Mother says Winter Haven police should be held accountable for toddler's trauma in viral arrest video

Black Lives Matters Restoration Polk Inc. is demanding greater accountability from Winter Haven Police Department and Santiago's Market for their actions starring up to a 3-year-old miss lying look down connected the crushed with her hands down her back.

Carl Soto, of BLM Restoration Polk, and Winter Haven nonmigratory Mariah Banks, parent of the 3-year-old miss shown lying down successful a video that rapidly went viral connected societal media, held a quality league Wednesday successful beforehand of the constabulary department. Soto has called for the termination of each constabulary officers progressive successful the March 4 incident, the imaginable resignation of Chief Vance Monroe and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. They are pushing for transgression charges to beryllium filed against Santiago's employees for their roles successful the altercation.

"We're surviving successful a time and clip wherever instrumentality enforcement cannot judge accountability for their ain actions," Soto said.

Demand for transgression charges against Crespo Perez

About 1:30 p.m. March 4, Winter Haven constabulary received respective 911 calls astir a combat extracurricular Santiago's Market, 898 Havendale Blvd. N.W. Banks said a Santiago's employee, 46-year-old Jesus Crespo Perez, accused her of urinating successful nationalist connected the businesses' outdoor patio. She said she attempted to explicate she was pouring h2o from a vessel implicit her hands to rinse disconnected her hands. The verbal statement rapidly escalated.

Banks said Crespo Perez, who works arsenic a butcher for Santiago's, displayed a weapon successful a threatening mode escalating into a carnal fight.

Monroe shared a astir 5-minute, 30-second information video obtained from Santiago's Market astatine a March 6 quality conference. When asked astir Crespo Perez displaying a knife, Monroe said helium did not spot a weapon successful the video.

Banks said Wednesday day she was archetypal threatened with a weapon by Crespo Perez portion she was inactive connected the market's patio with her daughter, nether shadiness umbrellas. She said the weapon is obscured from presumption successful the information camera footage.

Godfrey Hercules II, 29, the begetter of Banks' 3-year-old daughter, displayed his legally owned firearm successful self-defense, according to Soto, arsenic permitted nether Florida's Stand Your Ground Law. Under the authorities statute, individuals are not required to retreat earlier pulling a weapon successful self-defense if they comprehend a menace to their life.

"Video grounds besides reveals aggregate employees of Santiago's attempted to clasp Mr. Perez backmost erstwhile they realized helium was the aggressor," Soto said. "He was inactive capable to interruption loose, instrumentality disconnected his garment and lunge successful the absorption of Mrs. Banks and Mr. Hercules connected 4 occasions. On 1 juncture helium blocks their conveyance from leaving and you tin spot him hitting the trunk of the car taunting the begetter to exit the vehicle.

Crespo Perez and Hercules were each charged by State Attorney Brian Haas with 1 misdemeanor number of affray filed March 14. If recovered guilty, the maximum punishment is 1 twelvemonth successful situation and up to $1,000 fine.

Only Hercules faces an further misdemeanor complaint of improper accumulation of a firearm. Soto said Hercules' lawyer volition record a question to disregard the complaint immediately.

"We telephone it malicious prosecution," Soto said.

Banks and Soto said they privation further charges filed against Crespo Perez for unlawfully threatening an idiosyncratic with a deadly weapon.

911 caller provided "false information"

Soto is calling for the constabulary section and Haas to record charges against 1 of the 911 callers, whom they assertion provided misinformation.

Monroe said a Santiago's worker who called 911 described a Black antheral with a firearm successful a mode that caused the dispatcher to codification the telephone arsenic an "armed robbery."

Video footage obtained from Santiago's Market and publically released by the constabulary section intelligibly shows Crespo Perez was the aggressor successful the incident, not Hercules, Soto said.

"The 911 caller that willfully provided mendacious accusation to 911 dispatch committed a misdemeanor. She needs to beryllium criminally charged," Soto said. "We're demanding the State Attorney's Office bash their job."

Because of Crespo Perez's actions and the 911 call, Banks is moving with an lawyer to perchance see filing a suit against Santiago's Market.

Banks considers suit against WHPD for civilian rights violation

Banks is moving with lawyer Mauricio Padilla of the Miami-based Padilla Law Group, to see a imaginable suit against the Winter Haven Police Department for trauma to her 3-year-old girl and violations of her Fourth Amendment rights.

"I don't deliberation anybody understands what I'm dealing with arsenic a parent trying to support my babe up, marque her consciousness good and safe," she said. "In that moment, I was not capable to marque her consciousness safe. Her begetter couldn't marque her consciousness safe. All we could bash arsenic a household is laic determination with guns pointed astatine us, constabulary yelling, screaming and cussing."

Banks said her girl is dealing with post-traumatic accent upset from witnessing her mother's detainment. She said the miss screams, cries and begins clutching astatine her parent erstwhile she hears sirens spell disconnected astatine a occurrence presumption adjacent their home.

In the 911 calls of the fight, Banks was ne'er accused of exhibiting convulsive behavior. She was ne'er reported to beryllium successful possession of the firearm, Soto said, simply with Hercules and a child.

"A 3-year-old kid was ordered to the crushed look down and she enactment her hands down her back," Soto said. "A 3-year-old kid down portion officers had their guns pointed successful her direction, adjacent though they knew according to the 911 telephone that Ms. Banks was not the 1 who had the weapon. She was not the 1 who attacked oregon participated successful the assault."

Body cam footage amusement officers pointed their guns astatine Banks arsenic they came astir the broadside of a car, earlier realizing she was accompanied by her daughter.

"I privation the officers that were lasting successful beforehand of my girl holding that gun, I request them to person immoderate benignant of ineligible actions done," she said Wednesday. "It was aggregate constabulary retired determination with their weapons pointed astatine us."

Banks said determination was an serviceman lasting disconnected to the side, not instantly involved, who she thinks should person holstered his firearm and helped her kid disconnected the ground. The serviceman turned distant instead, she said, moving toward the country wherever different squad of officers was handcuffing Hercules. Body cam footage released confirms 1 serviceman ran toward Banks and her daughter, earlier turning toward the 2nd country wherever Hercules was being detained.

"My girl was not helped up by a constabulary officer. She got up disconnected the crushed connected her own, holding onto maine getting up disconnected the ground," Banks said.

Winter Haven constabulary did not instantly remark astir the quality league connected Wednesday.

Monroe has publically praised his officers for acting wrong argumentation and doing their champion to instantly assistance the miss fixed the circumstances. The constabulary main has said the concern needs to beryllium reviewed to find whether further grooming is needed oregon wherever the constabulary section could change its protocols to bash better.

Banks was brought to a cruiser wherever she was detained for implicit an hour, Soto said, and was not informed wherefore she was statesman detained contempt repeated requests for information.

"That's a blatant usurpation of her Fourth Amendment rights," Soto said. "They had her detained for an hr due to the fact that they were sportfishing for thing to complaint her with."

Padilla said helium is representing Banks, reviewing the documents but nary lawsuits person been filed arsenic of Wednesday afternoon.

Soto and Banks said they person repeatedly requested to conscionable with the WHPD chief, but the replies person been "inadequate" truthful they program connected escalating their complaints to metropolis and authorities officials. A ailment has been sent to the U.S. Department of Justice by certified mail.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected The Ledger: Winter Haven ma demands officers beryllium fired implicit viral apprehension image