In response to an investigation published this week in the Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News, Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden has disputed the sequence of events of a May shooting of two Black men, emphasizing that deputies did not shoot one of the men while he was lying on the ground.
But attorneys for the two men, Tyrone Reed and La’Travis Williams, who have filed notices of claim against the agency and are eligible to file lawsuits as early as December, said Whidden is not telling the truth.
The investigation detailed questionable hiring practices at the agency, including past misconduct by one of the deputies witnesses said was involved in the shooting. Whidden said he would not respond to the hiring practices investigation, which he called "ridiculous claims" and "fake news."
More:Dozens of deputies lied, cheated and stole. This Florida sheriff hired them anyway.
In a Facebook post Monday evening, Whidden gave his account of the May 17 shooting at a block party that was held in place of LaBelle's annual Black Heritage Festival, which was canceled due to COVID-19.
Whidden said deputies responded to calls of shots fired near the block party. He said people at the party fired over 30 rounds, which is what prompted deputies to respond, and that deputies "observed a subject run and hide behind a car."
"The Deputies challenged the suspect with numerous voice commands, telling him to come out with his hands up,” Whidden wrote. “The suspect refused and decided to run towards the crowd with a firearm in his hand and then point it at the crowd. That’s when the deputies opened fire. He was not shot while laying on the ground!!”
In his post, Whidden did not name the suspect or address that two people were shot, according to lawyers and media accounts.
No arrests were made that night, and no one has been charged. Body camera footage has not been released. The state attorney's office is reviewingthe shooting.The agency's incident report on the shooting is almost fully redacted. The only information it included were the men's addresses and the date.
The agency has declined numerous requests for information about the shooting, including in June when the News-Press reported on the shooting with the same information that is reported in this week's investigation.
When asked again one week ago, the agency did not respond to questions or the opportunity to provide any comments about what transpired or reconcile the differences between the sheriff’s past remarks and eyewitness statements.
Reed's attorney, who told the News-Press his client was shot four times, including while on the ground,disputed Whidden's account.
“My client never had a gun. He was never off his property," said attorney Scot Goldberg, whose firm Goldberg Noone Abraham represents Reed.
“He was shot four times while unarmed and was taken to the hospital where (Whidden) sent one of his investigators to handcuff him to the hospital bed. After hospital staff said they couldn’t do that because they had to take him up for surgery, investigators left and never came back," Goldberg said.
More:LaBelle man recovering after being shot four times by Hendry County deputy
Goldberg and witnesses said Reed was shot in the stomach and then three more times when he fell to the ground in his yard. Reed recently underwent his fourth surgery, including to remove part of his intestines, and still has a bullet lodged in his shoulder, Goldberg said. Neither man has been charged with a crime.
Attorneys for both men filed notices of claim in June against the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office.Attorney Joe North, who represents Williams, alleged in his filing that Sgt. Nestor Echevarria shot them and used excessive force, causing their injuries. Lawsuits can be filed against government agencies six months after a notice of claim is filed.
More:Notice of lawsuit filed against Hendry County Sheriff's Office in shooting of man
Echevarria had been fired from the Department of Corrections in 2007 and found to have usedexcessive force after an inmate claimed Echevarria slammed him against a wall. The notice of claim filed by Williams' attorney alleges that Williams' injuries are due toEchevarria's use of excessive force the night of the shooting.
Shortly after the shooting and while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was conducting its investigation, Whidden — also in a Facebook post — addressed some of the witness statements, including those given to television outlets that described deputies shooting into the crowd and at unarmed people.
"Due to the fact that this is an active and ongoing investigation, I cannot say a lot about the evidence or details of the shooting," Whidden wrote in the post in May. "However, I will say, do not believe everything you see and hear on Facebook or on the news. People will lie. Body cameras do not."
North denied that his client was armed when he was shot.
“There’s nothing to prohibit or prevent them from releasing the body cam footage,” North said. “If the body cam footage supported the shooting, I’m 100%certain they would have released it then.”
North also noted that an incident report from the night of the shooting obtained through a public records request was entirely redacted except for his client's address.
FDLE has completed its investigation and turned over its findings to the state attorney’s office, which is reviewing the shooting, but no findings or videos from that night have been released due to its active status.
Samantha Syoen, communications director for the state attorney’s office, said Wednesday that it could not provide any information about the review at this time.
In a report completed by Goldberg’s investigator, it was noted that FDLE asked Reed if Williams ever threw a weapon in his direction.
Reed denied the claim and said he never saw a gun near him or possessed by Williams, investigator Thomas Kontinos wrote.
Kontinos noted that FDLE’s questions made Reed angry because it felt like they “were trying to justify the shooting by the deputies.”
Kontinos, a retired Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy and former investigator for the state attorney’s office, added in his report that allegations against Williams were “doubtful” because “no criminal charges have been filed against Williams for any firearms or assault violations."
Meanwhile, attorneys for Reed and Williams continue to build their cases against the Hendry County Sheriff's Office with eyewitness testimony due to the lack of law enforcement records.
North also commented on the fact that the News-Press and television stations NBC 2 and Fox 4 interviewed several different witnesses to the shootings, yet they all had similar accounts.
“Isn’t that something?” North said regarding the consistent statements. “They shouldn’t be attacking private citizens. The department is supposed to protect people.”
North, who submitted the notice of claim on behalf of Williams on June 19, said he would file a lawsuit one day after the six-month waiting period ends in December.
Goldberg, who submitted Reed’s notice of claim on June 10, said he will do the same.
Connect with reporter Devan Patel: @DevanJPatel (Twitter) or devan.patel@naplesnews.com
