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HAAB Minutes 03/22/2001 Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board Minutes March 22, 2001 HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES OF MEETING of March 22, 2001 PRESENT: ABSENT: David Correa, HAAB Member Frank Loney, HAAB Member Pete Cade, HAAB Member Sofia Pagan, HAAB Member I Robert Pina, HAAB Member . tI --r Elvin Santiago, HAAB Member~ Ramiro Manalich, Chief Assistant County Attorney and HAAB Staff Liaison Leo Cardona, HAAB Member ~~ Also Present: Victor Valdes, Editor, Las Naciones News Frank Rodriguez Yolanda Cisneros Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter Captain Williams, Collier County Sheriff's Office The meeting of the Collier County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board (HAAB) for March 22, 2001 commenced at approximately 7:10 P,M. A quorum of six (6) members was present. Frank Loney made a motion to approve the February 22, 2001 minutes. A second was provided by Mr. Pina. There was a unanimous vote to approve the motion. Victor Valdes, Editor, Las Naciones News, made a presentation regarding his investigation and allegations regarding the Collier County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Valdes specifically referenced report EI-25-0013 regarding these matters. Mr. Valdes submitted a packet of materials for the record which is attached to these minutes. Mr. Valdes said that his investigation covered allegations of brutality, harassment. misconduct, and civil rights violations involving the Collier County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Valdes claimed that there was a lack of sufficiency of investigation that was done by the state regarding his allegations because there was not complete interviewing of witnesses. Mr. Valdes mentioned that he was going to be producing a forum meeting in the near future that would expose misconduct which he claimed was known by the Sheriff. Mr. Valdes predicted that the Sheriff would respond by stating that Mr. Valdes had a pending trial and Mr. Valdes reminded everyone that he also has civil rights allegations pending against the Sheriff. Mr. Valdes claims that he had made previous pleas to the Sheriff to end corruption in the Sheriff's department and did not receive an adequate response. He submitted a copy of a prior letter to Sheriff Hunter from 1989 for the record. Mr. Valdes stated that it was common knowledge in Immokalee that corruption existed in the Sheriff's office in regard to Officer Edison and others. He thought that the Sheriff had not responded to these allegations in the past perhaps because it was Mr. Valdes who was making the claims or the Sheriff simply did not understand the situation. Mr. Valdes stated that Officers Edison and Sanders are now behind bars despite Mr. Valdes' warnings from 12 to 13 years ago. David Correa mentioned that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) letter indicated that the Sheriff had created a task force to investigate Officer Edison and others and that prosecutions had occurred. Mr. Valdes' response was that he had told the Sheriff about these problems since 1988 and there had not been action. Next to speak was Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter. Sheriff Hunter stated that. contrary to Mr. Valdes' allegations, no one truly knew of Officer Edison's wrongdoing until it was proven in 1988-1989 by an investigation and later prosecution in federal court resulting in conviction. Sheriff Hunter mentioned that he had a prior stack of investigative reports which indicated that perhaps there were policy violations by Officer Edison but not solid evidence of criminal wrongdoing. All of the complaints of crimes were looked at. Three polygraphs were performed on Mr. Edison and at Least one occurred at the Sheriff's direction. The FBI in 1994 had not found evidence of crimes at that time. The Sheriff's Department assisted the FBI in the investigation. Apparently Officer Edison was tipped off about the investigation. The Sheriff was not satisfied with the results of that investigation as to gambling, drugs, prostitution and another polygraph was done and Edison passed. 2 Sheriff Hunter emphasized the he did not know of wrongdoing but did investigate any wrongdoing that was reported. Sheriff Hunter mentioned that knowledge is the critical issue. There were a total of six criminal violations lodged against Officer Edison. Also, the other complaints related only to policy breaches, but Sheriff Hunter emphasized that he was not trying to minimize those either. Sheriff Hunter also mentioned that sometimes Mr. Valdes refers to a case involving Mr. Simonette and that matter was also investigated. The Sheriff said he feels that there is a vendetta against his agency by Mr. Valdes despite the Sheriff's Office being open to Mr. Valdes as to investigation complaints submitted by Mr. Valdes. The Sheriff said that he asked FDLE to review matters involving Edison. The Sheriff said that he did not know of Edison's criminal conduct until Captain Williams began efforts to gather evidence and there is evidence that Edison intimidated witnesses making the investigation more difficult. Ultimately, the Sheriff's Office accumulated a large body of evidence regarding the Edison investigations. The Sheriff said he appreciated the opportunity to appear and discuss this matter with the HAAB. He also offered that Captain Williams could answer more specific questions. David Correa mentioned that as a former court clerk in the New York criminal court system, he could appreciate that the facts must be proven and that defendants are presumed innocent. The Sheriff stated that he felt that there had been a communication problem surrounding the Edison and Sanders matters. He said that knowing what he knows now, the files show that there was a mistake based on hindsight. He felt that the whole matter had damaged reputations and embarrassed his office, but the same was true for those who knew Sanders and Edison. The Sheriff said he wished that he had earlier knowledge and proof, but that was not the case and often investigations are successful. but not perfect. He emphasized that proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required in criminal court. There can also be differences of opinion between the Sheriff's agency and prosecutors as to the proof available in the case. The Sheriff stated that he had tried to please Mr. Valdes but there remained fundamental differences between them as to how investigations in the court system operate. The Sheriff then proceeded to answer questions from the HAAB members. The Sheriff commented regarding polygraphs and how Officer Edison could have passed those polygraphs and how polygraphs are used in the investigative process. He answered that 24 investigations occurred 3 regarding Officer Edison; six of which were for crimes. Investigations range from three to 18 months over a 1 7 -year period. One particular complaint was filed by the Sheriff himself. but only counseling resulted because it involved a shooting which incurred in self-defense. Edison was looked at frequently because of his bad driving record. However, it is not standard policy to fire immediately for driving violations. Rather, there is a progressive discipline system in place. Mr. Pina commented that constant violations in the private industry often result in firings. David Correa said firings in the public sector are not so easy because of anti-discrimination statutes. Frank Loney expressed frustration and cited as an example an incident two weeks ago where he was stopped by an officer who came screaming at him asking if Frank had been drinking and driving and accusing him of speeding. He said such incidents have happened to others. He asked how the lines of communications could be opened up with the Sheriff. He said that he often sees police officers violating traffic rules. He said that Edison and other cases show the need to review department policies and to recognize that the problems exist. In his opinion, more dialogue is needed about these subjects. The Sheriff responded that he would listen to specific complaints. Not all of the Edison complaints were specific. He stated that Captain Williams is the appropriate contact person on these complaints. He said that his agency takes all complaints, but they may not be able to prove a complaint where there are two different versions or events. However, if there are more complaints by others and similarities then a deputy will be called to the office about a potential problem. Counseling and warnings or discipline are often given. He encouraged the Hispanic and Black communities to convey complaints. He mentioned as an example a sergeant who was fired due to complaints of racial biases. He also discussed the Gomez brothers' case with Mr. Valdes over a three-year period. He also spoke to the deputy involved in the case regarding improper ethnically oriented comments. The Sheriff also said that some police cars have videos which help in sorting out the truth about traffic stop incidents. The Sheriff concluded his remarks for the evening by mentioning Frank Rodriguez was on the Citizen's Committee of the Sheriff and that he is always looking for more minorities to be involved at the agency. He welcomed HAAB input as to contacts with the Hispanic community and assistance for minorities with the Sheriff's hiring application process. 4 Mr. Pina offered comments regarding the recent Collier County Commission Affordable Housing Workshop. He mentioned that it was a one-hour meeting that involved the topic of the County zoning land for affordable housing. It was mentioned at the workshop that 40% of the workforce live in Lee County and spend their money there. Mr. Pina said wages must rise as part of the solution to the housing problem. Some of the industry representatives at the committee meeting stated that they could not afford higher wages. He mentioned that a grant had been awarded for affordable housing in Immokalee for $300,000.00. David Correa made a report regarding the Health Care Planning and Finance Committee. At the meeting, it was discussed that 40,000 are uninsured in Collier County. It was mentioned that most jobs in the County are service oriented and produce wages insufficient to pay for insurance. What ends up happening is that workers often use the emergency room for all health care instead of relying on primary care to prevent problems. Yolanda ~entioned that she believes that there was mismanagement at some of the health care facilities in Immokalee. It was discussed that there are limited federal funds for health insurance available. It was mentioned that perhaps an increase in the sales tax for funding health insurance could be a solution. Frank Loney thought that the number of uninsured in the County was actually more than 40,000. David Correa mentioned that the discussion at the meeting of the Committee was that emergency treatment is far more expensive than primary care. Most of the tourists have their primary care at another location and those dollars are not available for local health care needs. Frank Loney asked about having competition for Naples Community Hospital. He did n9U~!~.2 tax is the solution when a monopoly is in place. Yolanda ~rovided an example of inadequate health care in Immokalee. Robert Pina inquired about the use of tourist tax money to fund health care. David Correa mentioned that those dollars were designated for related purposes. David Correa suggested that the HAAB should have involvement in the Health Care Financing Committee. He volunteered to attend those committee meetings until someone else was willing to do it. 5 Frank Rodriguez commented that he had attended the meeting of the Affordable Housing Committee. He suggested that the HAAB should be involved with the activities of that committee because many minorities are impacted by that subject. The combination of low income and high property values make it difficult for minorities to own property. He asked whether there could be county rezoning for affordable housing outside of the rural fringe. He mentioned that the Collier Building Industry Association might be interested in that proposal. Robert Pina volunteered to attend meetings of the Affordable Housing Committee. The meeting of the HAAB Advisory Board was adjourned at 9:03 P.M. Prepared by: Ramiro Manalich, Chief Assistant County Attorney and HAAB Staff Liaison Approved for the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board on this () ( ~y of April, 200 1. ~~ ~~) David't!orrea, Chairman 6