Posted on 12/05/2001 12:29:12 PM PST by subterfuge
Deputy hits suspect By Willoughby Mariano Sentinel Staff Writer December 5, 2001 KISSIMMEE -- An Osceola County deputy crashed into an unarmed man fleeing on a bicycle Tuesday morning, angering residents in a high-crime Kissimmee neighborhood known for its tense relations with police.
Witnesses told police that Deputy Wiley Black drove over a sidewalk, across a basketball court and through front lawns at a city housing project to catch Terrell Capers, 23, of 129 Hibiscus Lane.
Deputies handcuffed and arrested Capers, who was bleeding from his head, and sent him to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He was to be released into police custody later on Tuesday.
Kissimmee police wanted Capers on a felony warrant for domestic violence and burglary to an occupied home with an aggravated-battery count.
About 100 angry, shouting residents gathered around Black's patrol car on Spring Pines Court, and dozens of police officers and deputies rushed to the scene. Some residents took photographs with their own cameras, saying they were distrustful of police and wanted to get evidence themselves. Black should not have sped through the front lawns of a residential neighborhood to catch a man on a bike, and he had no reason to hit Capers, residents said. He was already cornered, they said, and all Black had to do to stop Capers was to step out of his car.
"You mean to tell me that just because of a warrant, you have to run over someone?" asked Rebecca Faulk, 34, a resident of McLaren Circle. "We are all human."
Officers typically do not use vehicles to stop suspects fleeing on foot, and there is no department policy on whether deputies can use such a procedure, said Jerry Geier, a bureau chief with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. He added that Black was likely not trying to block Capers' way. "He was probably trying to get a better position," Geier said of Black. Black's personnel record shows similar incidents.
In 1991, the department issued Black a one-day suspension for pursuing a vehicle under risky conditions and failing to notify dispatchers immediately about it.
In 1996, officials reprimanded Black for pursuing a motor vehicle described as suspicious, according to sheriff's documents. That same year, Black was also reprimanded after two children found his lost .45-caliber Glock pistol. Tuesday's chase began shortly after 9:30 a.m. when deputies spotted Capers as he was standing outside Kissimmee Homes in McLaren Circle, a densely populated neighborhood. Capers took off on foot when he spotted deputies Tuesday. Deputy Mike Setvin ran after him.
Black, who had arrived in a separate vehicle, got into his car to chase Capers. The deputy hit the suspect shortly after police say Capers stole a nearby bicycle to elude police.
Capers' girlfriend, Anjanetta Franklin, 22, said her boyfriend was leaving to get milk for their 7-month-old baby at the time of the chase, and she doesn't understand why police would give chase in their vehicles. She rushed up to Capers as he bled in the parking lot. "I was scared," Franklin said. "We have a baby together." Capers' mother, Carol Hardin, 39, said she wants officials to give her answers. "I am upset," Hardin said. "I want to know why my son was run over."
In January 1998, Capers got nearly five years in state prison for violation of probation in a home burglary. He was released in April 2000, according to Department of Corrections records. There was no indication that Capers was committing a crime when police gave chase, said Kissimmee police Capt. Russ Barnes. Geier said deputies knew during the pursuit that there was a warrant out for Capers' arrest.
Typically, Barnes said, police do not use cars against suspects unless an officer or a resident is in immediate danger. The chase occurred inside Kissimmee police jurisdiction, where deputies typically do not patrol. Geier said the department will consider conducting an investigation based on the findings of the Kissimmee police. Susan Jacobson contributed to this report. Willoughby Mariano can be reached at 407-931-5944 or wmariano@orlandosentinel.com.
I'd like to see how these people would feel after this loser burglarized their homes. They'd probably whine about that too.
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Buncha whiners!
He should have shot him right off the bat.
"i am going to disney world, of course"
McLaren Circle is the crack cocaine mecca of Kissimmee. If its illegal, its @ Mclaren Circle.
Have a trial, if he is guilty put him away for a long time......I'm a middle aged white male and I've been stopped by rookie cops, and hot head experienced cops...they all apoligized for being wrong...but that doesn't take away what it felt like with there 9mm pointing at me....
there have to be limits with cops..
Well, dragging the scumbag to the police station behind the car would be a bit extreme, or cutting his arms and legs off with a chain saw, or pouring gasoline over him and burning him to death...but, failing that, if some felon steals my bike to run from the cops, I hope they run him down like a dog. Screw the bike- it would be worth it to me to see a criminal get hit.
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