‘I want badges.’ Family questions Palmetto police behavior ahead of in-custody death

A report determined that the Palmetto Police Department is not responsible for the death of a 36-year-old Palmetto man, but his family is still seeking justice.

About a dozen of Breonte Johnson-Davis’ friends and family members of gathered outside the Palmetto Police Department Tuesday morning with signs that read “Stop sending cops during mental health crises,” “End racist police terror” and “Justice for Breonte now!”

They were there to protest a press conference held by Police Chief Scott Tyler, who announced that an investigation had determined Johnson-Davis’ death was accidental and that his officers acted reasonably during the stop.

But Johnson-Davis’ mother, Tracey Washington, isn’t buying it.

“It’s all bogus. It’s all lies. But we will get to the bottom of it,” Washington said. “I don’t care what he was on. That didn’t give them the right to take his life.”

During the incident, one officer jokes about how he used his stun gun to subdue Johnson-Davis, according to body camera footage. None of the officers involved have been disciplined, Tyler said.

Tyler said that before deciding to request an independent investigation, he reviewed the body camera footage himself and saw no wrongdoing from his officers. He argued that the size of his agency, which has 34 sworn officers, would have made it difficult to put them on paid administrative leave.

“Four officers, that’s a whole squad that would have been on paid leave indefinitely,” Tyler said.

Report says in-custody death was accidental

The medical examiner’s report showed that Johnson-Davis’ cause of death was multiple organ failure following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. According to the autopsy report, the cardiac arrest was caused by the amount of methamphetamine and a synthetic stimulant in his system.

Johnson-Davis was found to have mild underlying heart disease that was likely “potentiated” due to the effects of the drugs, the report says, while subdual by law enforcement likely had “little physiological effect.”

“The manner of death is accident,” the report says.

In January, Washington led a protest in which members of the community criticized Scott’s decision not to release body camera footage until the conclusion of an independent investigation.

Tyler announced at a press conference that he brought in outside agencies to investigate, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office.

“It’s taken a while. I know the community has had a lot of questions about what was going on. Because it was an open investigation, it wouldn’t be proper for me to have made any comments on it,” Tyler said. “They have concluded that our officers’ actions had nothing to do with his death.”

Stun gun used in body camera footage

Tyler played body camera and dashboard camera footage showing parts of the incident at Tuesday’s press conference.

On Nov. 1, 2023, at around 2:20 a.m. police were called to a Circle K store at Eighth Avenue West in Palmetto in response to a customer who was being aggressive and disruptive with staff and customers at the store.

In audio from the 911 call, Johnson-Davis can be heard screaming repeatedly in the background while a store employee told a 911 operator that the man was screaming and throwing items in the store.

“He’s freaking out. He’s obviously on something ... He’s screaming,” the employee told the dispatcher.

When police arrived on the scene, Johnson-Davis ran up to a patrol car, pounded on the window and jumped onto the hood of the car, footage shows.

Based on his behavior, police say they attempted to take him into custody under the Marchman Act. The Marchman Act provides for voluntary and involuntary admissions and assessments of people who are severely impaired due to substance abuse, according to Florida law.

The body camera footage shows police take Johnson-Davis down and attempting to place him in handcuffs as Johnson-Davis continued to scream. At that point, an officer attempted to use a stun gun but it failed, Tyler said, forcing the officer to use it a second time.

Washington and others within the community have said that they believe the use of the stun gun was unnecessary and may have played a role in Johnson-Davis’ death, but the medical examiner’s office disagreed.

Officers in the body cam footage can be heard laughing following the incident, with one of them even joking about getting to use his new stun gun for the first time.

“Finally got to deploy the new Taser. I like it,” the officer said.

Tyler said he wasn’t happy to hear those comments from his officers, but he said coming down from adrenaline likely played a role in their joking and laughter.

Palmetto family seeks accountability

But Washington wasn’t satisfied with that explanation. She and other family members of the family also said they were disappointed that they were not given notice of the Palmetto Police Department’s press conference ahead of time.

“I want badges,” Washington said.

Washington was filled with emotion after speaking Tuesday, surrounded by friends, family and loved ones who consoled her as she cried over the loss of her son.

Washington said she’s “broken” and her “heart is shattered” after hoping there would have been a better outcome from the report, but she said she will continue to fight.

“Somebody says that they used their Taser and they had a good time to use that Taser and laugh about it and you’re telling me adrenaline? Are you kidding me? You killed my baby and you laugh about it? How can you sleep with yourself at night?” Washington said.