((HT: Gainesville Sun))
Karen Voyles tells us that Gainesville, Florida police are opening up an investigation concerning a traffic stop involving a University of Florida baseball player ((still photo capture from GPD car camera)).
On January 24, Officer Daniel Surrency wrote an arrest report claiming he observed erratic driving before pulling over Stephen Kendall Locke Jr. Locke was subsequently charged with DUI. The state attorney's office dropped the charges in early March when the video captured on the GPD camera didn't sync up with the charge Surrency gave Locke.
But Surrency is also heard on the tape talking to another unidentified individual in his police cruiser. Surrency is heard explaining why he was calling another officer to work on the DUI case. On the video, Surrency is heard claiming the other officer's salary and equipment were being paid for by a federal grant and the department needed DUI arrests to justify having the grant renewed.
Police spokesman Keith Kameg said what Surrency said about the grant was not correct.
"We do not have a grant involving any DUI investigators," Kameg said. "In reviewing the in-car video, an issue was brought to our attention regarding statements made by the arresting office and these statements are being reviewed by our Internal Affairs Division. There is an open internal investigation into these statements, so this precludes us from discussing them."
State Attorney Bill Cervone said his office has received a few public records requests for the in-car video from defense attorneys in the Gainesville area, presumably as potential evidence in other DUI cases involving Surrency.
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