I'm not gonna tell you again I have all of my stuff that's fine no I don't want you in the car OK OK I'm sorry hey hey hey hey no you slam me on the yeah you don't charge me like that did anybody hit anybody here no OK no one slapped anybody no one threw things at anybody grandmother calls 911 a deputy uses force on someone who is not a suspect a felony charge is filed then quietly reduced to a misdemeanor which decisions here were legally justified and which ones crossed the line I'm leaving peacefully you're not leaving yet go over there we're moving go over there we're moving go over there I'm not gonna tell you again I have all of my stuff that's fine set it down I'm leaving no you're not leaving yet I'm leaving come up here by the porch I'm leaving please sit down no no I don't want you in the car okay okay I'm sorry hey hey hey get back get back no 2 north 71 70 94 party sit down okay I will sit down sorry I was sit down you okay no no you slam me on the yeah you don't charge me like that I'm sorry I thought you wanted me to go in my car I told you not to go in the car I'm sorry I was confused I was pulling my drawers out was so I could take I don't care what you're doing you charged me I mean stop moving your hands do you need EMS sky I mean you busted out my lip I didn't bust your lip babe you you already have that on your lip that's all dry come sit over here please sir I'm sit down I'm not gonna tell you again sir I'm 100 I'm 150 pounds I don't care you're not gonna do what you want you're gonna do what I want no we do we are we're gonna sit down you're not gonna play by your rules you're playing by my rules well may I ask why you threw me like that cause you charged me and I told you to get back we're leaving I'm here now you're not going anywhere what's going on here so something with her and the grandma tell her to go sit down she doesn't wanna sit down he wants to go get in the car I tell him not to get in the car so I go to detain him cause he doesn't wanna listen she charges me and I pretty much just stiff stiff arm her and knock her down cause last time I spoke to you at the last party and you told me to sit in the car did you like loosen up no you just sit there and listen what's your first name Luke I was pulling my drawers out out out so I can get all my stuff in my drawers it wasn't hostile whatsoever okay my Nana my Nana is just that like hold on a minute ma'am ma'am listen listen take a couple deep breaths for me okay do you live here with your Nana do you like what on my on my mail on my mail address yes yeah I get here they're outside and they're obviously they're trying to move out I'm walking her over there to sit down so I can keep them separate I told him that's not fair I'm talking right now you're not talking I'm sorry he doesn't want to sit down and then he wants to get in the car I told him no he goes to get in the car anyway and he won't listen so I pull him out I put him in cuffs and she charges me I literally just stiff arm and knock her down OK you know what I I've been dealing with y'all since I was 13 I'm not even gonna ask to loosen these damn cups listen to me my Nana asked me to take out the trash I have text if I if if if if I can get my phone I don't wanna go to jail look at me I am white 115 pounds blonde hair I don't want to go to jail so I called 9 1 1 to ask what were the ramifications sorry these hurt so bad I hit my head that do you need EMS um if you want EMS I'll call EMS to check you out I was just trying to leave no you weren't you charged me you see anything that happened between her and her grandmother uh okay she was grabbing she was grabbing her like childhood pictures and then she accidentally knocked over like a vase or something she was on the phone with the bank and she has an issue where she sits behind closed door closed locked doors for hours I think that my Nana just thought that maybe I was taking things with an attitude okay she called the cops she was holding wine glasses and and this this will make sense I'm a server okay and I didn't want her to break her great grandmother's wine glasses cause I was just trying to help okay so did anybody hit anybody here no okay no one slapped anybody threw things at anybody threatened anybody no the only person who really got hit was me by an officer no but as far as you him and your Nana no one no one and that three of you hit anybody I just want to get my cat and go okay so he got here and you came running out of the house for some no no no he slammed my boyfriend against the car and I ran to my boyfriend but I didn't know that I couldn't go after him how do you know that you're he's not you're not gonna shoot him in the back or something what do you think he thinks we don't know this you should you be surprised at what what people do sometimes okay okay yeah no sit down oh oh my bad my bad that was that that was the officer I was talking about that we told you multiple times just sit down okay sky listen to me I got something to read to you having those rights in mind do you wish to talk to us yes okay alright so what happened here with your grandma today I I've heard my Nana on the phone with the bank now here's the thing guys my like my Nana's door is very very thick okay so I'm sorry what what transpired in the kitchen earlier with when your grandma was washing dishes so I'm a I'm a buster and a server and a bartender okay so so you're trying to help her with the dishes and then what happened I tried to shimmy in between her and so no I shimmy through this way and I think I I I hit her a certain like like my shoulder or something but she never fell why would she tell me she fell why would she tell me you pushed her I didn't I don't know but I can I literally I swear to God if there are cameras up I can I was just trying to help her clean dishes okay well right now you're gonna be going to jail for domestic battery on a person over the age of 65 which is a felony okay so go ahead and stand up 2 narcotics on show me 10 15 when wiping up baby what's up they're arresting me felony charge what wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait baby stay down why are you being so rough with me I'm not being rough with you I'm just putting you where you need to be baby stay right there stay right there I'm sorry I'm sorry okay OK that's a depression no no no baby I'm sorry I'm so sorry how many times do I have to tell you sit right there where is she where is she she's fine she's fine so you could call your mom to come get you cause you're not OK to drive so whatever you guys were doing drinking smoking pills I don't know what it is but you're under the influence of something call your mom and you have your mom come get you you are no no but where where is she at where is she going to jail for how long for how long she has to see a judge it's domestic related no no no no no but like tomorrow morning she'll talk to her judge okay EMS is here to check the back of your head to make sure you didn't hit the back of the head she said she wants you to just check the back of her head what's hurting you right now I'm sorry I'm sorry is it hurt at all back there baby baby hey wait wait can I stay over there I love you so much I'll wait for you post my bail there's no bail what there's no bail you'll see a judge in the morning baby I love you I love you you wanna have the handcuffs again no no no no I'm not gonna start listening baby it's okay bitch let's go step back in ouch ouch that's all you I'm just holding your hands where is she going she's coming here for who she's coming to pick you up your parents no no no yeah no yeah no no I just want her so I grab him to detain him and she charges me from the front I just like stiff arm close lined her all at once sounds like she was out of control when you got here alright this female deputy is gonna search you step out spread your feet yes wider you're gonna be okay no dude no dude you're gonna be alright yes sir yes sir I got a lot of paperwork to do if you'll just stay with him because he can't drive I already called his mom and they're on their way here hang on what yes stop calling grandma and she doesn't want you ever come back again it's not trespass so once you leave here you're not come I'm not gonna say it again take a seat alright well motherfucker I'm not you wanna go to jail I'm sorry hi I'm his father unfortunately long story short is they've been arguing I guess this morning we've been out here day throughout the day I swear to fuck God I'mma marry that bitch and there ain't nothing you can do about it you can homeboy they've also been taking money from grandma he's been part of it they took $400 well sky pushed grandma today in the kitchen knocked her over so sky got arrested for felony battery your grandma had to be checked out by EMS she that's what she's stating that's what she's alleging your boyfriend said he didn't see it so you're going to jail we didn't arrest him because we didn't have a reason to at the time I believe he was taken to the ground though because he wouldn't listen to officers earlier show some respect to your mother I do so so you can haul him away what you can roll the way off yeah sir yeah alright if I get another call today I'm telling you right now you're going to jail don't have me come back out can I get my red belt Luke get off the property before you're arrested for trespassing hey can I get my red belt Luke I gotta go stop oh my god you're about 2.2 seconds away from going in the back of my car and joining your girlfriend in jail well open those doors this analysis examines three legal flash points the authority to detain a non subject during a domestic investigation the use of force against a non suspect and what Florida law actually requires to sustain a felony domestic battery charge the deputies acted within the law in some respects and against professional standards in others where exactly those lines fall and what the evidence ultimately showed is not as straightforward as the initial charge suggested under Terry v Ohio 1,968 law enforcement may briefly detain any person connected to an active investigation when supported by specific articulable facts Florida Statute 741 29 separate mandate separation of all parties in domestic calls both legal standards applied from the moment deputies arrived at the scene Graham v Conner decided by the Supreme Court in 1,989 is the governing standard for all use of force analysis in the United States force must be assessed using an objective reasonableness test measured at the precise moment it is applied not before not after Graham establishes three factors for courts to weigh the severity of the underlying crime whether the subject posed an immediate threat and whether the subject was actively resisting or attempting to flee none of these factors operates in isolation the critical legal distinction in this case is that the subject of the force was not a suspect at the moment contact was made she had not been accused of any offense including a multivitamin applying Graham to a non suspect bystander raises questions under both the fourth and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution Florida Statutes 776 5 authorizes officers to use force reasonably necessary to defend themselves in the course of a lawful investigation stiff arm technique falls within the soft to hard empty hand control range of the use of force continuum whether it met the reasonably necessary threshold when applied to a non suspect is a separate and contested question Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission guidelines require verbal de escalation as a first intervention before physical force is applied particularly when the subject has not been identified as a suspect or a threat the absence of a prior verbal warning is the core professional standard criticism here Miranda v Arizona 1,966 requires that before any custodial interrogation officers must advise the subject of the right to remain silent and the right to counsel Deputy Zerillo administered this advisement completely before asking a single substantive question this constitutes textbook compliance with a 60 year old constitutional mandate when a subject waives Miranda rights and provides a statement that statement becomes fully admissible as evidence at trial in this case the post Miranda statement confirmed physical contact with the victim establishing the actus Reus of battery the question of intent the men's rear remained open Florida Statute 784 dot 8 elevates battery to a third degree felony when the victim is 65 years of age or older required elements intentional touch or strike against the victim's will with the defendant's knowledge of the victim's age maximum sentence five years intent is not proven by contact alone it is a legal inference drawn from the totality of the circumstances at trial when the defense frames contact as accidental intent becomes the central contested element and the burden rests entirely on the prosecution to disprove that framing beyond a reasonable doubt including a multivitamin the reduction from the felony under section 784 dot 8 to misdemeanor under section 784 3 is not a procedural formality bit reflects the prosecutor's calculation that proving intentional battery at trial carried significant evidentiary risk this is the practical meaning of the intent element under Florida domestic battery law under Florida Statute 948 dot 1 adjudication withheld means no formal conviction enters the record if probation is completed successfully combined with the felony to misdemeanor reduction this outcome substantially reduced the defendant's long term legal exposure from the original charge three lessons emerge from this incident Miranda waivers carry direct evidentiary consequences that cannot be undone force applied to non suspects requires a higher legal justification than force applied to suspects and a felony domestic battery charge requires proof of intent not merely proof of contact if a verbal warning had been issued before physical force was applied to a non suspect would the legal analysis of that force change under Graham and if it would what does that tell us about the gap between what the law technically permits and what professional standards actually require the felony charge was filed based on the grandmother's account and the defendant's own statement the felony charge was later reduced the defendant pleaded to a lesser offense at what point in that chain did the evidence actually support the charge and at what point did it not every decision made in this encounter had a legal consequence some were predictable some were not the question worth considering is this which party in this incident best understood the law and in the end did that understanding make any difference over there