Posted on 01/20/2009 6:53:12 PM PST by devane617
TAMPA -- The arrest of Fox 13 news anchor Russell Rhodes, who has a black eye and bloodied face in his mugshot, is under review by Internal Affairs, officials from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said today.
"Any time there's a high-profile incident or any incident that the sheriff wishes to have reviewed," an internal review is initiated, said J.D. Callaway, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. "We'll look at all the available evidence and make sure the deputies acted properly."
Rhodes, a morning news anchor for Fox 13's Good Day Tampa Bay, was arrested Friday night, allegedly after resisting arrest.
Around 10:15 p.m., an off-duty sheriff's deputy working security at Channelside spotted a 2006 BMW 325i weaving erratically in the public parking garage, Callaway said.
The deputy stopped the BMW and the driver, Rhodes, got out, reportedly with his belt undone and his pants unbuttoned, though they were still up. Rhodes appeared to be intoxicated, Callaway said.
According to the deputy, Rhodes tried to walk away from him twice after being ordered to stay put and surrender his car keys. Rhodes didn't identify himself or try to use his name to get out of the situation, Callaway said. When Rhodes tried to run out of the garage, the deputy grabbed him, Callaway said.
He had his car key in his right hand, and when deputies tried to take it, he began waving his hands to keep them from taking it, an arrest affidavit states.
"He began to flail his arms," Callaway said. That's when he was "taken to the ground." Callaway said injuries to Rhodes' face happened when he hit the ground.
He then said he was sorry and that he had panicked because he works for Fox 13, the report states.
Rhodes was taken to Tampa General Hospital for cuts and bruises to his face and then was booked into the Orient Road Jail, Callaway said. He was charged with obstructing an officer without violence and was released Saturday morning on $500 bail.
Blood samples were taken to see if he was intoxicated. The results should be back next week, Callaway said. Depending on the outcome, he could face an additional charge of driving under the influence.
Rhodes is from Paris, Texas, and has been with Tampa Bay's Fox station since 1994, according to his biography on the Fox Web site. He originally wanted to be an actor or singer, but went into broadcast journalism.
He went to the University of Oklahoma and worked at stations in Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota and then Tampa Bay.
"I used to say I had the best job in the news business," he said on the Web site, referring to his promotion from Good Day feature reporter to co-anchor. "This new one may be better."
Fox 13 offered a brief comment when contacted about the arrest.
"He will not be on the air Monday," said Jessica Moss, spokeswoman for Fox 13. For all other questions, she referred to a story on the station's Web site that briefly recounts the incident and says "FOX 13 management is aware of the matter and is reviewing it."
looks like he was tackled and the left side of his face (upper cheek and upper lip) met up with the concrete.
sorry, I don’t see any abuse here (this time) folks.
Guess the cops can’t subdue a drunk any more without playing dirty Harry. Still, he’s lucky he didn’t get shot and left with a drop gun.
Won’t nothing come out of it. They wil only find that he hit the deputy’s knuckles with his eye and mouth. Probably more than once.
After his face was repeatedly smashed into the ground, most likely.
What? A tazer wouldn’t have worked instead of a clubbing?
Makes me glad i never acted like a moron when I got popped for drunk driving.
Snicker
I am quite suspicious of the injuries as well. To me the police here in Oregon are way too combative. I had one get in my face recently claiming I puffed my chest out at him. Apparently I was “interfering in a police investigation”, even though I was no where near him(at least 10 feet away) nor talking to or about him or his partner. They were just talking to a server about another patron who had left at the bar & grill I was at. I swear these guys are just spoiling for a reason to scratch.
I’ve had more than my fair share of run ins with police and not one has ever so much as maced me despite the fact that I gave them plenty of reasons while drunk.
We don't live in a totalitarian society and this isn't the old Soviet Union. The cops are supposed to follow the laws as well as the citizens are. So many people deserve to be "thumped", but somehow most of us choose to follow the law. So should the cops.
The Fox News dude should be lucky the “off-duty sheriff’s deputy” just beat the cr*p out of him and didn’t do a Taser Execution.
oh please....looks loke someone ‘splained the rules to the guy....NEVER become a wise ass to someone packing heat. Actually, I looked like that a year or so ago when one of the inmates at the juvenile corrections facility where I work took offense at something I had said......kids is kids
A well known Gay party boy in Tampa and very pleasant.
My relatives lived next door to the guy in South Tampa.
It’s obvious this guy didn’t “follow the law.” He endangered lives by driving while under the influence of alcohol. I have absolutely no sympathy for him. Drunk driving should be considered the same as assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm. It’s not like anyone doing so isn’t aware that they are endangering innocent people. It is a premeditated act.
DWI? Might as well pick up a loaded gun and point it at some innocent by-stander.
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