The Sarasota Sheriff's office was sued by two local residents for an August 10th arrest in a case involving a false arrest and excessive force by a newly hired Deputy. The Deputy, Robert Kramer had been fired by the Cocoa police department for an alleged assault.

Unfortunately, there seems to be no review of the history of applicants.  Some officers have a history of excessive force and police brutality and the Sheriff's department really needs to screen the applicants better.

In this case, a man was pulled from his car at his own home, beaten and tasered.  He had to hire a Sarasota criminal defense attorney, post bond and suffered damage to his reputation.  When you are arrested, you mug shot becomes public record it really does damage your reputation and standing in the community

Although the criminal charges were dropped by the Sarasota State Attorney, the damage to the man's reputation will stay forever.  If you have ever been falsely arrested or have been the subject of the use of excessive force by an officer, you can surely appreciate how devastating a false arrest case can be.

As a Sarasota criminal defense lawyer over the years I have seen hundreds of cases of excessive force.  In most cases, the arresting officer charges the person arrested with resisting arrest with violence to justify his own use of excessive force.  In some cases to cover their own police misconduct, they will also charge the crime of battery on a law enforcement officer, a serious felony.  Hiring a good lawyer can make a difference in many cases as in this one.  If you have comments, you can post your own blog or you can contact my office for a free consultation.