Commissioner Accuses Police Of Brutality Against Blacks
Posted: 5:19 pm EDT April 20, 2007Updated: 6:16 pm EDT April 20, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has obtained a letter sent from a city commissioner to the Orlando Police Department that has some dramatic accusations. In the letter, Commissioner Daisy Lynum basically accuses officers of police brutality against African Americans.
READ: Daisy Lynum's Letter To OPD (PDF file)
Lynum cited two different cases in the letter that, she said, two citizens alerted her to this past weekend. So, Eyewitness News took her complaints and asked the Orlando Police Department to respond.In a scathing letter to Chief Mike McCoy, Daisy Lynum again accuses the Orlando Police Department of targeting blacks, this time claiming police released a K-9 and allowed it to attack a handcuffed teenager during an arrest.
The problem is, police said that is not what happened.Commissioner Daisy Lynum's attack on OPD continues in a two-page letter to Chief Mike McCoy. In it, she claims police allowed a dog to attack a teenager, saying the officer "loosed his dog" on the boy.Lynum was out of town, Friday, and said only that her letter speaks for itself. The head of OPD's Internal Affairs said Lynum's account of the incident does not match the facts, saying in reality the suspect was running from police."Nothing that I've looked at or have seen so far indicates the suspect was already handcuffed and then K-9 was released after the handcuffs were on," said Internal Affairs manager Dwain Rivers.Lynum's OPD witch hunt began last year, after attorney Juan Lynum called to complain to his mom about a traffic stop. Lynum cried racial-profiling, calling the officer a "white boy," offending members of the police union.Now, Lynum again wants every police car to be equipped with a video system, in her words, to protect citizens and police officers. Police welcome it, but the city budget does not."It helps substantiate a complaint or prove otherwise. It helps Internal Affairs put together that puzzle," Rivers said.Lynum referenced another incident in the letter, caught on tape last month, as an officer appears to shove a teenager. Police are looking into that incident. The boy's mother told Channel 9 she expects action."I am not going to stop until somebody can step in and take action against him," said Letitia Montgomery, the teen's mother.But the supposed victim of that video tapped incident has never come forward to complain to police. In fact, to date, police said there is no evidence to support any of Lynum's claims."There is no evidence that supports racial-profiling," Rivers said.Internal Affairs investigators said they can only investigate racial-profiling complaints when someone makes a complaint. So far this year, they said, they have received zero complaints about racial-profiling, unless you consider Lynum's claims.
Lynum cited two different cases in the letter that, she said, two citizens alerted her to this past weekend. So, Eyewitness News took her complaints and asked the Orlando Police Department to respond.In a scathing letter to Chief Mike McCoy, Daisy Lynum again accuses the Orlando Police Department of targeting blacks, this time claiming police released a K-9 and allowed it to attack a handcuffed teenager during an arrest.
Previous Stories:
- March 27, 2007: Mom Filing Complaint After Video Shows Officer Push Teen
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