U.S.

Department of Justice
Office of the United States Attorney
Southern District of Florida

99 N.E. 4 Street
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 961-9100 - Telephone

May 6, 2024

VIA EMAIL: smallj@stluciesheriff.com

Mr. Joseph “J.D.” Small

General Counsel
Keith Pearson, St. Lucie County Sheriff
4700 W. Midway Road
Fort Pierce, FL 34981

Good morning, Mr. Small:

Thank you for your email and for all that you do, as being General Counsel for any
governmental unit undoubtedly involves dealing with difficult issues.

Law Enforcement Coordination Meetings (LECM) provide an invaluable opportunity to

engage with law enforcement leadership across the district on our shared principles and common
mission. On January 4 of this year, I attended my third LECM, this time in Fort Pierce, with law
enforcement leadership from across the northern region of the district. The attendees included
Sheriff Keith Pearson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. It was during this meeting that I
had the honor and pleasure to first meet Sheriff Pearson, along with Chiefs and Sheriffs from the
area, and federal agency partners.

I opened the LECM by expressing our shared commitment to protecting the public. I
broadly discussed the challenges law enforcement faces in a changing landscape where the
criminal element is carrying out even more pervasive and harmful criminal acts. I also discussed
our enforcement priorities which run the gamut, from fighting the fentanyl scourge, cyber
criminals, fraudsters, child predators, and violent crime, to protecting the public from national
security threats. We are up against criminals who are using ever-evolving digital tools to commit
crimes. I also discussed the concern that we are living in an environment where law enforcement
is, at times, unfairly vilified by various members of our community.

What I hope came through during our meeting was the notion that law enforcement is at
its best when we, to include federal, state, and local agencies, collaborate. What I did not talk
about, however, because I didn’t think I needed to, was that fighting crime in the 21st century
requires a great deal more engagement, activism, and collaboration than in previous eras. Building
and maintaining credibility with the communities we police and protect is vital. Without that
credibility, which takes so much to build, yet remains so fragile and can shatter in an instant, it can
be an upstream struggle – even with the most effective crime fighting strategies on the ground.

It is with that backdrop that I reached out, discreetly, to Sheriff Pearson via telephone about
certain events. The first event was a social media post (see Part 1 below), which I was told was
also displayed on the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s web page. As you can see below, the posted image
shows Sheriff Pearson posing with an apparently subdued arrestee, who is seated on the ground
with his back resting against the outside door of a car. Although I am not sure if the arrestee was
conscious or not, his overall appearance was one of total submission. This disturbing image comes
across as if the Sheriff is posing with an antelope that he just shot on a safari. An arrest is not the
appropriate time for an unauthorized selfie with an arrestee. I received the picture of the post from
several concerned members of our south Florida community, including minority members of my
own workforce.

Although I did not reach out to the Sheriff at that time, I did call and speak with him directly
after I was notified of another concerning social media post (reel) by the St. Lucie County
Sherriff’s Office. In the second social media post, two deputies are standing in front of a tv screen
that reads “HIDTA” (a federally funded program). A tagline at the deputies’ feet directs the viewer
to “Ride Along with the St. Lucie Sherriff’s Office,” while background music plays with
inappropriate language, including the use of racially insensitive references (i.e., n----- in Paris,
which is also displayed on the screen) (see Part 2 below).

I do not know the history or characteristics of the arrestee in the first concerning photo, nor
the circumstances of the crimes he’s alleged to have committed. Regardless, taking that picture
and putting it on social media and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office website cannot possibly
help our efforts to build and maintain credibility with all of the communities we police and serve.
Likewise, displaying a “ride along” posting with racially insensitive music in the background,
regardless of who in the Sheriff’s Office incorporated the music into the reel, does not carry forth
our united mission. Rather, these posts make law enforcement’s job more difficult and can tarnish
our credibility.

I speak to you, not just as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, but as a
former line prosecutor who investigated and tried ruthless gang members 20 years ago. I speak as
someone who once lived in those communities affected by the criminal element and wanted those
elements removed as much as anyone else. But we need members of the community who are not
engaged in criminal activity to help our efforts. We not only need the community to reach out to
us when they are victimized and/or see crimes being committed, but we also need the public to
testify as witnesses at trial. And to this day, I deal with certain communities who express deep
distrust of the law enforcement community and are consequently reluctant to support our efforts.

The information provided above serves as the context for the conversation I wanted to have
with Sheriff Pearson. To respond more directly to your inquiry as to whether I have any
recommendations as to whether the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office needs to change any policies
2
or procedures, as I mentioned to the Sheriff during our call, it is not my lane to tell any other
agency how to run their affairs. That was never the purpose of my call. Rather, the purpose of my
call was to remind the Sheriff that none of us wants our actions to unintentionally antagonize
and/or alienate segments of the community. We want people to come forward, to cooperate, so
that we can protect everyone represented in the communities we serve. Law enforcement’s job is
challenging enough, even when we do everything right. I have no doubt that the Sheriff shares
these sentiments, and I look forward to continuing to work with his Office to protect our
community.

Sincerely,

Markenzy Lapointe
United States Attorney
Southern District of Florida

3
Part 1
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/JQrqWEnEfVonkiw8/?mibextid=UFLBuX

4
Part 2