This was previously posted with the title, "Overzealous Scary Cops in Hernando County Florida" and is being reposted due to several requests. I removed it in my big post purge in August 2012. It was originally an early (March) 2011 post, so this did not actually happen last night. Back by popular demand: (UPDATE at the end on January 8, 2014)
Last night my son and a friend had a frightening encounter with several (4) Hernando County Sheriff's Office deputies out in the rural area referred to as Ridge Manor, Florida. Either three or four patrol cars arrived at the scene with a total of 4 deputies. My son was driving a Toyota Prius and had the vehicle papers and his valid driver's license to hand the deputy and was puzzled as to the reason for the stop as he is ever so careful not to commit any sort of traffic infraction whatsoever.
Alex has learned to just stay a smart distance from cops and has been taught to understand that a police officer is more powerful than the POTUS. One must fear that a cop could plant drugs or shoot them dead as the result of a simple traffic stop in Florida.
The only time I shake is if I am being pulled-over by a cop as there is no telling what will happen next. No one wants to die at the hands of a whacko cop that later claims to have seen a weapon and trust me, it happens too often in Florida. And we aren't even Black. I fear for the Black motorist in this lousy state – refer to my posts on former officer Frank Carter of the Melbourne Police Department.
Alex was driving at a speed of 52 mph and the speed limit before the stop was 60 mph, so he knew the pull-over had nothing to do with speeding. The car is almost new and sure didn't have any light out or faulty equipment issue. Knowing that he had done nothing illegal or even incorrect, he had his friend dial me the minute that he heard the siren and had the brights in his face as the cop turned around to come after him. The second that police vehicle #1 got behind my son, vehicle #2 and vehicle #3 (and possibly a #4) appeared from nowhere and were also behind him with flashing lights on.
Alex pulled to the grassy area on the side of the road right next to the intersection of Croom Rital Rd. and Kettering Rd. in Hernando County, Florida. I was on the phone with his friend at that point. This is exactly what happened next and Deputy #3 and Deputy #4 remained in the background throughout never saying anything to them. [my thoughts and Alex's descriptions are in brackets]:
Unknown Deputy #1: License and registration
Alex: Yes sir. May I ask why we were pulled over?
Deputy #1: We received a complaint of objects being thrown out this window at the vehicle behind you.
Alex: I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't throw anything.
Deputy #1: I'm going to be real with you. I'm a dickhead who doesn't give a fuck about anything. I don't have time for fucking games. If I find out one of you is lying I'm going to seize this vehicle and everything in it and you're both going to jail. The vehicle behind you has a witness, the vehicle behind them, that is willing to write statements. [took driver's license and car paperwork and walked back to his vehicle] [I heard the entire conversation - the deputy was loud, but not screaming like an angry Marine as some do]
[within a couple (3) minutes]
Deputy #1: Passenger out of the vehicle. [brought my son's friend to side of deputy's car]. [I heard this].
Friend described: [The deputy asked what happened here and friend told him the story]
What really happened: We were behind a car driving about 15 mph under the speed limit. There was no lane to pass him, but two other vehicles went around both of us. I waited until there was a second lane to pass and went around the slow driver. The driver attempted to run me off the road by speeding-up as soon as he saw I was trying to pass him. I passed him anyway by speeding-up. He was right on my rear and turned on his brights and this went on for about five minutes. He pulled-off and about 10 minutes later I am being pulled-over, but have no idea why.
The friend thought the cop asked him to empty out his pockets and was starting to do this when 3 deputies went for their weapons and 1 grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him against the car. The deputy told him to place his hands on the car and then patted him down, placing his hands in friend's pockets, and searched him. Scared him to death.
Deputy #1: Mr. -------
Alex [got out of car and walked towards deputy #1]
Deputy #2: GET OFF THE PHONE! [I heard this]
Alex: It's my mother. What...
Deputy #2: GET OFF THE PHONE NOW! You're 18. Hang it up.[I heard this]
[I had instructed my son to ask the deputy's name and where/what police department he was with as my son had no idea where they were specifically at that time]
Alex: Yes sir. [he hung-up on me]
Deputy #1: Your buddy over here admitted everything so you want to be smart as well and go ahead and confess to what happened.
Alex: [repeated story of what actually happened]
Deputy #1: Do you have any weapons, guns, drugs, hand grenades [?] paraphernalia?
Alex: No sir.
Deputy #1: PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE CAR! [deputy starts going through Alex's pockets and searching him and looked through his wallet]
Deputy #1: Do you have any drugs, weapons, guns, paraphernalia, hand grenades, or dead bodies [?] in the vehicle? So then I have permission to search, right? [exact quote]
Alex: Yes sir.
Deputy #1: Turn around and face my partner. [Alex no longer had any visual of vehicle] [deputy searched for about 4 minutes]
Deputy #2: [starts asking both Alex and friend questions]. [He pointed at a vehicle and asked both at the same time if they recognized it and both responded “no it doesn't look familiar”.
Deputy #2: What are you doing way out here?
Alex: Visiting a friend.
Deputy #1: [pulls out posters and flyers from back seat]
Deputy #2: Why do you have all of those?
Alex: I do some promoting for Club Firestone.
Deputy #1: [walks to his vehicle] You might want to stay in Merritt Island boys and don't come around here again. We are a bunch of fucking pricks who don't give a shit and will cause you some fucking problems. [Deputy threw Alex's driver's license in the grass]
Alex: [we got back in our vehicle and noted Deputy #1 walked to the vehicle that we couldn't identify].
So what in the hell is going on in Hernando County? Apparently they sure do not want anyone that doesn't live there entering the area. My son has had many traffic stops for no reason whatsoever, but none as scary as this one because they really do not know the area at all and even though he has met cops that were screaming like Marines throughout the encounter, they do not normally threaten to seize a vehicle and take the driver and passenger to jail – this is the unique issue here. Of course the search demand was because they expected to find drugs.
I have since dialed the non-emergency number for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the operator was helpful. She stated that the deputy that made the stop (deputy #1) is Deputy Genovese. She was unable to locate any information for the other deputies or did not offer the information if she did.
To Deputy Genovese with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office:
I have taught my son to always fear cops as truly you are more powerful than the POTUS and capable of absolutely anything. You prove my point. I also taught him to never give a police officer permission to search, no matter that there is nothing illegal or even incorrect in the vehicle. However, when I heard your threat of seizing the vehicle and taking them both to jail, I knew (from your own words) that you are indeed a total prick capable of anything and since we all knew there was nothing illegal in the vehicle, I told my son to agree to any search prior to him hanging-up the phone.
This is the United States and no one should be coerced into a search and threatened as you did to these two late last night (1am). Do you think you own Hernando County? Do you believe that you actually have the authority to tell any motorist to never return to Hernando County? Guess what prick – you don't own shit and I'll drive through Hernando County any fucking time I want to.
My son really feared that you would plant something in the vehicle (drugs). Why did you instruct him to turn around and face your partner so that the vehicle was no longer in his line of vision? That is something I have never run into and it shouldn't be considered legal.
I will offer a short scenario of the events to follow if you had taken them to jail last night:
Of course I would attempt to bond them out immediately, but not knowing anything about how it all works in Hernando County, well, I may or may not have been successful. No matter what, I would have them out on Monday before the morning was over. Each of them would then be filing a false arrest suit against you, the unknown deputies that joined you, and the Sheriff of Hernando County.
This is not a lawsuit worthy encounter and this is the last you'll hear of us Deputy Genovese, but someone needs to take some of your power away. Cops like you are why I have instilled it in my son's mind that he should never trust any cop anywhere for any reason. You really are a fucking prick – you said it.
Added on 26 December 2012:
I must wonder if Deputy Genovese is stil employed by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. If he is, I also blame the sheriff and the county - they have had almost 2 years to get rid of his bad cop ass.
UPDATE on 8 January 2014:
Apparently the Hernando County Sheriff's Office do not discipline or fire Deputy Louis Genovese as him and his gang of thug cops attacked this poor man in his own home long before the traffic stop discussed in this post. I hope the Hernando Sheriff and these pigs (literally) pay this man every $ he's filed suit for!
I had such a sinking, uneasy feeling that night. Glad my son said "yes" to his coerced demand to search. This article is about a gang of criminals and here's to hoping their police toys are taken away forever. Where's the DOJ criminal civil rights division? Get these thugs off the street and cage them like the rabid animals they are:
Brooksville man sues Hernando deputies for $10 million
You can't even imagine the sinking feeling I had when I heard this freak accusing my son and threatening both him and his friend out in the middle of nowhere Hernando County, Florida. You just can't imagine. Where is the DOJ??? Read this poor man's Complaint against the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and 4 thugs that parade as cops:
Michael Pratt Civil Rights Complaint
Every single one of these deputies must face criminal charges!
