ORANGE COUNTY — Shooting a few hoops at home with friends is something most American kids take for granted.
Arguably, this may no longer apply.
A 17-year-old boy was playing basketball with his friends in front of his house, when three police officers approached him. They did not identify themselves to the boys.
One of the cops was Deputy Richard Nye, he had been placed on desk duty due to use of excessive force in a prior incident.
The teenager made the mistake of resisting the officer’s attempt to handcuff him.
This is when the upset man in uniform delivered at least three knee strikes, a fact he admits in his own report.
It turns out the teenager was not even the suspect the policemen were looking for – again something that is mentioned in their own account of the incident.
They actually wanted to serve a warrant to a 30-year-old man.
The boy’s parents have filed a lawsuit.
Their lawyer Beth Aires says the officers were aggressive from the get go.
“They didn’t identify themselves to the individual, who was 17 years old and terrified,” she adds.
This entire episode was caught on camera.
The teenager was nor Nye’s first victim neither his last.
In another video the same officer is seen mercilessly kicking a person who was not resisting.
The African-American victim, 21-year-old Sammy Mike, was already on the ground with his hands fastened behind his back. In his report Nye says he used “minimal force”.
This was the encounter that resulted in him being placed on desk duty.
Nye does not have the most impressive history.
In the 11 odd years that he has served in law enforcement, he has faced at least 21 charges of using excessive force.
He started his career in 2004 with the Travares Police Department, only around a month later he was warned for crashing his patrol car into a stump.
The following year he walked into Mount Dora Bank carrying his duty weapon, in full view, while dressed in civilian clothes.
On another occasion, he had a member of the public in his car when he engaged in a police pursuit.
In a separate incident, he left his patrol car running while weapons were still inside it, this resulted in another warning and some disciplinary action.
He was finally fired by the department when he crashed into another vehicle – Florida Highway Patrol troopers found him going at 90 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Next, he had a two year stint at Altamonte Springs, he somehow managed to keep an unblemished record through this period. He was then hired by the Orange County sheriff’s office, the recruitment team at the office were fully aware of his disturbing record at the Travares Police Department.
Questions are being raised over why he was hired by the Orange County Sheriff’s office when such disturbing information was already available.
Watch the video below:
