Neighborhood President Handcuffed
Randall ( a.k.a Bear) Klett is mighty pissed.
Randall is the President of the Middle River Terrace neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale ( I actually founded the neighborhood group back in 1993).
Randall is also the owner of one of the largest leather gear providers nationally. His business is called LeatherWerks, and let's just say the Village People probably shop there!
Bear ( in uniform)
Anyhow, here is the story of why Randall is so mightily pissed:
Randall and his partner eat at the California Pizza Kitchen a few nights ago. They arrive back home, after ten, and realize that his partner had left his cell phone at the restaurant.
The partner rushes back to the restaurant, gets the phone and heads back home.
He's nearly home ( they live behind the Leatherwerks store on NE 4th Ave., a few blocks north of Home Depot), when multiple Police Cars fall in line behind the partner.
The partner is new to the area, nervous, and calls Randall to tell him he is being pulled over. The partner is pulling in to the Leatherwerk store's parking lot at the time.
Randall jumps out of the shower and pulls a towel around him, throws on his flip flops and darts out his back door. He tells the Police that his partner belongs there, that this is his business, and his house, that all is good.
The Police tell him to go away or he will be arrested.
Randall says that this is his property, that he's not leaving!
Next thing you know - Randall's wearing the metal bracelets!
But what happens next is the real clincher - Randall's towel falls off, and he is left threadless in his own business parking lot ( and, it's a tad chilly!)
Turns out, the Police thought Randall's partner was looking for drugs. They called the K-9 Squad out, and there was no indication of drugs.
But, according to Randall, the Police weren't quite finished - they write his partner a ticket for " obstructed tag" on his 2010 Mercedes.
the tag - picture taken by Randall the next day
The Police release Randall, and leave. Randall says he understands DWB (driving while black) better now, as his partner was a victim of DWW ( in an historically known area where whites drive in looking for drugs)
Randall sent a sharply worded e-mail the next day to the Police Chief, the Mayor, the Manager and others.
He wants apologies. He wants the ticket quashed.
I'll keep you informed.
Randall is the President of the Middle River Terrace neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale ( I actually founded the neighborhood group back in 1993).
Randall is also the owner of one of the largest leather gear providers nationally. His business is called LeatherWerks, and let's just say the Village People probably shop there!
Bear ( in uniform)
Anyhow, here is the story of why Randall is so mightily pissed:
Randall and his partner eat at the California Pizza Kitchen a few nights ago. They arrive back home, after ten, and realize that his partner had left his cell phone at the restaurant.
The partner rushes back to the restaurant, gets the phone and heads back home.
He's nearly home ( they live behind the Leatherwerks store on NE 4th Ave., a few blocks north of Home Depot), when multiple Police Cars fall in line behind the partner.
The partner is new to the area, nervous, and calls Randall to tell him he is being pulled over. The partner is pulling in to the Leatherwerk store's parking lot at the time.
Randall jumps out of the shower and pulls a towel around him, throws on his flip flops and darts out his back door. He tells the Police that his partner belongs there, that this is his business, and his house, that all is good.
The Police tell him to go away or he will be arrested.
Randall says that this is his property, that he's not leaving!
Next thing you know - Randall's wearing the metal bracelets!
But what happens next is the real clincher - Randall's towel falls off, and he is left threadless in his own business parking lot ( and, it's a tad chilly!)
Turns out, the Police thought Randall's partner was looking for drugs. They called the K-9 Squad out, and there was no indication of drugs.
But, according to Randall, the Police weren't quite finished - they write his partner a ticket for " obstructed tag" on his 2010 Mercedes.
the tag - picture taken by Randall the next day
The Police release Randall, and leave. Randall says he understands DWB (driving while black) better now, as his partner was a victim of DWW ( in an historically known area where whites drive in looking for drugs)
Randall sent a sharply worded e-mail the next day to the Police Chief, the Mayor, the Manager and others.
He wants apologies. He wants the ticket quashed.
I'll keep you informed.
tim,
i was pulled over 2 days ago and the police officer asked why i wasn't wearing my seat belt. he then asked if i had a sig in my vehicle....i have a sticker on my truck that says "got sig?". well a sig is a high end semi automatic pistol brand. it is also my dog who passed 1 year ago and i named my business after him 7 years ago. that officer was poking around because he thought i was "carrying"....so much for that sticker...it's off now. if the police pull you over for what you have on your vehicle then what's next? this reminds me of the old faux florida license plate that read "arrive stoned", a play on the florida tag that originally read "arrive alive". many people got pulled over so they could see if indeed you were high!
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It does seem all police officers these days have never learned the definition of a Terry Stop. LE cannot search or appear to search your vehicle if you were pulled over a simple traffic violation. You can look up the legal on it, but its a very intricate and important "legal" aspect that is paramount to your rights as a citizen. Think of it this way, some poor guy took it all the way to the Supreme Court and won in a momentus decision to ensure the average citizen was protected against rogue cops looking opportunities to enhance traffic violations. Under no circumstances do you give permission to search your car after being pulled over for minor traffic infractions! Forget the comebacks "if you have nothing to hide, ya got nothing to worry about" mindset. Not in this day and age. The odds are for every good cop, there is a bad one and you never know which one YOUR gonna get on any given day. Another way to look at it, most of us deep down dont give a damn about what happens to bad guys, but with FLPD embroiled in planting evidence and all the other misconduct cases involving police officers how much of a stretch is it to figure if cops will circumvent the law when it comes down to bad guys, how much of a reach is it to do it to YOU. Somewhere, somehow there has been a huge breakdown in police protocol and interaction with the public. It has done alot of damage to South Florida and police reputations. Somewhere between the police academy and the public's interactions with LE there is a HUGE breakdown. Chief Adderley seems to be the common denominator in FLPD. This guy is out of his league and over his head. If I was pulled over tomorrow? I would ask for a supervisor "on site" ..maybe if the public does that enough times? FLPD will get the message the public is fearful of them.
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yes you are correct. thanks for posting.
it costs money to defend yourself and hire a lawyer even when innocent.
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Tim you write a great story. You told a very troubling story in a funny way. You forgot the part about the fact that I was not cooperating in this blog post because I've already created enough havock with the email to Chief Adderley et al.
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It's a tough job for the Police. We want them to take the criminals off our streets, but treat us with respect. I guess good training is the key. If the Police did wrong, they should be disciplined.
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If they had Community Policing there is a better change the Officers would know the good guys and just might avoid some of these issues
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I am astounded that the FLPD didn't recognize Bear as an active crime-fighter and community activist. Nobody on patrol recognized his business or his home address? This is truly a bizarre event.
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Nice car. Could that have made some 'take notice?'
I see Lighthouse Points residents get a sticker they specificly locate on the bumper to indicate they live their. Not that you won't get pulled over but guess it lets them know the car resides there.
Upstate in The Villages, cars get a 'front plate' for their vehicles.
Mentioning only to indicate thats what other places do.
could all thats transpired since the 12/14 street rumble be making the officers more vigilant after dark?
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Ok, so its the police is fault that the tag was expired. its the police fault that randall shows up almost bare ass. Its the police faultthatu have parties every week. Itsthe Police is fault that you and your partner are a mess. Next.
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Robert, you couldn't be more right. We all want the police to do their job, but when they try to conduct an investigation, members of the community get mad when its one of their own. If you want the police to do their jobs and clean up the neighborhood then you have to let them do their job without interfering. If you make complaints on the officers in your neighborhood when they are trying to investigate potential crimes, then they will be afraid to do their job because of complaints.
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Robert: No where in this story do I read where it says the vehicle tag was expired. You made that up just so you'd have something to say or what? And Brian you couldn't be more wrong. For years "Bear" has been a good citizen of our city and runs a legitimate business. To say they're "a mess" just shows this audience how little you know about what you are talking about.
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This is exactly what happens when inept patrol officers are promoted up through the ranks and are only concerned with their own careers! Extremely poor first line supervisors who are stuck in the office doing Lts & Capts work for them, instead of being on the road. There's a reason they call them road supervisors. People, it's time for you to DEMAND A CHANGE.
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It looks like the license plate has a clear cover over it. These covers obscure the 3-D quality of the plate and also reduces the reflective quality of the the tag and causes glare. That is why they are illegal.
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Bear looks like the Monopoly guy.
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funny!
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Based on your story, Randall was clearly unarmed. I get that there might be some adrenaline flowing when the police pull someone over, but that's where training is also suppose to kick in. An officer is questioning a person they've stopped in a residential/commercial area, another person comes out of an adjacent home unarmed saying I live here, I know this person, he belongs here, and the police threaten an arrest? Honestly, why not escort him back inside to get an ID and sort the matter out with some civility towards the good folks paying these officers salaries. It sounds to me like profiling, that the officers thought they had a drug dealer on their hands and weren't going to listen to anything else. It all comes back to training and knowing the community which you patrol. If Randell, as someone noted, is involved in community policing then a double shame on the police department. I find this whole incident infuriating and deeply troubling.
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Seriously the cops cant win and then you wonder why some get frustrated or worse apathetic.
Look at the title to this story "Neighborhood President Handcuffed" it is certainly implied to me that this person should have been accorded some deference or implies the old saying "do you know who I am".
Some guy comes running out in a towl demanding this and demanding that. The cops cant know who every resident is. So (gasp) they treated him like everyone else and asked him to stay away until the investigation is completed.
During the skirmish aka the Watts Riot in MRT everyone complained the cops were lacakdasical and not aggressive. Now, they are aggressive investigating potental criminal activity and they get slammed.
There appears to have been a legal law violation hence the probably cause for a stop. If this person is doing nothing wrong then it seems simple, cooperate with police, let them do their job and if you are doing nothing wrong you will be sent on your way. Unless you are a partner to the President, then the rules should be shoved aside and just set him free.
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Don't understand how you think that the "Watts Riot" has any parallel to this story whatsoever. In once case, there is a mob of people in the middle of the street, fighting, blocking traffic, and causing a public nuisance. In this case, it's a guy driving from a restaurant back to his home, minding his own business, the only apparently thing he does wrong is potentially have something possibly wrong with his license plate cover (if that's even a violation at all), and four police cruisers drop in behind him? Come on??!! You really think one story justifies the same police reaction as the other?
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Totally disagree with your post and your logic! OK, so maybe there was some probable cause for a stop, if you're nit-picky enough to be concerned about a cover on a license plate that perhaps 40% of drivers have on their cars. Why this one car? And was it really necessary for 4 police cruisers to do the stopping? And since when is it OK for police to handcuff you when doing nothing wrong standing on your own property? I read nowhere in this story where it's suggested that because the partner is the President of the neighborhood association that this stop shouldn't have happened. But to harass the two of them, President of the neighborhood association or not, for driving home from a restaurant after picking up a cell phone seems a bit harsh by anyone's standards, don't you think?
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It was has always been the same in SMRCA and MRT .... Leave the gays and white urban pioneers alone and investigate the darkies.... Once the police realize what the rules are the problems will go away.
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