Sheriff's office did not investigate deputy whose statements did not match surveillance
Devan PatelPublic records show the Collier County Sheriff's Office failed to conduct a formal investigation into the actions and statements of a deputy at the heart of a federal lawsuit alleging unlawful arrest and excessive use of force.
Fabiano Pinto filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office last month, claiming 15 violations of his civil rights protected by the First, 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Pinto was arrested on felony battery of a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor disorderly intoxication charges in December 2017 after deputies accused him of punching Cpl. Matthew Kinney in the chest outside Cavo Lounge in North Naples.
Despite the charges being dropped and the state attorney's office noting how the surveillance footage did not match Kinney's sworn deposition, no internal affairs investigation was ever conducted, according to the Professional Responsibility Bureau's "resume" for Kinney.
Previous reporting:Federal lawsuit claims wrongful arrest, false statements by Collier County Sheriff's deputies
Along with the accusations of wrongful arrest and excessive use of force, the lawsuit alleges the charges were "predicated on the false, misleading or incomplete information forwarded by the defendants."
In the arrest report and during a deposition, Kinney said he was attempting to step between Pinto and general manager Jason Buro after claiming to see Pinto swing at Buro's face. Although it was written that Pinto punched Kinney, he said he didn't recall whether he was struck in with an open- or closed-first, according to the deposition transcript.
Surveillance footage from the Mercato obtained by the Daily News also does not support several statements Kinney, other deputies and Buro made about the incident.
In the video, Pinto waves to someone inside Cavo and he was multiple body-lengths away from Buro before the altercation happened. The video also does not support Kinney's statements about stepping in between Buro and Pinto or the type of contact made between him and Pinto.
Assistant State Attorney Garrett Cutler notated the discrepancies between Kinney's statements and the video in writing that the deposition "does not match the surveillance footage" and that the video "did not corroborate the (victim's) story very well."
The video also doesn't capture Pinto touching Kinney. Pinto did admit to making contact in his lawsuit, but only as a reactionary measure after Kinney violently struck him, causing him to fall into his sister-in-law.
Cutler described that sequence of the video in the case notes as Kinney spearing Pinto through the crowd.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office issued a statement to the Daily News indicating no complaint was filed based on the incident or discrepancies in the depositions.
"The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has never been notified of misconduct our members relative to depositions or any other matter involving this case and there has been no PRB complaint filed," CCSO spokeswoman Michelle Batten wrote in an email to the Naples Daily News. "There is a lot more to this incident than is represented in the plaintiff’s allegations and at the conclusion of the litigation we will review policies and procedures, as has always been our practice."
Elements of crimes not met
The case notes also revealed that at least two of the four elements of the felony crime alleged were not met.
According to the state's standard jury instructions for a felony battery of a law enforcement charge, prosecutors must prove:
- intentional touching or striking
- visible uniform or emblem identifying the law enforcement officer
- the accused knew of the victim's position as law enforcement officer
- the victim was engaged in performance of law enforcement duties
During depositions, multiple witnesses said the contact was accidental. The incident also happened so quickly and with a number of people around that it was impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Pinto knew Kinney was an officer, Cutler wrote.
As for the disorderly intoxication charge, neither the police report or depositions make note the consumption of alcohol. Prosecutors would also have to prove that public safety was endangered, which Cutler noted there was no evidence to prove that assertion.
Whether there was probable cause for the arrest will be one of the main points of contention if the suit goes to trial. The evidentiary standards for making an arrest on probable are much less to convict a person of a crime.
ICYMI:Collier EMS failed to take employee off shift after hospitalization for knife incident
Lawsuit's other allegation
Pinto said he endured physical pain in his shoulders and arms as a result of excessive force. He also said deputies ignored his complaints about the tightness of the handcuffs more than 15 times for one hour until they were removed.
Pinto reported numbness in his fingers for three days as well as swelling, redness and lacerations to his wrists.
Allegations of excessive use of force are also not new for Kinney.
Records from the Professional Responsibility Bureau show he has previously been accused of excessive force or abusing prisoners in custody on four occasions. None of the internal affairs allegations sustained the charges.
Kinney was also named in another federal lawsuit, which is ongoing, in which he was accused of deploying his taser on a sleeping person. Kinney's account of the events in an arrest report stated the person attacked him first.
There is also a pending internal affairs investigation against Kinney for insubordination.
The lawsuit contends the county was negligent in the hiring, supervision and retention of the deputies and several supervisors failed to intervene by approving the arrest.
Along with Kinney, the lawsuit specifically names Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and deputies Joshua Campolo, Adam Dillman, Steve Maholtz, Frank Pisano, Becki Thoman, Jay Mulholland and James Byers as defendants.
SLR Naples, which operates Cavo Lounge, owner Stergios Tallides and Buro were also named in the lawsuit.
Legal counsel Chief Michael Hedberg previously issued a statement to the Daily News in which he stated the sheriff's office did not believe deputies actions were inappropriate.
ICYMI:Marco Island police officer placed on paid leave pending investigation
More:Change in autopsy report draws criticism in case of Copeland man connected to father's death