Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony used the violent 2019 arrest of an unarmed Black teenager — that was captured on video and went viral — to bolster his election campaign at the expense of a BSO sergeant who was only doing his job, a lawsuit alleges.
BSO Sergeant Gregory LaCerra filed the lawsuit in Broward County court last week against Tony and two other high-ranking BSO staff members, John Hale, a supervising captain for BSO, and Vincent Coldwell, an Internal Affairs investigator.
LaCerra alleges that Tony used him as an example of a "bad cop" in an ad during his 2020 election campaign for sheriff, despite knowing that LaCerra was in compliance with the department's use of force policy. He said he was publicly humiliated and is seeking compensation for financial damages.
“Defendants chose to cave to the court of public opinion, while Tony was running for election, and vilify [LaCerra] professionally and personally," the lawsuit states.
In a statement in response to the suit, BSO said the claims "lack merit" and that the BSO "will address the allegations in a court of law."
Violent arrest captured on viral video
LaCerra was one of two BSO deputies charged after they appeared in a video showing a Black teen, 15-year-old Delucca Rolle, being pepper-sprayed and slammed to the ground during an arrest on April 18, 2019, near J.P. Taravella Senior High School.
The arrest was captured on a cellphone video that garnered national media attention. The officers' actions were condemned by national civil rights activists.
In the video, LaCerra is seen pepper spraying the teenager and knocking him down, and then jumping on him to hold him down.
Rolle was picking up a cell phone that was dropped by another person involved in a fight. The other BSO deputy, Det. Christopher Krickovich, got on top of Delucca as he was face down and slammed his head into the ground, the video shows.
"Sgt. LaCerra had done exactly what he was trained to do, and that he had certainly not violated any BSO policy, much less broken the law," attorney Tonja Haddad Coleman wrote in the lawsuit.
READ MORE: 'Our faith is shaky': Religious leaders say Broward Sheriff misled them on arrest diversion program
According to court documents, a use-of-force expert from the BSO reviewed the footage and told Tony that the actions of LaCerra’s and Krickovich were “completely consistent” with the law enforcement agency's training instruction and policy manual.
Both deputies were eventually suspended without pay and charged criminally months after the arrest. Krickovich was later fired.
LaCerra was charged with battery and falsifying records, which were later dropped. He returned to duty shortly after the last of the charges was dropped in 2022.
A six-member jury unanimously found Krickovich not guilty of unlawfully slamming Rolle’s head into the pavement or punching him in the head. He then reached a settlement with the sheriff’s office and was reinstated with back pay last year.
Used as 'political cover'
LaCerra alleges that Tony used the controversy to “vilify” him and to help get elected. Tony was first appointed as sheriff in 2019. LaCerra has been with BSO for 24 years.
Tony used the video of the violent arrest in a 2020 campaign ad, where he states that he “fired the bad cops.”
According to the suit, he used the video in a campaign ad knowing that officers had been cleared by the Professional Standards Committee — a county oversight group made up of members of the public and law enforcement.
John Hale, a supervising captain for BSO, and Vincent Coldwell, an Internal Affairs investigator are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges there was a "conspired effort to provide Tony with political cover" by using LaCerra as an example and pushing for his prosecution.
"Defendants...intentionally made illegal, improper or perverted use of the criminal justice system process by seeking and participating in the false criminal allegations against [LaCerra]," the lawsuit states.
