, it’s unfortunate, but you have... it’s almost like your twin brother,” an officer tells Leath. “I thought I was going to get killed,” Leath says at one point. “This is embarrassing.” The Fort Lauderdale Police Department issued a statement shortly after the incident apologizing for the error. “On July 19, 2023, FLPD’s Career Crimi- nal Unit, working in conjunction with the US Marshals Task Force, observed a man with several identifying features that were similar to the suspect being sought for the murder. This man, identified later as Errol Leath, was observed in an area known to be frequented by the suspect,” the statement reads. “We recognize the impact this mistake can have on an innocent individual. We will continue to be committed to upholding the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and fairness in our policing efforts as we serve our community.” Notably, one of the officers named in the suit is Eliezer Ramos, the Fort Lauderdale po- liceman who made headlines years ago after shooting peaceful protester LaToya Ratlieff in the face with a tear-gas bullet and smashing her eye socket in 2020 during protests that fol- lowed the murder of George Floyd. (Ramos was cleared of wrongdoing in an internal af- fairs probe. Ratlieff’s civil case against him and the City of Fort Lauderdale over the incident remains pending in Florida federal court.) Leath’s lawsuit notes that although police never called emergency services to check his vitals or conduct a wellness check following the bus-stop takedown, he went to the hospi- tal later that day because he feared the stress from the encounter had triggered a seizure. In addition to physical pain from the inci- dent, Leath “suffered grievously” from being brought into public scandal “with great hu- miliation, mental suffering, and damaged reputation,” the lawsuit reads. “Mr. Leath suffers from epilepsy, and this horrific event has aggravated his seizures and been incredibly mentally traumatic,” Leath’s attorney says. “The City of Fort Lauderdale should be held responsible for this appalling event, which has resulted in lasting physical and mental trauma for Mr. Leath.” The police department declined to com- ment on the pending litigation. The city didn’t respond to a request for comment. [email protected] Nearly a year after Errol Leath was mistaken for a murder suspect and wrongfully detained by Fort Lauderdale police, he has filed a lawsuit against the officers involved. Screenshot via police body-camera footage | METRO | “WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPACT THIS MISTAKE CAN HAVE ON AN INNOCENT INDIVIDUAL.”
