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SHERIFF'S INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OF FUGITIVE DROWNING PROMPTS ACTIVIST TO REQUEST FORMAL REVIEW BY STATE & FEDERAL OFFICES
Hunter's Lake, Spring Hill, Hernando/Pasco Counties, FLORIDA: Tuesday, December 8, 2009:
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Activist says New Eyewitnesses' Accounts Incriminates Sheriff Department of Flawed/Sloppy Chase and Pilot's Deadly Actions // Helicopter Video "Not Used"
Pilot Admits to "Being 3 feet above water surface," Six feet from Fugitive, Knocking off hat, and Saying Kayak 'Could Have Flipped into Air' from Velocity of Rotor Blades
The Internal Affairs investigation of the Hernando County Sheriff's actions in fugitive James "Little Man" Rayford's drowning on Hunter's Lake on September 10, 2009, while clearing its' own department of any culpability, includes numerous statements by a collection of new eyewitnesses, deputies and bondspeople, raising serious questions about the two sheriff departments' innocence. If anything, the new information, according to an activist, "incriminates the two departments in causing Mr. Rayford's death."
According to a local Hunter Lake resident, Brian Moore, the new eyewitness accounts in the internal Hernando County Sheriff's report "substantiates the first eyewitnesses' reports" which Moore originally referred to the sheriffs' departments, despite their subsequent backtracking and denials.
Moore said, even the pilot's recorded comments in the official report (see below), and other eyewitnesses accounts (also see below), "gives clear evidence" and substantiate the first reported personal eyewitness reports that the helicopter pilot "could have easily caused the fleeing fugitive's death" by his "deliberate actions" with the air unit. Moore said "one could easily surmise" that the pilot was flying a large helicopter machine too low and was hovering its powerful rotating blades too close over the fugitive in a small kayak boat, before, during and after Mr. Rayford disappeared below the water. The pilot appears to have been menacing, hovering and pushing his machine near the fugitive, and, by the pilot's own admission about the strength and power of the velocity of the rotor blades, Moore said the pilot could have "caused Rayford's boat to flip, causing him to fall out of the kayak, be forced under the water several times and subsequently to cause his drowning"
The local activist and critic of the helicopter pilot's "irresponsible actions," and of the "entire sloppy and ill-prepared fugitive chase" by the Hernando and Pasco county Sheriff departments, wrote formal letters of complaint Tuesday to the State of Florida officials (Governor Charlie Crist, State Attorney General Bill McCollum, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida District Attorneys Office) and to federal government officials (the FBI and the United States Justice Department's US Attorney General Eric Holder). Moore said he is "requesting investigations of the two county sheriff departments," and of the need to "put all official participants and eyewitnesses under oath," in order to "determine culpability of their procedures; plus, most importantly, who caused Mr. Rayford's death."
Moore further questioned in his letters why the Hernando County Sheriff department "did not operate" a helicopter video camera "that was apparently fastened in the helicopter" during the chase on Hunter's Lake. In a "sheriff's e-mail" to Spring Hill resident Dennis Purdy, dated Thursday, December 3, 2009, it was explained by someone in the sheriff's department (anonymously) that "Due to the fact the helicopter was occupied only by the pilot, there was no one to operate the camera." The e-mail further went on to say: "According to dispatch records, no units [automobile we presume] on the scene were equipped with video cameras." "Only 19 units in the agency are equipped with video cameras." [end of sheriff's e-mail]
The civic activist said he is enclosing CD's of the entire governmental "redacted" report, in his mailings to the respective state and federal agencies.
---END---
Following are a collection of some selective quotes from the various eyewitnesses, deputies and bondspersons, as mostly recorded by Sergeant Reid, as to what they witnessed on September 10, 2009, on the chase and death of fugitive James Rayford on Hunter's Lake, Hernando County, Florida.
[Key elements of the statements are underlined; plus clarifying words are put in brackets [ ] by this writer.]
1) Diane Samek, 6100 Kimball Court (one of the eyewitnesses who did acknowledge to Moore that she observed what happened initially, but refused to talk about specifics as subsequently reported in his own notes to the sheriff and press).
According to Sgt. Kathleen Reid's summary report, Ms. Samek subsequently called Reid and then Ms. Samek wrote in a hand-written report to the sergeant that "There were 7 or 8 officers going down to our lakefront." "I noticed a black male in our neighbor's blue kayak heading out into the lake."......."Two bail bondsmen approached and informed me they were pursing an extremely dangerous fugitive. " "They asked me if they could use our boat and I explained my husband had the key and was at work."
Ms. Samek continued in her note......"I noticed an officer was wading into the water to get into another small boat at our neighbor's lakefront."
[Why did the sheriff's department need to use a resident's boat? Were they not prepared? Another detective stated that they observed the fugitive running back to the kayak in the lake after leaving his equipment between two houses]
Ms. Samek stated further that ..."the helicopter was circling the blue kayak. He would hover above the suspect-----then circle." "I saw this occur several times." "Mr. Radford [misspelled] "stood up when the helicopter was directly above him. (6-8 foot)."
Samek continued in her note, "The officer asked me another question. I looked away and when I returned my head Mr. Radford was in the water." "The velocity of the wind blew the kayak to the island edge." "I never saw him surface again."
[end of Samek's hand-written note].
2) Coordinator [Helicopter Pilot] Michael Coburn: Sergeant Reid's summary report stated that "Coburn advised he positioned himself, hovered and motioned for Mr. Rayford to head to shore."....."Coburn stated he was hovering about six feet over the water and was about seventy-five feet away from Rayford with the pilot's position toward Mr. Rayford." ..... "Coburn stated by [after] the third time he motioned to Mr. Rayford to return to shore and [but] he shook his head no. Mr. Rayford was getting into the area of his rotor wash and Mr. Raeford's hat blew off."
Sergeant Reid then stated that later in the interview "I questioned Coordinator Coburn if someone would be able to swim in the rotor wash and he stated he believed they would."
Reid continued writing, Coburn stated "Rayford was still paddling at that time, he [Rayford] was about 15 feet from the helicopter and he deliberately went off the right side of the kayak." Reid then said that "Coburn advised Mr. Rayford began swimming under water toward the helicopter, came up directly under the helicopter, went under and was swimming again but the water was so murky he couldn't see him."
Coburn then said "Rayford swam on top of the water a short period then it appeared he was trying to walk on the bottom of the lake from the path of silt that was kicked up." Then Coburn said "he then saw a large area of murky water, 50 by 50 foot, and it was his opinion Rayford became disoriented and ended up on the bottom of the lake."
Coburn estimated that "the closest he was over the surface of the lake was about three feet, and approximately 10 to 15 feet away from him." "Once Rayford was no longer in the kayak, he [Pilot Coburn] may have been 'a couple of feet' [two feet?] off the surface of the lake."
Sergeant Reid then wrote: "I [Sgt. Reid] informed him [Pilot Coburn] there had been witnesses that indicated the wind from the rotors flipped the kayak and he stated "it may have, because the kayak is very light." "
Reid said that Coburn further stated that "the skids of his helicopter never touched Mr. Rayford, the kayak or the surface of the water." Coburn said it would have been a safety issue due to "dynamic rollover." Coburn also told Reid that due to aerodynamics, one skid hangs lower than the other skid...and would have rolled over the helicopter if it touched the water.
3) Frank Kapocsi, who resides at 6126 Kimball Court: Mr. Kapocsi said he saw the helicopter "fly over the lake, [and] circle the subject on the kayak." "He observed the helicopter fly around the subject in the kayak approximately 6-10 feet above the water." "The helicopter circled the kayak 360 degrees and flew over top of the subject in the kayak." "Mr. Kapocsi advised that he felt that the pilot was attempting to move the subject, in the kayak, back to land." ...."he then realized that he should be photographing the incident therefore he ran back to the house to obtain his camera"...."when he returned he observed the subject from the kayak in the water and the kayak flipped over." [Sgt. Reid has copies of Kapocsi's photos and is making them available upon request].
Sgt. Reid further stated, "Mr. Kapocsi advised that the helicopter flipped the subject over with the wash from the helicopter blades."
Sergeant Reid then stated, "I asked him if he had observed the helicopter flip the subject in the kayak into the water and he stated that he did not actually see it occur because he ran inside the house for his camera, however, he assumed that the helicopter flipped the kayak over." I [Reid] again confirmed if he had observed the incident and he stated that he did not actually observe the subject in the kayak flip into the water. He reiterated that he observed the helicopter flying around the subject in the kayak, ran to the house for his camera, and when he returned the subject was in the water and the kayak was flipped over. He advised that he assumed that the helicopter flipped the kayak.
[note: while Sgt.. Reid asked Kapocsi repeatedly if he saw the actual flipping, and Kapocsi said no, Mr. Kapocsi did say at the end that the "the kayak was flipped over."]
4) Detective Bettineshi: "Detective Bettineshi advised that the air unit responded to the lake approximately 6-10 feet from the kayak and was attempting to have Mr. Rayford return to the shore line."...." One of the Pasco County detectives, Detective Natoli, , yelled to him that Rayford was in the water." "Detective Bettineshi advised that he did not see Mr. Rayford go in the water because he was busy on the radio"...."he requested the response of EMS and contacted the [State of Florida] Marine Unit who advised they were in route with a Zodiac boat." ......."he observed Mr. Rayford surface one time and heard Coordinator Coburn advise over the radio that Mr. Rayford was swimming."
5) Jeannie Catalde from EZ Out Bail Bonds: "She advised that the sheriff's office helicopter responded to the lake where the pilot attempted to re-direct Mr. Rayford back to the shore line." "She advised that the pilot was flying around Mr. Rayford."
"She stated that she could not really give an estimation of how high the pilot was flying off the water, but advised that the water was kicked up by the rotors." "...Mr. Rayford then jumped into the water and was attempting to swim to the island." "She observed Mr. Rayford came up for air several times, and then she did not see him surface anymore."
LETTER TO GOVERNOR CHARLIE CRIST
Brian P. Moore
5559 Cactus Circle
Spring Hill [Hernando County], Florida 34606
[Greater Tampa Bay Metro Area]
Tel: 352-686-9936
Cell: 352-585-2907
E-mail: brianmor@tampabay.rr.com
December 8, 2009
Honorable Charlie Crist
Governor
State of Florida
501 S. Calhoun St, # 311
Tallahassee, FL 32399-6548
Dear Governor Crist:
The Internal Affairs Department of the Hernando County Sheriff's Department in Florida recently concluded its formal investigation of its department’s actions in fugitive James "Little Man" Rayford's drowning on Hunter's Lake on September 10, 2009.
The investigation’s conclusion cleared its' own department of any culpability in the fugitive chase and in his subsequent drowning. However, the investigative document also includes numerous statements by a collection of eyewitnesses, deputies and bonds people, raising serious questions about the two sheriff departments' innocence and responsibility in the matter. If anything, the new information, according to our citizens’ assessment on the information provided, appears to incriminate the two county sheriff departments in causing Mr. Rayford's death.
Since the county’s investigation is complete, it is our understanding that if citizens are not satisfied with the sheriff department’s own conclusion, we are now entitled to take our case to the next level, to both state and federal agencies.
Therefore, this letter is to formally request your state offices, and the appropriate state agencies, to investigate the two county Sheriff Departments of Hernando and Pasco Counties. We request that your agencies determine the causal factors of the county sheriff pursuit procedures; plus, and more importantly, to determine if the sheriffs’ departments caused Mr. Rayford's subsequent drowning and death because of their irresponsible actions. It is our hope that either state or federal investigations of this matter will obligate all official participants and eyewitnesses be put under oath to determine the facts.
Even the pilot's recorded comments in the official report (see below), and other eyewitnesses accounts (also see below), gives clear evidence and substantiates the first reported personal eyewitness reports that the helicopter pilot could have easily caused the fleeing fugitive's death by the pilot’s deliberate actions" with the air unit. One could easily surmise that the pilot was flying a large helicopter machine too low and was hovering its powerful rotating blades too close over the fugitive in a small kayak boat, before, during and after Mr. Rayford disappeared below the water.
The pilot also appears, from eyewitness statements, as well as his own, to have been menacing, hovering and pushing his machine near the fugitive, and, by the pilot's own admission, acknowledging the strength and power and velocity of the rotor blades on the victim. It is our feeling that the pilot could have made Rayford's boat flip, causing him to fall out of the kayak, be forced under the water several times and subsequently to have caused his drowning.
The helicopter pilot's actions appear to make him responsible for the fugitive’s drowning. Plus, the manner of the sheriffs’ preparation, pursuit and chase of the fugitive appears to have been sloppy, ill-prepared and executed poorly. One would have thought that any of the deputies on the lakeside would have apprehended the fugitive when he arrived on shore, pursued him in a boat, or, at the very least, would have jumped into the water to swim and try and save him as he went beneath the waters.
We further question why the Hernando County Sheriff department did not operate a helicopter video camera that was apparently fastened in the helicopter during the entire chase on Hunter's Lake.
We are enclosing CD's of the entire governmental "redacted” report, and you should be able to obtain other miscellaneous photos and documents from the Hernando County Sheriff Department. Should you have any questions, you can contact me at 352-686-9936, or on my cell phone at 352-585-2907.
I am submitting this request as an individual citizen, but am prepared to take this matter to other citizens or to our local civic and community groups who have similar concerns in order to provide more substantial petitioning on the matter.
Sincerely,
Brian P. Moore
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*Translation provided by babelfish.altavista.com