5 POLICE SUSPENSIONS SOUGHT

Statements by a Jacksonville police sergeant and three city inspectors led
to discipline being recommended against five officers who Sheriff's Office
investigators said trashed a Northside home they were searching for drugs.

Among the allegations are that the officers broke personal items, sprayed
perfume at each other and threw food on the floor during the search.

The five officers are appealing the Internal Affairs recommendation that
they be suspended.

Officers searched the home at 1410 W. 15th St. on Jan 21. It was the second
search warrant served at the residence known for drug sales. Crack cocaine
and drug paraphernalia were discovered during the raids, police said.

Resident Glenice Coates told Sheriff's Office investigators that officers
wrecked her home by throwing food, clothing and other items all over the
floors.

The home was condemned partly because of the mess, the Internal Affairs
report said. However, code enforcement officials said the home had enough
electrical violations to have it condemned anyway.

Coates could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Officers Brett L. Sharp, Joel A. Weeks, Brett F. Hougland, Robert L.
Garrison and Sgt. Stephens J. Spates were named in the investigation.

All of the officers plan to appeal the decision. In interviews with Internal
Affairs, they said figurines were broken accidentally during the search and
items were stacked on the floors to assist in the search.

"These officers had no prior history of any of this. Why would they choose
this home to destroy and never did it before to any other homes?" asked
Nelson Cuba, a vice president with the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of
Police.

Cuba said the officers, combined, served 10 to 20 search warrants this year
and there was not a complaint about any of them. In fact, only one of the
officers, Hougland, has any prior discipline at all, and that was for a
traffic crash, according to police records.

Witnesses interviewed about the incident gave the following account,
according to the report:

Terrance O'Donnell, an inspector with the city's Drug Abatement Response
Team, told officials he saw officers holding up negligees and modeling them
and spraying perfume at each other. He also saw an officer throwing
figurines to the floor, the report stated.

Jeff Smith, an electrical inspector with the city's code enforcement unit,
was reported as saying he witnessed an officer spreading petroleum jelly on
some of the resident's personal belongings.

Coates gave investigators accounts of 32 alleged problems with the search,
including frozen meat thrown on the walls, doors and floors, gasoline
spilled onto clothing, broken drawers and other items destroyed or missing.

A police disciplinary board will hear the case to determine whether officers
will be suspended. Cuba said he has not received a date for that hearing.

Assistant State Attorney Laura Starratt said last night the Sheriff's Office
initially brought the case to the State Attorney's Office. Based on the
information she had at the time, Starratt said she told them she did not
think there was enough to prove criminal charges against the officers.

However, she said she has asked the Sheriff's Office to check a few things
and would make a decision "real soon" on whether to file charges. Starratt
would not say what information she requested.