So, I got tasked with this um this crash investigation about a week ago. Um I got a call from my sergeant to ask me to look it over. Um I'm part of the traffic team here in the city of Clearwater. What I do is um I do DUI enforcements. I do serious bodily injury and crashes involving death. So, they asked me to look this case over, okay? Um so, I understand as officer officer Ralph Mhm. did the initial crash investigation, came out, and spoke with you about what occurred. Um so, I'm just here to get your statement and kind of conclude my investigation of what occurred. So, I mean, obviously, I wasn't there that day. So, can you kind of just run me through what happened? We were doing the Friday night protest in front of uh >> [clears throat] >> Fort Harrison. So, Scientology protesters. All right, we're at the hotel. >> Yeah, right in front of the hotel. >> Okay. It was raining. Um so, I was >> [music] >> more even further under the awning than I usually am. But, you can't be too close because their doors are right there and their property line is right there. So, it's Okay. protesting. Cars do pull up there. It's sidewalk, but they built like a curb where you can pull up to drop off like valet off. For like vehicles and stuff? Yeah, but it's I mean, it's originally the sidewalk. I'm not in the road, you know, I'm on the sidewalk. Um the car pulls up, comes right up to me and hits me at slow speed. Okay. So, I back up. He hits me again, and I don't know if I started pounding out so the first time he hit me or the second time, but I had bruises on my hand from pounding so hard. Which I did not end up denting, unfortunately. Um the third time he did it again, and that Now, I'm probably you would see it with the camera footage from Scientology, which I know they always furnish the police. I We did receive the security camera footage from the Did you Did you get the one from across the street? Okay. So, he hit me the third time. I'm guessing probably two like my feet would have been under his car if I not moved, but he kept very deliberately doing it. Um so, I have the uh license plate number and I Um after the third time, the passenger got out. Um it was an officer inside on extra duty who did not come out. There was a lot of commotion out there. Yeah, but just from the from the video I saw from the church that we they uploaded, it looked like there was a lot of people out there Yeah. that day. But, I mean, there's people right in the outside of the door, and somebody's being hit by a car, nothing nothing nothing. That was the extent of it pretty much. The lady got out. Um I was like, I got to get this guy's plate number, so I moved to the back of the car, and he left. Um very easy to find out. Pardon me? Did you see where he went? Um headed south. He came from he was heading south on the way, kept going south. The California plate, like a 20-year-old Ford. Um so, it's not, you know, unless he claims that it was stolen for 5 minutes, he doesn't know who was driving it. I mean, I think it To me, it seems pretty clear-cut. >> Now, when you say it hit your leg, um do you have any injuries from that? >> No. No injuries? >> No. So, you never went to like a doctor to get it looked at or anything? No. Okay. No, no, because it was a slow rate of speed, but he very deliberately kept pushing me with the car. Okay. Um three times he stepped out He was on the brake completely, released it, did that three times. Hit me three times. Okay. And so, you were out there doing the protesting. >> Mhm. Um the car pulls up. Did you see the car pull up or or Um when did you notice the car pulling up? There's the traffic is like the curb is right on the you know, the sidewalk goes up to the curb and the and there's the roadway. Um I don't know if I even I think it was about when he was right here when I really first noticed him. I think I was talking to There were some people over here. >> Mhm. So, I was turned, so I didn't really see him. Okay. So, would you say like 5 ft, 3 ft, 10 ft like Of what? Like when you know actually notice the car pulling up? Oh. This is like 6 weeks ago now. >> Right. So, when it was So, I'm doing a lot of It's like I got to look at it like it's my first day doing it, so. Probably I probably about here because if a car pulls up and we're there, they stop, you know, so I probably was figuring but maybe 3 ft um when I noticed him. Um you know, we like they stop, we whatever, you know, it's not it's not usually an issue. They don't usually keep coming at you. So, I think I'm probably around 3 ft when I really was there, and I wasn't concerned that millisecond because the car would stop. >> Right. And I wasn't the only one, so I couldn't see me through the rain, and it was just drizzling at that point. And there were other people out there. It's not, you know. Okay. I was wearing a blue poncho because of the rain. And yeah, I I did have it on, but I like when I went to go get the license number, you can see in that video, I'm like trying to like Trying to get the license plate. get underneath it to like at least get that cuz there's no way I'm going to remember this license plate. And then my friend um he had some actually some uh >> [clears throat] >> TV camera crew people there with better equipment, but they didn't want to get in the rain, so that's why they weren't filming right that. But, I had him turn on it just to get the video, but in the meantime, uh my friend's car got the license plate anyway. Now, was that the Tesla that was parked there? Okay. That area where you were standing, is it is it a drop-off area or is it uh or is it part of the sidewalk? >> It's It's the sidewalk, Okay. but they um presuming they got permitting where they shaved the raised curb Okay. and and flattened it like made a little Cuz cuz I drove by cuz uh I drove by, obviously, cuz I took on the case. I was just looking at it. It looks like they part of the sidewalk is like the darker brown border around it. >> They use red brick pavers all over the public sidewalk >> Right. all around the flag building, big building here, and all around the Fort Harrison. So, it's it doesn't There's no meaning to it. It's just decorative. I mean, it looks nice, but it's not um yeah, I mean, it's just it's it is part of the sidewalk. It's where bicyclists and everybody who's just walking through the publics and stuff. It's just a regular part of the side There's nothing delineated there that makes it It's also public space. It's not um like a driveway, which would normally be like easement. You know, it's just the public sidewalk in front of the hotel. There's I mean, it's not built very wide, so there's no for your not much for your area. You know what I'm saying? There's not a lot of frontage for them. Okay. Have you seen the video? I haven't seen your I didn't know you guys had it. I asked I FOIA'd it, but they said that it was an active investigation. >> It's still an active investigation, so we can't release it. Uh-huh. I mean, we could probably show it to you cuz you're the victim in this. We'll probably have to go to the building department and find out what the status of that is to find out what that is if it's actually if it's an area where Where you're allowed to hit people with your vehicle? Well, see what was when you're protesting, the state of Florida created a law where you can be moved by a vehicle. If you're If you're in the way I mean, it's ridiculous. >> Right. If you're in the way or causing a an area where you're where you're distracting the person driving. Um and we're we're looking at that as well. And that all that really does is that absolves him from civil liability. But, there's no it's not going to affect charges towards him. So, we we honestly we're we're really making sure that you're protected in this because we want to make sure that we're not missing anything for you. And just to just to let you know, we did contact him. We found him. Okay. And we were able to contact him. Do you remember what he looks like? He was uh so, I used to say middle age until I hit that, and so, now I'm going to say he's older than me. Um late 60s, 70s, early 70s, maybe. But, the there was like water there's a lot of glare on the windshield. >> Mhm. Um Was there anything that stand stood out about him? Any clothing or anything? >> filling in gaps, and I I mean, I I would start making things up that I think, but I really I mean, there was so much glare on the windshield that when I was I mean, I we were looking at each other, and then he he did not like try to make eye like he was just acting like he didn't see me. Like he was just Did he make any gestures any gestures or anything? I don't think so. Okay. I I swear he hit me three times. Can you Did you You want I mean, I think we did. choppy. Do you have the one from the bridge over here? There's one across the street cuz that would give you the side You'd be able to That would give you the best way, but they're not going to give it to you. Okay. They'll give you the one that's least informative. He's under He's safe, but he just keeps going. He sees there's a person there. There's There's something very deliberate about I'm not going to drop you off yet, honey. Wait in the car while I keep moving forward and hitting her. You know what I'm saying? He could have That awning covers that whole area. They were out of the rain. No, I'm not going to lie. I mean, I'm not going to say We're not saying you're lying. No, no. I mean, I'm like when when the We just want to make sure there was no nothing else you recall or >> Right. We're just trying to I'm not going to say I have I have injuries. I don't have injuries. Okay. Because I was I mean, it was slow enough, but he he physically touched me three times with the car each time that I backed up. >> Right. Um on the injury on my thumb from hitting the hood. But the problem we had is trying to find the car. Pardon me? Trying to find his car. We had a a hard time with it. Really? Why is that? Well, he went back to California. Yeah, he moved back. So where he lives. And what but But I mean, it's 2025. Can we get a Well, he what he did is he put it on a truck there. He He shipped it back. Shipped it back. I I think I don't pay for that. Um So that's why it took us so long to find it. What took so long to make contact with you for that reason is we couldn't find him. But But you But when you look up the license plate What We couldn't We couldn't We don't have his address and The address out out in California. Okay. There was nobody there. Okay. We sent somebody out there and there was nobody there. >> Okay, but you had a like a positive ID though from from the license plate. We had to confirm it. Okay. Okay. That he was the driver. That was the That was the biggest problem. Yeah. But yeah. And you feel like you have that part now? Okay. That's why we contacted you because we wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row and how we're going to proceed with this. Okay. I can't I can't begin to explain the frustration we've had with this. So and I don't like the fact that he just hit and drove away. I mean, that to me burns me up more than anything else. Because it was intentional. I mean, he just felt entitled to um Yeah. Uh And what what are you looking to get done out of all this? Um I don't need money. I need uh accountability. Driving made a choice. It wasn't an accident. It was a choice to do that. It was criminal because it was a choice to do that. So I I just need to make sure that that is really followed up on, not just on paper. But that that gets addressed because it was very It was a deliberate If he goes to court, are you going to be willing to come in as a as a a witness victim? >> court here, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's the main thing. Tell me hey at the end of the day, we We You're going to be the one who's going to have to stand up and say this is what happened. Because we can only do based on the video and we we can can't testify. >> testify to the video. You're the one who has to testify and say this is what happened. Without you, we have nothing. Yeah. No no problem. Okay. Um I don't think there's any other questions I have. Um as long as you weren't hurt, we have no medical bills. >> to make sure like you had no injuries from that and stuff like that. And you And you brought up a great point about whether that's public or private. If it's private, then it brings another whole area into problem that we have to deal with. And then um What else? I I think that's every That's really all we have left. Okay. Um just in You mean like property lines private? Right. Okay. I'll tell you exactly Do you guys know where the property line is? I'll confirm. But the the property line is 21 in and when Scientology didn't build the hotel, it was here before, but they built it over the property line. So it's 21 in inside the pillar is where the actual their building actually property line starts. Um so like we even step in there sometimes a little bit, but we don't go all the way up to the door because you know, trespassing and all that. But this is all public space right here. But you can confirm that. Yeah, it's it's a thing we have to just check a box and say this way if you if the judge asks us or a defense attorney asks us how do you know it's private or public, we can say well, this is how we know. Mhm. I'll and then I'll say in good faith that my understanding is that that is public when I'm standing there and when I will be standing there again tomorrow night, it's it's still public until I I know. Maybe just earlier maybe just stay like over on this side. Stay on the Stay on the safe side. Where was I You were in the middle of the road. Stop it. Do not say that. Okay. I was not in the roadway. I'm an expert on roadway. I know you are. Even if I'm just being an right here because I say I'm on the sidewalk, you still don't hit me with your car. >> No, and that's we agree with you there 100%. Right. We just don't want anything to happen to you, so please. Because sometimes like when NAACP was there, I was kind of given a hard time because they were trying to I was able to talk to a lot of people through the window that way. Um but I I was right there in in it because of that, but I am being and those people weren't being mean neither. They weren't They were definitely being careful. Um but this literally is sidewalk and that I think gets preference over cars driving up on it even though they may have permitting for valet type stuff. Um Okay. But I appreciate you. >> keep her We We just want you to get hurt. >> I know. I remember I told you that a long time ago. >> Yes. You know, you Please don't get hurt. I mean, yeah. I understand. I mean, he he acknowledges that something happened. He said he heard people yelling at him. And he was So was it a hit-and-run in his opinion? Um Not a deliberate That's kind of how we're leaning. I mean, yeah. But we have to We have to We have to take a look at all the different factors of it. The how the law reads. Okay. And the key thing is is that if you're not injured it could put it into a different um Florida state statute where it becomes non-criminal. And um we have to We just have to look at all the different areas. And that's pretty much what we're doing. We were There are are There's a lot more influence right now, a lot more financial influence in the White House. Um Pam Bondi has taken a lot of money from Scientology. She's not going to investigate, you know, as long as she's in there. Um a few others. Um Trish Duggan, one of the biggest contributors to Sci- one of the wealthiest Scientologists, contributed like several million to Trump's campaign. So if you ask Trump, can you investigate this? No. You know what I'm saying? When you have that kind of influence in there. Um They're They're actually getting lawyers. Like RFK's two lawyers on retainer are both Scientologists. Um There's just a lot of influence right now, which was not there politically before. A lot of I mean, they have tons of money. Just money money money. And um so that's we're not going to be able to get anything investigated in terms of all the abuse and all the um all the stuff. So But that's okay. Well, you know, we I think effectively um the foundation, SPTP Foundation, we're getting more and more people calling to help get out. So they're on the down low. They can't leave because their families are um they're in and if they leave, then they'll never be able to talk to their families again. So um they're kind of you know, helping us out. Um You know, when you saw the Dianetics commercials when you were a kid Mhm. and all that and everything and my family and my community, we just knew up north we just knew that this was a cult and we didn't use that too much. Oh, it's a cult, it's a bad thing. And I was just always like how does that even Why would people do I didn't know what the book was. Nobody You guys haven't read Dianetics. I have no clue what it is. It's word salad. It's just ridiculous. Um But when I we moved down here in high school um and just having Tom Cruise and John Travolta are buying houses here and all that. It was just a big um it was just a big deal that Clearwater was going to become the headquarters. That was the news and every Nobody liked the idea. And then I went to USF and we would drive to the beach down Cleveland Street and you'd see them and you would be like look cuz you thought I don't know. You thought you'd be beamed over into them. I you know, um you know, but and it's still creepy like that. And so I have multiple reasons. One is that I want people when I stand out there with my signs like how ridiculous this lady in the middle of all of this standing here saying nobody likes Scientology. And people laugh and they think it's funny and oh my gosh, this is great. So I want people to feel comfortable. I don't want them to feel like they have to drive through and just don't look at anybody. Ignoring this is why they have 400 properties now. They have almost 400 properties now. How is Miscavige's daughter niece rather How is she involved in this? Is she still there on a regular basis? Yeah, she is um Does she live locally? No, she lives in California. She comes twice a month. Um She is impressive to me. She grew up as a child from childhood um and left at 22. Um had to disconnect from people and you know, when they leave, they really don't know anything. You never had a bank account, a driver's license. You don't have Uber, you don't have apps on your phone, you know nothing. So, um that was 20 years ago and she's still like she doesn't like I make references like to sitcoms and stuff and she's like, "Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about." Cuz never watched TV ever in in 20 years. So, none of that cultural all those artifacts that we get exposed to that kind of build your knowledge about everything else. Nothing. It's just completely encapsulated kind of life. So, um and then also getting out of the whole framework of not being somebody like you're you just belong to Scientology and and not developing your psyche, you know, it's just it's a really um bizarre thing. But, she's eye-opening and hopeful, you know, when you when and the other people I know too, I probably know 40 former Scientologists and they're all like, "Wow, these people are so cool. I can't believe that they're so cool. That they have a sense of humor and that they um they're able to do what they can do after being out for 10 years or or um yeah, I know I know somebody who's been out for 2 years and she's still really messed up. It It's the the one cult that takes most cults like 4 or 5 years to really kind of get back to yourself. Scientology is 16 to 19 years to to kind of redevelop your your um personality. So, he was the a number of them uh were in Scientology and they know that when you're walking by like that robot and you see all this going on, you're like, "I think" cuz you always want to plant some seeds of of doubt. Like, "Yeah, this this something about this looks better than whatever we're doing in here." Yeah, they got chalk everywhere that's I don't understand the chalk. I don't know what they're doing, but they're having a great time and they're committed to this and um they're told that we're paid by Big Pharma. Um nobody pays us. It's completely, you know, voluntary. Everything's out of our pockets. Um but that's that is those are some of the excuses that are made for why we're out there. Not that we would actually care about the people that are in there and trying to end it, you know, so Glad you guys pick Friday nights for specific reason or >> Yeah, so Friday nights um you know, they do these courses. So, everything is self-paced. They're not classes. So, they don't come to the buildings to sit in classrooms with some an instructor or anything like that. It's all books that they have to pay for hundreds of dollars usually and the courses themselves are hundreds or thousands of dollars and they read through these and there's a technique about how to read through it so that you can get really immersed in it and not be distracted and believe everything that you read in it. So, when you get to the end of the course Friday nights, you know, depending on where you everybody is in a different course. There are hundreds of courses. So, Friday night if you finished your course, you go to the graduation, you get your certificate, they sign you up for the next course. Always bring your credit card cuz that's how it it goes. But, while you're there, you have to um kind of testify to how amazing this course was and the wins that you've had and people are very early on they say, "Well, I don't know if I really had a Oh, you got to pay for the course and take the course again cuz you did something wrong if you didn't." So, now you have to make up a win every time. This is what the former Scientologists say. Like, "Yeah, after a while you just start making stuff up and and you you kind of like you figure they're telling you that just put in work work work work. Trust What is it? Trust the process. You don't see kids You don't see kids. Um if you ever had the opportunity to go into the Fort Harrison, um some of the people walking around in vests are a lot younger than they you you presume that they're 18 or older, but some of them are probably 14, 15. Huh. Um and they are working 16 hours a day um 7 days a week. They get shipped back and forth to the Hacienda or whatever motels up here where where all the kids stay. But, these were kids that have been given to Scientology by their Scientology parents because they're so honored that they want to be in the Sea Org, you know, just like if, you know, your your brother tells your family that, you know, I want to be a priest. It's like, "Oh, so fantastic." Or not, you know. That's so what an honor to, you know. So, they give their kids at 10 years old to Scientology, they get shipped to another state somewhere. They don't see their parents for years. There's no guidance from the parents. I was wondering what why you were out there because you were originally you were a lone wolf. So, you were by yourself out there and then all of a sudden you moved over with these people. >> group, but the small group trickled off and I was like, I >> [snorts] >> I made signs. What am I going to do? >> [laughter] >> So, I I would go out there during the weeks and my friends would come on the weekends and join me, but then some of the big YouTubers um it just started to become a big deal Friday nights. So, now in the summer I haven't been going out there. It's It's too hot. Yeah, it's too hot, but it's going to be cooler soon. That's good. Um I was going to go out tonight, but I'm like, I've had a long day already. Try to be nice to us. You know, we we we we have no ill will towards you guys. You know, I I think I think you guys are put in a very odd position. Um I think I know that the city can decide or the police department can decide who it allows extra time to opportunities and I think they need to shut that down. Um but I know that they want to have a a reasonable relationship with Scientology which I don't know it's a crime organization. I don't know why you want to do that. That's not how cities deal with crime organizations. But, um I think that's that would be a good start is to not have police officers going in there and rubbing elbows with the people that are in there. Um and then I think you you have probably some other city influences that um So, unfortunately, we're the guys who nobody likes. We're the traffic guys. Right. So, nobody likes us. Right. And now they realize when they back off, we don't do as much. We up the ante when they up the ante. When they start complaining too much, we're like, "Oh, okay, we're we're accomplishing something." So, um but then some of the officers come out and not as friendly I guess. So, but I think you guys are in a tough spot because of I mean, the extent to which they are present here and I have no problem with the Scientologists and I've never Now, some of my friends who are former Scientologists will will use a lot more harsher tone with them because of the training they know the Scientologists have had and that there's a certain way to break through that communication. I don't toy with that. I let them do that. But, I'm always um it's always a very amicable and I they come at me defensive and then I start talking to them and they let their guard down a little bit. So, that is effective. Um none of us have any problems with Scientology. It's the organization. It's the David Miscavige business. Does he even Does he even come here? I don't even know. >> He um Do you know where the front you know, where flag is written on the front corner of the building? I'd have to look. Okay, you know where we where we do the talking. >> Right. Right. Yeah. Um at the very top there's like a tower and that it used to be his office, but they've converted it into his new apartment. So, they had a really beautiful apartment over at Hacienda that they had renovated um for him and that's kind of where he would stay, but now I think he stays exclusively that's one door down from here at the B David Miscavige. Um which is even I mean, it makes us I mean, the geography is amazing for us that we can just do all this right under his window. It's amazing. Well, please do me a favor. Please, please, please be careful. Don't want to see you get hit. Please. >> I I appreciate that. I will take that into consideration. Please. Yeah. Like I said, we we see too much We on our what we do, we see too much horror. Mhm. And and in what simple situations like this and how quickly something like that could have been really bad. Yeah. And unfortunately, we see that and we have to live with that. >> Right. That's and you're too nice of a person. So, I really and and we've contact we've talked to you. So, now if I see you there and I'm going to be like, "Oh my god." You know, now I'm going to have to live with that. So, just please. >> I know what you're saying. Please. Be careful. Yeah. That was it. All right. Thank you very much for your time. Okay. I'll get you out of here.