HOMESTEAD, Fla. (WSVN) -- Undercover police detectives had
to arrest their own after alleged brutal beatings at the hands of police
outside a bar.
The Homestead Police Department had the bar under surveillance
when, police said, they caught officers committing heinous acts. An internal
affairs report documented instances of police brutality, which led to the
arrest Monday of three Homestead police officers.
On Tuesday, Homestead Police Chief Alexander Rolle spoke at
a news conference explaining the arrests. "We stand firm in what we
did," he said. "We think we took the proper and right actions for
this community."
Those arrested included Homestead Police Sgt. Jeffrey Rome,
who bonded out of jail Monday. He faces charges of battery, false imprisonment
and abuse of an elderly adult for allegedly beating and pepper-spraying men
outside of Celio's Cuartel Latino Bar. The bar is frequented by migrant
workers.
The others arrested included Officer Giovanni Soto and Sgt.
Lizanne Deegan. Soto faces charges of battery and official misconduct after
allegedly beating a man outside the same bar and then dropping him off at home
without offering medical assistance. When that man called 911, Deegan
responded. She now faces an official misconduct charge, accused of covering up
for Soto.
Undercover officers investigating human trafficking at the
same location in early 2011 caught two of the attacks on yet-to-be-released
surveillance video. "Those three were placed on administrative leave with
pay by the Chief of Police," explained Homestead Police Detective Fernando
Morales. "At the conclusion of that investigation all evidence of the
investigation was turned over to the State Attorney's Office."
The State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle released the
following statement: "Police brutality is wrong no matter what form it
takes. The covering-up of police brutality is equally wrong. That's why we are
prosecuting these cases in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, who
played an essential role in helping make these cases possible."
John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade County Police
Benevolent Association called the officers' arrests, more than a year later, a
political move during an election year and called the investigation flawed.
"It was just a very bad case from the beginning," he said. "The
department made many mistakes, and it looked like a witch hunt."
Meanwhile, the arrest affidavit notes that dispatchers
received frequent complaints of police brutality from men who frequented the
bar. "There were several calls that were dispatched to that [bar],"
Rolle said.
Several migrant rights groups were also present at the news
conference. They said many undocumented workers are afraid to come forward
despite being victimized by police because they fear being deported.