Tonya Alanez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
March 5, 2009
After a beat down in an elevator, Joshua Daniel Ortiz ended up with his nose broken and facing a charge of battering a Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale police officer.
The 22-year-old Sunrise man was surprised and delighted to learn Wednesday that Broward prosecutors were dropping the case against him after reviewing an elevator surveillance video showing three officers aggressively rush and beat Ortiz to the ground.
Once the Dec. 5 video surfaced, it altered the course of the case. It contradicted police reports that Ortiz provoked and attacked Officers Derek Lade, Stefan Silver and Steve Smith.
“They were just sitting there watching my life go down the drain with those charges,” Ortiz said Wednesday. “I’ve been going crazy thinking my life is over. It’s barely started and it’s over.”
[efoods]The looming legal charges delayed Ortiz’s enrollment in college classes, he said.
Police first charged Ortiz with felony battery on a law enforcement officer.
But after seeing the video obtained by Ortiz’s defense attorney, Stephen Melnick, prosecutors downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor resisting charge. Upon further review, prosecutors dropped the case entirely.
“We thought based on the facts and the evidence, including the videotape, that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial,” said Lee Cohen, assistant state attorney in charge of misdemeanor cases.
Fort Lauderdale police internal affairs investigators reviewed the incident more than a month ago and found no violations of policy or procedures, said Sgt. Frank Sousa, the department’s spokesman.
This article was posted: Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Comments are closed.
Update: Radio Host Adam Kokesh Locked Up in Federal Jail (869 comments)
Adam Kokesh Charged With “Assaulting a Federal Officer” (802 comments)
Breaking: Feds Disappear Adam Kokesh! (344 comments)
Denver Cops Arrest Italian Shotgun Manufacturer as a Terrorist (278 comments)
Akron Man Shot To Death By Campus Police During Traffic Stop (274 comments)
Nightly News for Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday: The Alex Jones Show. The NDAA in Action? Feds Disapear Adam Kokesh. Breaking Info from a Chemtrail Specialist. Joel Skousen on World Affairs.
Sunday: The Alex Jones Show. One Nation Under Criminals and Propaganda For All. Adam Kokesh: The Plant, Arrest and Lockdown in a Federal Prison.
Friday: Nightly News. Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances”
Friday: The Alex Jones Show. The Disintegration of Posse Comitatus and The 2nd Amendment.
Thursday: Nightly News. IRS Targets Come Forward. Obama-Backed Rebels Carry Out Public Executions.
Thursday: The Alex Jones Show. Obama's Buffet of Corruption and Tyranny. The American Drug War Victimizes Children. And Larry Pinkney Begs You to Reclaim Your Mind!
Wednesday: The Nightly News. Congress Demands to See the Cards the Obama Administration is Holding. The IRS Wants to See Your Papers!
Wednesday: The Alex Jones Show. The Bumbling Lawless Obama Administration.
IRS Scandal
Tuesday: Nightly News. The White House Knows "Nothing" concerning the DOJ's seizure of AP Records? Highly Incompetent or Just Another Cover Up?
Tuesday: The Alex Jones Show. Obama is Stinking Drunk on Power! What You Can Do To Keep GMOs Out of Your Food Supply.
Nightly News for Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday: The Alex Jones Show. The NDAA in Action? Feds Disapear Adam Kokesh. Breaking Info from a Chemtrail Specialist. Joel Skousen on World Affairs.
Sunday: The Alex Jones Show. One Nation Under Criminals and Propaganda For All. Adam Kokesh: The Plant, Arrest and Lockdown in a Federal Prison.
Friday: Nightly News. Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances”© 2013 Infowars.com is a Free Speech Systems, LLC company. All rights reserved. Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice.