A homeless man's attorney said surveillance video shows deputies used excessive force in his arrest.
Gerald McGovern, 58, has been arrested no fewer than 69 times, but this time he insists it is different. He said on Dec. 2 when he was approached by an undercover BSO deputy, he did not attack them as charged, instead they attacked him.
The public defenders office said the surveillance video clears McGovern and implicates BSO. "I don't believe someone who was falsely accused, as the evidence is going to show with great weight, should be incarcerated just because they're homeless and they're indigent," Defense Attorney Celine Abram-Schmitt said.
A witness, Roberto Aguilara backs up McGoverns claim. "They come on top of him to beat, and they kept hitting and hitting and hitting. I think it's a long time, around two minutes," said Aguilara.
Now, McGovern wants to be released without posting $1,500 bond, which he does not have because he is homeless.
Because the public defender released the video to Channel 7, the sheriff is furious. "I know it's his job to defend the people that he represents, but it's also my job to investigate or to make sure that deputies are acting appropriately. I can't do that if I'm going to get blind-sided or a surprised attack with something like this," sheriff Al Lamberti said.
"My obligation as the public defender is to represent poor people and homeless people, and after being in the court system for over 30 years, it has become clear, to almost anybody who is in the court system, that the police can not and will not police themselves unless they know the whole community is watching," said public defender Howard Finkelstein.
In court Friday, the deputies testified that things escalated and it turned into a violent arrest.
The judge ruled that he will let the pre-trial release committee interview McGovern and decide if he should be released through that program.
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