Two Broward Sheriff’s deputies seen in a video that went viral of a teen’s rough arrest were in court Friday to use Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law as they hope to prevent prosecutors from moving forward with the charges against them.
Two Broward Sheriff's deputies seen in a video that went viral of a teen's rough arrest were in court Friday to use Florida's so-called "Stand Your Ground" law as they hope to prevent prosecutors from moving forward with the charges against them.
Deputies Christopher Krickovich and Gregory LaCerra are facing battery charges from the way they handled a then 15-year-old DeLucca Rolle.
On Friday, Rolle told the court what he recalled from the encounter and what led up to it, testifying over Zoom about the April 2019 incident.
Social media videos were also played for the judge showing Rolle being tossed to the ground, his head being shoved to the pavement, and Rolle being hit by Krickovich, who was terminated from his job but is appealing.
Krickovich and LaCerra claim the prosecution should be prevented from going forward because the parking lot where they arrested Rolle had been the scene of multiple fights before and the officers knew this, and feared for their own safety when they encountered Rolle and other students.
One video, the deputies' attorneys said, showed a melee at the McDonald's parking lot the day prior to the altercation with Rolle.
Jeremy Kroll is Krickovich’s attorney. He said, “What the unrebutted evidence…is going to show is just before this event takes place that brings us here, you’re going to see that Sgt. LaCerra turns and pointed to where Delucca Rolle was and said as loud as possible, 'if any of you come over here, you’re getting sprayed,'" said Krickovich's attorney, Jeremy Kroll.
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LaCerra's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, attempted to show that Rolle had been fighting on other days in the parking lot.
The two deputies also claim they are immune from prosecution due to a law regarding unlawful assemblies that goes all the way back to the 1870s.
Prosecutors said the two deputies committed battery and crossed the line in the manner they took Rolle into custody. The charges filed against Rolle were dropped.
Judge Jill Levy will continue hearing testimony next week.
