Sassoon, Alessandro

From: Sassoon, Alessandro

Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2019 1:06 PM
To: wayne.ivey@bcso.us; Goodyear, Tod
Cc: Block, Bobby; Bellaby, Mara
Subject: FLORIDA TODAY (press): In-custody death of Gregory Lloyd EDWARDS

Dear Sheriff Ivey and Tod Goodyear,

As you know, from previous correspondence, we have asked on several occasions to talk to you about the death in
custody of Gregory Lloyd Edwards. We are in the final stages of our reporting and are busy dotting i’s and crossing t’s on
our findings, which include several discrepancies and disconnects that we would like your help to better understand.

We believe your expertise and perspective can serve to clarify perceptions, better understand a scenario and more
accurately contextualize the facts of this case, and the details contained within the hundreds of pages and dozens of
audio files that your office produced as a part of your internal investigation of the in-custody death of Mr. Edwards.

A careful review of the events at the Brevard County Jail Complex in the case of Edwards indicate the violation of over a
dozen BCSO policies related to use force and the application of less than lethal force, as well as BCSO guidelines on the
escalation of force. These include policy items that determine the way in which force is applied, the considerations that
factor into that decision and policy dictating the observation of a subject by medical and non-medical personnel.
Specifically, we refer to no less than 13 items of BCSO policy under: 500.76 sections A and E; 600.07I sections A, C;
600.07K sections A, B, D; 500.08 section C.

To the this we are looking for help to answer the following:

1) Given that many of the policy violations referred to in our reporting specifically relate to the provision of
medical attention and observation following the application of force, please can you address the apparent
discrepancy between what BCSO protocols call for and what happened?

2) Can you explain why the procedures related to decontamination following the application of OC Spray appear to
have not been followed?

3) Will there be or have there been any changes in procedures in the aftermath of this tragedy?

4) Given the findings of the Staff Services Report by Agent Bracey, were there any disciplinary actions taken against
any deputies?

5) What steps has the BCSO taken or is planning to take, following the Edwards case, to avoid a similar outcome
when handling detained persons with known mental health diagnoses, especially if they are U.S. military
veterans?

6) Would you reconsider showing us the video of the event, and even going over it with us?

If your previously stated position that no comment will be provided to FLORIDA TODAY remains in effect, please advise.
But we would much prefer to understand what happened and why from your perspective.

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We fully appreciate that there are facts that may not be in our possession or a perspective we are unaware of. It is for
these reasons we seek your help in clarifying our questions. We look forward to hearing back from you soonest.

Respectfully,

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon

Investigative Reporter

PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

Mobile: 321.355.8144
Office: 321.242.3658
asassoon@floridatoday.com
www.floridatoday.com

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Sheriff’s Office response to Florida Today

The Sheriff’s Office has and will continue to be very responsive as to any public records
requests received. As you are aware, thousands of pages of records have been provided
as related to this investigation. Based upon your line of questioning it is obvious your
agenda and bias is off base from the reality of what occurred during this incident.
Therefore in an effort to help clarify your misunderstanding and potential
misrepresentation of the facts, the following response is provided:
“The Brevard County Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Mr. Edwards’ death
was excited delirium, which in turn was brought on by previous medical diagnosis, a
history of Mr. Edwards’ abuse of chemical inhalants and the fact that Mr. Edwards
violently attacked and aggressively resisted restraints applied to protect himself and
others from his violent actions, which included verbal commands, human interaction,
handcuffs, leg shackles, marked patrol unit transport, holding cell, and physical
interaction, beginning at approximately 11:13 a.m. until approximately 2:23 p.m.
Approximately three hours and ten minutes of continuous unlawful, aggressive physical
exertion in an attempt to attack, resist and defeat restraint efforts.
The unprovoked crimes committed by Mr. Edwards were serious in nature, he was an
ongoing and continuous threat to citizens, officers and deputies and he actively attacked
and resisted arrest. The actions of Mr. Edwards necessitated the response to his
resistance with the use of force to gain control of him. After a thorough review of all facts,
this use of force was found by the State Attorney to be lawful, appropriate and reasonable.
The policy violations you allude to were directly the result of jail personnel having to
respond to the extremely violent and aggressive resistance by Mr. Edwards. Given the
findings of the Brevard County Medical Examiner, our agency is absolutely confident that
none of the policy violations found in the policy review played a role in Mr. Edwards’
death.
The use of response to resistance techniques to include OC spray to gain control of Mr.
Edwards, who had violently attacked and then resisted Correction Deputies, was entirely
reasonable and lawful. As reflected in the policy review findings, the agency has taken
corrective action to address noted policy violations. It is important to emphasize again,
however, that based on the findings of the State Attorney and the Medical Examiner, it is
clear that those policy violations did not cause the death of Mr. Edwards. Rather, it was
Mr. Edwards’ own actions, which included the violent unprovoked attack of a citizen, the
active and physical resistance to a citizen in their efforts to restrain his continued violence,
the active and physical resistance to the West Melbourne Police Department who applied
use of force techniques to gain his control, his physical actions during his restraint and
transport to the Brevard County Jail, and the violent unprovoked attack of a Correctional
Deputy who was performing his lawful duties, which all necessitated a response to
resistance use of force.
As clearly reflected in the reports, the four deputies who were found to have committed
policy violations received Formal Letters of Reprimand, however it is very clear and
evident that the deputies’ response to resistance actions were necessitated by Mr.
Edwards’ violent attack on a Corrections Deputy and the subsequent efforts to control
him. Those efforts were found by the State Attorney to be reasonable and justified in
response to Mr. Edwards’ actions.
Mr. Edwards’ wife did not advise law enforcement until after the incident about the full
extent of Mr. Edwards’ criminal and mental concerns, including his abuse of chemical
inhalants or his previous unprovoked attack on health care and security personnel prior
to his attack on the worker collecting Christmas toys for a children’s charity. The fact that
he was a veteran of course adds to the tragic nature of the outcome, but does not change
the fact that Mr. Edwards’ own violent conduct and actions led to his arrest, detention,
transportation to the jail, and his subsequent medical problems.
As previously explained to your counsel, the agency is constrained by public records and
confidentiality laws and cannot release video from the jail.”