PANAMA CITY BEACH

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has concluded there is no sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation by the agency into the conduct of two city police officers involved in an incident at the Fontainebleau Terrace condominium on June 9.

Police Chief Robert Harding was notified of the FDLE decision in a letter Wednesday that the department released Thursday afternoon.

The announcement included a letter from City Manager Richard Jackson to Mayor Gayle Oberst and City Council members dated Thursday, citing his own review of the incident and the FDLE conclusion.

“After the review of the documentation from the police department and the response from Tommy Ford, FDLE resident agent in charge, received today, I find that no policy or procedural violation at the police department occurred, and FDLE determined that there were no criminal violations on the part of the officers which would warrant a criminal investigation,” Jackson wrote.

Beach police officials declined to comment for this story.

Ford wrote that after reviewing all evidence from the incident with Special Agent in Charge Jim Madden, the agency concluded, “There is not a sufficient criminal predicate to warrant an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.”

During the June 9 incident, one of two officers responding to a call forcibly entered a private meeting of condo owners, who were organizing to vote out the incumbent board of directors.

The incident was videotaped by one of the owners. The video shows a brief but intense shoving match in which two condo owners were pushed to the ground as Officer Donald Nichols and condo association manager Ray McDonald entered through the doorway after several meeting participants attempted to keep McDonald out.

Several condo owners alleged that it was the police officer and McDonald who knocked two owners to the floor, but the police review concluded otherwise.

In a letter to Jackson on Monday, Harding stated the officers were responding to a “civil matter,” but the incident “branched off into a criminal matter” when McDonald attempted to enter the meeting room and owner Steven Bell blocked the doorway, preventing both McDonald and Nichols from entering.

“Officer Nichols was attempting to make contact with the opposing party (association vice president Debra Lester) but was obstructed by Mr. Bell’s actions,” Harding wrote. Nichols subsequently arrested Bell on charges of resisting arrest without violence and simple battery.

Condo owner advocate Lynda Grant Killingsworth, who publicized the June 9 incident on the Internet, reacted angrily to the FDLE decision.

“This is outrageous, and it’s not over,” she said Thursday, indicating that several of the owners will press for a legislative inquiry into the entire incident.

However, city officials said the FDLE decision clearing the two officers was a final vindication.

“I consider this inquiry closed with no further action to be taken,” Jackson wrote in his letter.

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COMMENT:

Big investigation: They started it Wednesday and finished it Wednesday. The decision was obviously made before the investigation really started. 

 

Police Chief Robert Harding's statement is nothing but a joke and one of the lamest excuses I've ever heard. It's not even funny to know that these kind of people are in charge of our local police. If he would be in charge of the storm troopers his statement might be justified, but last I heard this a local police department in Florida.

 

The big question: Will the city commissioners let him -- and the city manager -- get away with this excuse that insults the intelligence of all citizens? Since this incident was part of an association problem it might be interesting to know that more than 80% of recalls in associations are actually not directed against the board members, but the managers and attorneys! See Fontainebleau! Why recalling the board? Owners can't vote to fire the manager -- but they can replace the board and then fire the manager! Happens all the time!

In this case the voters can't remove the police chief and the city manager, but they can vote for different commissioners, who can then fire these "cover-up" specialists!

 

To be very honest: We citizens should be even more determined to reduce the property taxes, so there is no more money to pay for these kind of police officers who do more damage than good! If this is what they call "protect and serve" we're better off protecting ourselves. This investigation would have been a good opportunity to stop the looming law suit and save taxpayers' money. But the officials rather try to cover it up and use taxpayers' money to pay for the misdeeds of their officers!

 

It will be fun to see Officer Nichols and CAM Ray McDonald sweat on the witness stand. There they will face a judge and a jury, not some helpless elderly condo dwellers. Let's see if they dare to scream at the judge and jury with red faces -- trying to intimidate them? Let's see how they want to lie away the facts shown on the video-tape? I guess Chief Harding and city manager Richard Jackson will be good witnesses since they have to explain what their officers were doing on private property? And everybody is already waiting to listen to the call that brought the police to the scene! Or were the officers already in place to help their good buddy Ray? Since they squashed the investigation they will have a lot of  explaining to do at the civil trial -- wasting good taxpayers' money! Or who do you think pays for this whole police disaster?

 

This is far from over! Actually -- it's really just getting started!