By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org
A Broward Sheriff’s sergeant cleared of battery and falsifying records in the controversial 2019 takedown and arrest of a black teenager amid a mob that had gathered outside a Tamarac McDonalds has sued Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony and two members of his command staff.
Sgt. Gregory LaCerra alleges that Tony, Col. John Hale and Lt. Vincent Coldwell conspired to frame him. Coldwell led BSO’s internal affairs investigation of LaCerra.
Tony’s alleged motive? To win an election. The motive for Hale and Coldwell, each described in the complaint as a “glorified, self-proclaimed crony of Tony” to advance their careers.
“Coldwell, Hale, and Tony, individually, reached an understanding that in order to protect the political career of Tony, and in an effort to ensure his election, denied plaintiff of his Fourth Amendment constitutional rights,” the complaint says. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The 25-page suit filed Thursday also accuses “officials of the Broward County State Attorney’s Office” of conspiring with the sheriff, Hale and Coldwell “to convict plaintiff of a crime they knew he did not commit.’’
Despite that allegation of criminality, no state prosecutor was named as a defendant in the civil suit nor have any prosecutors been charged with a crime.
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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
