ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County deputy who was there when accused cop killer Markeith Loyd was arrested said Loyd complied with officers’ demands as he came out of hiding, contradicting what Orlando police first said about the arrest.
Orlando police said Loyd was combative and a potential threat when he was arrested in January 2017.
That contradicts a newly obtained two-page report from a sheriff's deputy assigned to the U.S. Marshals' fugitive division, who claimed Loyd "complied with every command" the night officers kicked him and ultimately blinded his left eye.
The report is the first account of that night from outside OPD's ranks. It is evidence for Loyd's upcoming murder trials for the deaths of Sade Dixon, her unborn baby, and Orlando police lieutenant Debra Clayton.
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Until now, much of Loyd's capture has been a mystery because the camera from a police helicopter panned away as officers began kicking Loyd. No one was wearing police body cameras that night.
On January 19, 2017, when Loyd was arrested, Orlando police Chief John Mina said Loyd crawled toward the officers and did not comply with officers’ commands to put his hands behind his back.
Mina also praised his officers for showing restraint after they all said Loyd threw several guns out of the house.
But the report filed by the deputy said Loyd “crawl[ed out] slowly… [and] held his hands out the entire time, in an obvious manner that he was not holding any items."
Channel 9 asked Mina about the report.
“I don’t remember when we became aware of [the report], but as soon as we did, we decided ‘You know what? Let’s give this entire investigation over to an independent authority at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement so they can investigate it,’” Mina said.
Channel 9 also asked Mina if he stands by what he said at the time of Loyd’s arrest.
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“We’re talking about someone who is a cop killer. Someone who killed his girlfriend… and her unborn child. There were a lot of people there. That was the information I had received at the time,” Mina said. “But upon receiving this information, that’s when we decided … to give this to an independent authority to investigate to get to the truth.”
The FDLE is still investigating Loyd’s arrest. Investigators are eventually supposed to question Loyd himself, but it’s not clear whether they have done so yet.
Channel 9 also obtained hours of video visitations with Loyd from behind bars, showing the accused killer joking about his notoriety. Lt. Debra Clayton is never mentioned by name once in any of the calls.
Watch below: 'They done cracked my eye,' Markeith Loyd says in jailhouse videos