Sheriff Denies Race Involved In Derrick Price Arrest
No new information was revealed about the August 2014 arrest of Derrick Price by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at a Thursday press conference, but the sheriff did say the arrest wasn’t race related.
The press conference comes on the heels of former Marion County deputy Jesse Terrell being indicted Wednesday for the incident.
Terrell, along with four other officers, were investigated in the aftermath of their arrest of Price on a drug-related warrant.
At the press conference, Sheriff Chris Blair described the occurrence as an isolated incident that has nothing to do with race. Price is black, and all five officers captured in the video are white.
There is no trend of white officers attacking black people, Blair said. “These are individuals making poor decisions.”
Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn said after the press conference that Price’s arrest was planned ahead of time, but the way it was carried out wasn’t something the sheriff could have predicted.
Guinn said police are trained but not to do what is seen in the video.
Blair has been handling the situation effectively, Guinn said.
Blair said he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the incident, and all evidence was turned over to FDLE.
“We wanted immediate action,” said Dennis Bustle, special agent at FDLE. “And Blair wanted it done right.”
Programs, including body cameras, are being discussed to increase the transparency within the sheriff’s office, Blair said.
The sheriff said he hopes that the decisions of a few individuals do not tarnish the reputation of the sheriff’s office.
“MCSO has no tolerance for this kind of behavior,” he said. “It was very disheartening. … Without integrity, we have nothing.”
See there's nothing to see here everybody.. The Saltine Sheriff has declared there is no racism involved in this situation.. And you know that the cops will always tell truth in cases like this.. They would never lie in serious situation like this.. If racism was a factor they would be upfront honest about it..The good honest police would never ever lie about race not being issue in order to protect their police departments.. Never Ever.. And if you believe they would lie.. You must be an evil Race Baiter you know the people who are real true racists in this country.. Sarcasm off...
