Pinellas County 911 Slip and Fall

James McArthur

Pinellas County Sheriffs investigation
Special report, Pinellas County 911 Slip and Fall.

It was May 27, 2010, at 5:45 PM when the Pinellas County Sheriff's office received a report of domestic violence. A patrol car was dispatched to 10136 63^rd Ave North, Pinellas County Florida. Maureen Dobson a 65 year-old renter, reported that she had been assaulted by her landlord, James McArthur. The responding deputy, Scott Reid, arrived and started an investigation. Reid interviewed Dobson and determined that there were no physical injuries. Dobson reported that she had been struck in the chest four hours earlier by McArthur during an eviction notification. Dobson was never asked why it took her four hours to file for a report with the police. Nor was her motive for making the allegation questioned. Dobson was 11 months behind on her rent. According to Dobson, McArthur had paid her bills and purchased food for her after Dobson's husband left her.

Dobson told the police that McArthur came to her rental May 27, 2010 at 1 pm. He became angry and attacked her by striking her in the chest with his fist. Dobson reported that she had two witnesses, her foster son, and a neighbor across the street. According to the police report, neither witness saw the incident. Both witnesses could only state that they heard yelling and screaming. Nevertheless, deputy Reid implies in his report that both witnesses affirmed McArthur's guilt. An independent witness who observed the eviction was not interviewed nor included in the deputy's report. According to the witness the deputy refused to talk to him though he told the officer he had critical evidence and that he had witnessed everything. The deputy was told before making an arrest that no assault had occurred by the only independent witness at the scene.

Initially, Deputy Reid determined that he did not have enough information to make an arrest, but according to his police report, just before getting into his patrol car, he changed his mind. 

Deputy Reid said he took another look at the victim Dobson before leaving. It was then that he noticed scratches and swelling on Dobson's chest. Reid says that he decided to make an arrest. This is how Dobson explained the lack of injuries in her deposition and courtroom testimony:

Dobson testimony

Question: when the Deputy talked to you when he first got there, you told him that you didn't have any visible injuries. Had you looked at your chest?

Answer: no. I had-I have high blood pressure real bad. That made me go red red. So there wasn't any marks that he could see at the time. Then he took me-Mr. Reid I think his name was, he took me to the site here, and we were talking. Then all of a sudden he see the bruising, because the redness had gone down I mean I was angry.

According to Dobson deposition and courtroom testimony she was either unaware of the injuries or the injuries were so faint that they were not noticeable for several hours. Dobson claims she was assaulted around 1 PM yet she made her call to the police at approximately 5:40 PM almost 4 hours and forty minutes later. Even at that point in the day the deputy did not see an injury upon his initial examination. But according to Deputy Reid the invisible scratches and marks suddenly appeared visible. 

On cross-examination Dobson said the following about her lack of injury:

Attorney: Describe how he pushed you. You said he just popped you in the chest?

Dobson: he just thumped me like that in the chest.

Attorney:  like a quick pop in the chest?

Answer uh-huh

Attorney with his knuckles?

Answer: I really don't know. It happened so quick. He just stood up and went like that. And went like this and he went like that.

Dobson's late reporting, lack of injury and motive for making such a complaint would have raised concerns for most police officers.

Exhibit 1 evidence photos of Maureen Dobson the alleged assault victim

No significant injury

According to McArthur he was at a business meeting when he received a telephone call from Deputy Reid. Deputy Reid conducted an interview with McArthur by phone. He told McArthur that he had a warrant for his arrest though no warrant had been issued. Reid demanded that McArthur return to the crime scene. According to the police report McArthur was uncooperative and delayed the deputy. Deputy Reid speculated that McArthur had gone to a bar and that he was willfully failing to return to the location. Records we reviewed for this report show that McArthur was at a previously scheduled business meeting. He was not at a bar and it does not appear that he made any effort to avoid responding to law enforcement. The deputy's speculation about McArthur being at a bar is consistent with other hyperbole injected into his police report.It is evident from the deputy's report that he was not happy because McArthur declined to leave his meeting immediately.

At approximately 11 PM Deputy Reid arrived at McArthur's home. Reid entered McArthur's home without permission through an unlocked screen door. At 11:30 PM, James McArthur was arrested and charged with assault on an elderly person over 65 years of age. 

PoliceAbuse.com has completed a six-month investigation into the arrest of James McArthur. We found evidence of perjury and a deliberately falsified police report by a deputy with substantial credibility problems. We have posted a portion of the evidence we have reviewed below. 

Expert Summary:

Maureen Dobson, had little to no injury. She reported her criminal complaint five hours after the incident allegedly happened. She was nearly a year behind on her rent. A complaint of assault could stall the process indefinitely. 

The officer failed basic investigative steps and he ignored witness credibility issues. Dobson's key witness Sherman Williams has been charged with felony assault and armed robbery. 

Problems with the Deputy

Dobson's witness is not the only one with credibility problems, responding deputy Scott Reid has been accused of sexual misconduct and a range of other serious offenses. It appears Reid escaped prosecution because the key witness in the coerced sex case would not cooperate.

What's Wrong with This Case?

Key Points:

Substandard police report (the officer repeatedly mischaracterized witness statements. The officer also drew erroneous conclusions based on little evidence or pure speculation).

Substandard investigation (the investigating officer ignored evidence and witness statements available at the time of his investigation).

Witness credibility (the investigating officer relied on the statements of a witness previously convicted of robbery and felony assault. Witnesses favorable to the defendant were ignored and intentionally omitted from the police report).

Officer credibility (the arresting officer had his own serious credibility problems. The officer has had multiple complaints of misconduct against him including sexual coercion of a female suspect).

Inflated Credentials (Deputy Reid told the court he was an expert on domestic violence. None of domestic violence shelters we spoke with in Pinellas County had ever heard of Deputy Reid. He has no special training in the records we reviewed sufficient to call himself an expert).

False Courtroom testimony by Deputy Reid

* Deputy Reid under oath stated that the witness Mujeeb P, had told him he was parked down the street, saw nothing, was looking the other direction. On a second trip to the stand under oath, Reid stated Mujeeb specifically told him he had his windows up and the A/c on, and as a result could hear nothing… Reid refused McArthur’s request to enter Mujeebs name or contact information as witness statements on the Police Report. 

* Mujeeb stated he had his windows down and could hear and had unobstructed view of both parties very clearly at all times during the alleged incident. Mujeeb stated his view was unobstructed and he was advised to pay attention in case something bad happened to McArthur or his vehicle during the visit with the tenants being evicted.  

* While under oath, Deputy Reid stated the witness for McArthur, Mujeeb P told him he was parked down the street facing a different direction, and his vehicles windows up and the air conditioning on, so he could hear or see nothing as it related to the incident in Case number CRC10-11678CFANO on _1/19, 2012.  

Exhibit 2 audio recording of witness Mujeeb. His statement was omitted from the police report so he was there for the entire event.



Exhibit 3 documents demonstrating that the officer committed perjury during his trial testimony.

Baltimore County Police Dept

Complainant: Kashaka Olukayode
Victims: Ayinde Olukayode & Nichole Lunn
Nature of complaint: Unlawful Entry


Interview w/ Nichole Lunn

Atlantic City New Jersey

Factual summary as reported by victim:

Client's name: Andrea Gray

PoliceAbuse.com was contacted on Sunday, January 29, 2012 by client Andrea Gray. Ms. Gray reported that her son Trent Brewer was assaulted by four Atlantic City New Jersey police officers. Through interviews with Mrs. Gray and her husband the following factual summary has been obtained: 

Mr. Gray left his home at approximately 7 PM to visit a local convenience store. He was accompanied by his 15-year-old son Trent and two of his friends. When they arrived at the store the boys waited outside for Mr. Gray to return. As Mr. Gray exited the store he witnessed four men in a van. Without warning one of the men approached his son and began yelling, "Are you a tough guy?" Mr. Gray was alarmed and demanded to know why the man was confronting his son. Moments later two men grabbed him and slammed him to the ground. He was taken away from the other young men. According to Trent and witnesses the four men who turned out to be police officers started striking Trent in the face, head, and stomach. He was slammed to the ground and handcuffed. The officers continued beating him while he lay prone on the ground in handcuffs. According to witnesses a blow to the eye resulted in serious injury.  A witness can be heard on tape yelling, "He knocked his eye out of the socket." Trent was arrested for resisting arrest and assault on a police officer, according to police officials.

Andrea Gray tried repeatedly to obtain a police report from the Atlantic City Police Department. The police department told her that criminal suspects cannot have a copy of the police report leading to their arrest because they are criminal defendants. Policeabuse.com sent an undercover investigator to the Atlantic City Police Department to witness Ms. Gray attempting to obtain a copy of her son's police report. Our investigator confirmed that the police were uncooperative and refused to provide her with a complaint form. As of this date, Mrs. Gray does not know the names of the officers who attacked her son.

Staff Assigned:

Two Licensed Private Investigators

PCC Office Staff

Paralegals

Opinions

It is my opinion to a reasonable degree of professional certainty that the officers employed by the Atlantic City Police Department identified in this report have violated policies, and broken several laws during their interaction with Trent Brewer. The amount of force used in this incident was clearly excessive and cannot be classified as reasonable with respect to accepted standards and practices for police officers. Based on witness statements the police failed in a number of responsibilities regarding citizen contacts.  The officers were said to be working as an undercover unit. Nevertheless upon contacting citizens to make an arrest or conduct an investigation the officers were required to identify themselves as police officers. According to several witnesses, no such advisory was made. If as witnesses have stated Trent and his friends were standing outside the store waiting for his father, there was no crime in such conduct. There is no report of a loitering complaint or a trespassing complaint by anyone working at the business. The absence of a radio call or a criminal complaint raises immediate questions about the propriety and legality of this police contact. Based on the information I have reviewed the police had no reason to approach, detain, or arrest Trent Gray. With respect to the use of force the requisite rules are defined by the international Association of Chiefs of police model policy.

Seattle Cold Case Investigation Warren Williamson

Policeabuse.com investigates a case 42 years old. Warren Williamson called our investigators looking for closure after King County IA investigators told him it was their job to protect the cops. Williamson has asked that we conduct a review and investigation of his internal affairs complaint against King County cop Gary C. Krueger badge #3172. After IA gave him a pass Krueger went on to murder four people. He died in one of his final treacherous acts, a home invasion robbery of a Seattle doctor's home.

Anthony Pastor

Florida Highway Patrol-Under Construction

Robert Smith

Rowan County Sheriff's Office

Date of incident
02/12/2012
Nature  of Complaint
Illegal Entry into a home
Unprofessional Conduct
False Arrest






Location
Home of the Smith Family
East Spencer, North Carolina

Details: On Feb. 12th, 2012, officers with the Rowan County Sheriff Office arrived at the home of Robert Smith, alleging to have an arrest warrant for Robert's son, Anthony - hadn't lived at the residence in over a year. This was the 2nd time in less than 9 months that officers came to Robert's home looking for Anthony. 
Just like he did in the first incident, last July, Robert advised the officers that his son does not live at the residence and hasn't for quite some time. The officers ignored Robert, as well as his repeated requests to produce a warrant and demanded that he open the door. So that the incident could be documented, Robert picked up his phone and dialed 911. He informed the dispatcher, who wasn't much help at all, about what was going on and that would not open his door without a warrant. No sooner than he could get the words out of his, the officers kicked Robert's door down and stormed into the house. After looking through the house and realizing that Robert was being truthful about his son not being there, the officers made the decision that they weren't going home empty handed and that someone would be going to jail that night. For asking to see a warrant Robert was arrested and charged with resisting/obstructing an officer and misuse of 911. 

The day after, Robert complained to the Sheriff's Office about the incident and in less than 24 hours Capt. Wyrick determined that his officer acted appropriately. 

    

In Wyrick's letter to the Smith Family (left), he states that his officers did not violate any policies, because where there serving "criminal arrest warrants against Robert Smith". However, the Rowan County Sheriff's Office's own records show that Capt. Wyrick's claims were false. Not only was there never a "criminal warrant" for Robert, but there wasn't one for his son either. Robert's son, Anthony, did have a warrant, however it was related to a civil matter. Nothing that would allow police to enter in this manner. Despite the Rowan County Sheriff's Office's failure to handle this situation properly, they still chose to peruse the charges against Robert Smith.

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Follow this case 


Interview w/ Robert Smith

Robert Smith 911 call

The Rowan County Sheriff's Office have a laugh at Robert's expense (Radio transmissions)

Jules Friday-Coral Springs Police Dog Mauling

September 1, 2013 case update:

Last week Jules Friday accepted a plea deal for a misdemeanor offense. Thus far there has been no investigation by the Coral Springs Police Department into his allegations of excessive force. We are preparing a follow-up report on this case for release within the next 30 days. Please return to this post for further information.

Jules Friday Investigation



Coral Springs Police Video Evidence