Posted on 04/07/2006 10:41:26 AM PDT by gondramB
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A local school employee said a rough run-in with a couple of Homeland Security officers has left him with a strong sense of insecurity. Leander Pickett Leander Pickett says he was handcuffed, roughed up and humiliated by two Homeland Security officers who refused to move their car from the path of waiting school buses.
Leander Pickett, a teacher's assistant at Englewood Elementary, said he was manhandled and handcuffed by two plain clothed Homeland Security officers in front of the school Tuesday for no reason at all.
"I would like to treat people the way I would want to be treated, and yesterday I wasn't treated that way," Pickett said.
Pickett has been working at Englewood for two years, and his principal and colleagues told Channel 4 they have never met a harder worker or nicer guy.
"He's well loved by everyone because he's willing to do anything to help children," said the Englewood Elementary Principal Gail Brinson.
However, Tuesday afternoon Pickett's niceness turned to anger, disappointment, and betrayal when, as Pickett was directing bus traffic, he said he was handcuffed and roughed up and humiliated by the very people that were supposed to protect him.
"I walked up to him and said, 'Sir, you need to move.' That's when he said 'I'm a police officer. I'm with Homeland Security ... I'll move it when I want to.' That's when he started grabbing me on my arm," Pickett said.
However, Homeland Security tells a different story.
The department said the only reason the officers were at the school was because they pulled over to look at a map.
The department also said it's looking into what happened, and that Pickett's version is wrong. It claims he was antagonizing the officers.
Several people were outside of the school, watching the incident take place, and those witnesses agree with Pickett's story.
Englewood Principal Gail Brinson The school's principal said the incident upset students. Witnesses: Officers Mistreated Teacher "Mr. Pickett asked the guy blocking the bus loading zone to move, and the guy told him he would move his car when he got ready to move it," said Englewood coach Alton Jackson.
"At that point I intervened and I went up to the gentleman and said, 'Mr. Pickett is an employee here,' and they said that didn't matter," said Englewood media specialist, Terri Dreisonstok.
"'We're with Homeland Security,' and on and on they went, and pretty soon, before you know it, he's handcuffed and slammed against a car," Brinson said. "All the children are watching, they're all upset."
After about 30 minutes, the men released Pickett.
"The part that really upsets me is all these students were watching, and that and it isn't good," Jackson said.
Pickett said he plans to sue.
"You now you hear these stories everyday and say, 'This will never happen to me,' but yesterday it happened to me," Pickett said.
"If this is Homeland Security, I think we ought to be a little afraid," Brinson said.
The central office of Homeland Security contacted Channel 4 about the incident and stated that it considers all allegations seriously and the matter has been referred to a neutral investigative entity.
Petty little people demanding respect when they deserve derision.
Pickett said he plans to sue.
**
Gee, I was truly shocked to read that sentence.
Interesting, ol' Leander is referred to as a teacher in the title, but the piece reveals that he is really a teacher's assistant-- big difference. Give me a whole lot of confidence in the honesty of the reporting.
Pretty obvious to me that the "big gun, little d*ck" syndrome is not linmited to local law enforcement
Antagonized them how? Did he speak to them without being spoken to? Forgot that he was supposed to keep his eyes downcast and accidentally made eye contact with them? Didn't say "Sir" at the beginning and end of each sentence?
The guy was handcuffed and there were no charges? Somebody got some explaining to do.
Count your blessings. The officers were looking at a map, not at the children.
Officers interfering with school traffic is better than the Homeland Security officers caught trolling for sex with minors, such as the officer caught in the Dateline sting or the Homeland Security deputy press secretary
However, Homeland Security tells a different story."
I'm sure they do.
Race Card Violin.
"Give me a whole lot of confidence in the honesty of the reporting."
There are several holes in the reporting...
Sue the sh*t out of those pathetic thugs.
I went to this elementary school for two years.
Assuming what the teachers assistant says it true...
How comforting to know we've created another goverment law enforement bureaucracy that will keep us safe from teachers assistants.
I'll sleep better tonight...
That got my attention too. I'm a lawyer with considerable experience in civil rights litigation. These guys have a problem - there are too many witnesses, and the last thing a defense attorney wants to do is cross-examine a bunch of children in front of a jury. I expect the lawsuit will be settled, the perps disciplined and this mess to be a subject of training sessions.
A friend's father had passed away and the funeral procession was heading to the cemetary. On the way, a truck driver did not move over which resulted in finger gestures and swearing from my friend's wife, directed at the truck driver.
The procession comes to a halt due to traffic, and she jumps out of the car and starts bad mouthing the driver, who in turns climbs down from the rig. With that, about 6 HL officers who were in the procession jumped out of their cars racing over to the driver with their badges shown, basically telling him to back off and get in his truck.
You never know where / when you are going to encounter HL officers.
Yes, this man is black, but he seems to be well spoken and have an excellent reputation as hard working. Then on the other hand we have "police" (HS) who are looking at a map in the way of traffic flow around buses.
I wonder what the man said that could cause handcuffing?????
I don't know WHY I would doubt the HS people's story. /sarc
A couple of bad ones in the bunch?
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