Posted by Deborah Jarrett
“Palm Beach County, FL — A Florida sheriff has been exposed in a recent lawsuit for lying about one of his deputies who shot six times at an unarmed teenager. The victim, Jeremy Hutton is a 17-year-old boy with Down Syndrome, who nearly lost his life after he was hit with three of those six rounds.
According to a report by West Palm Beach’s, Jose Lambiet,
Last year, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw signed two sworn, notarized affidavits saying he knows nothing about the case, wasn’t briefed about the case and didn’t supervise investigators assigned to the case when PBSO deemed “justified” yet another questionable deputy shooting.
Contradicting Bradshaw’s sworn statements, however, PBSO Internal Affairs Major Robert Van Reeth told Hutton’s lawyers in his deposition that Bradshaw had personal knowledge of the incident and was briefed fully about the controversial shooting.
The incident happened in October of 2010, and the subsequent internal “investigation” cleared Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy, Jason Franqui, the officer who shot Hutton.
Hutton, who was a somewhat troubled teen, had taken his mother’s minivan for a joyride that fateful night.
Deputy Franqui was the officer who responded to the mother’s call for help. When Franqui caught up to Hutton, he stopped at a red light. Franqui then pulled in front of the van in an attempt to stop Hutton.
According to the report and the results of the investigation, Franqui feared for his life because he said Hutton drove directly at him, so he was forced to shoot.
“I watched the driver, he turned the wheel and started coming right at me,” Deputy Franqui told investigators. “I was in fear he was going to hit me.”
Dashcam video of the incident did not refute the deputy’s claims as it only showed a portion of the perspective. The shooting was ruled justified.
However, the incident was also caught on traffic camera video and despite the “investigation” mentioning the existence of the video, its detail was conveniently not mentioned.
The traffic cam video refuted the entire deputy’s description. It showed that Hutton made an overt attempt to steer away from deputy Franqui. After the van passed Franqui, is when he opened fire. Hutton was struck in the head, shoulder and arm. Thankfully he lived.
“I don’t think anybody knew or anticipated that they were going to get caught by a traffic camera,” said Stuart Kaplan, the Hutton’s civil attorney.
“This case is one of the most egregious, one of the most disturbing cases that I have pending in my office,” he said.”
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/sheriff-exposed-liar-fellow-cop-shooting-unarmed-syndrome-child/#2LHlKt8az4Tih00u.99
