Community Activist Records Officer At Courthouse As A Payback

Someone who's actively involved in a protest or a political or social cause can be called an activist. Demonstrations, strikes, and sit-ins are all ways that an activist might work toward the change she or he believes in. This video is about a brave guy who fought about his beliefs and the changes he wanted to make in his community.Show more

He believes that River County sheriff's office should wear body cams. This increase was necessary to provide protection for the elementary schools in their county. Any increase in the budget is dedicated to this increased requirement by way of hiring, training, and retaining deputies to fill these new positions. However, things didn’t go as planned. For supporting his beliefs he got falsely arrested.

Some time in 2016, this guy was arrested by a rookie police officer under false charges. Almost two years later, the man sees Corporeal Lacy Thomas in the courthouse. His thought right then and there was to record this verbal exchange. Albeit one-sided.

He shows us the hallways inside the Indian River County courthouse. First, he makes sure it is alright for him to record there, asking the lieutenant if it is ok. “You are it’s a public area,” the permission has been given. The man then asks if it is okay to record any officer that he likes and he receives an affirmative answer, to which he then turns to record the officer that had him placed in jail all those years ago, standing right across the lieutenant.

We are quickly introduced to the colorful history these two have. When he asks officer Lacy is she has any comments on the corruption of their own sheriff’s office, she stands there silent. Even when he asks her if she would like to apologize to him for having him falsely arrested, officer Lacy says nothing. Still, he goes on to comment how she still fails to follow policy.

The charges against this activist were dropped when the court discovered Officer Lacy Thomas sent the wrong information. An incriminating voicemail was provided as evidence, but it turned out that such voicemail did not exist. This malpractice cost Thomas her job, landing her at the courthouse. Apparently, she was in shock to find out she held a new position, as this man exposed her wrongdoings.

"I am a local community activist that is pushing for our Indian River County sheriff's office to wear body cams. After the sheriff walked off stage at the last budget hearing, I began being the watchdog for locals civil rights. I became a target for doing so once I sued the sheriff's office. During 2016, I was falsely arrested by a rookie cop. I saw her in the courthouse and I thought it would be a good idea to record the exchange. Cops hate to be recorded when they lack transparency, I recorded the exchange and the rest is history,” he says about his experience.

He made this video on May 15, 2018 / Vero Beach, Florida, USA. We think he is so brave and that he gives people hope to fight for their rights!