Yechezkel Rodal of Rodal Law in Fort Lauderdale. Photo: Melanie Bell/ALM.

By representing two African-American drivers claiming a Miami-Dade police officer separately pulled them over and pointed a gun at their heads without good cause, Fort Lauderdale civil rights litigator Yechezkel Rodal said he hopes to start a conversation.

“What do we think, as a society, should be the role of police? That's a conversation that I really want to get started with this complaint, and to just have a real, honest, open conversation about the role of race, the role of implicit bias and the role of police in society,” Rodal said.

Real estate broker Robert Menard and high school track coach Steven Payne didn't know each other until Rodal united them with a lawsuit, accusing Miami-Dade County and police officer Carlos Angulo of civil rights violations, battery and false imprisonment.

“Two young black men. Strangers. Neither having been arrested before,” the complaint said. “These two strangers brought together by disgraceful acts of violence by the very same police officer, just a few months apart.”

The lawsuit blames implicit bias for the incidents, claiming the officer's unconscious racial bias led him to profile Menard and Payne.

Miami-Dade police director Juan Perez said in a statement that the department “remains committed to the highest performance standards, ethical conduct and truthfulness in all relationships.”

“While I acknowledge that a few incidents such as those recently highlighted may negatively affect the public's perception, what is often overlooked, unfortunately, is the vast amounts of positive interactions that our officers have with the public we serve on a daily basis while doing a very difficult job. We are a resource for our community,” Perez said. “If and when we ever fall short of our mission, we hold ourselves accountable because we are a professional law enforcement organization.”

Menard and his cousin were in a parked car in 2017 when the encounter occured, waiting to leave for the Hard Rock Stadium for a Miami Dolphins game. Several police cars approached, surrounding them, according to the complaint. Menard claims he and his cousin put their hands outside the windows, “terrified of getting shot.”

Angulo allegedly pulled Menard out of the car and pointed a gun at his head, pinning him down when he asked the officer, “For what?” Menard got a citation for dark window tints and a trip to the emergency room, according to the lawsuit, which says MDPD's internal affairs unit disciplined several cops on the scene for turning off their body cameras or failing to record events.

Payne alleged the officer stopped him as he drove a student to practice — making a U-turn, pointing a gun at Payne's head and jailing him for alleged reckless driving. According to Rodal, the officer couldn't tell the judge how fast Payne was driving, as they were going opposite directions. Payne unsuccessfully fought the charges pro se.

“There was just no reason for this to have happened,” Rodal said. “Clearly, there are instances where police need to get out of their vehicle with their gun drawn, but this is so clearly over the line.”

 

'A fear of police'

As an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jew, Rodal said he's used to people making assumptions about him.

“I've experienced an element of implicit bias, where people look at me with a beard and my tallit on my head and perceive me to be a certain way,” Rodal said. “I don't in any way equate the bias that I feel to what African-Americans go through on a daily basis, but I feel like I have some more sensitivity to it.”

Menard suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Rodal said,having thought he'd been shot during the encounter when the officer flicked on his gun's flashlight.

“He used to go door-to-door and meet with people. He can't do that anymore,” Rodal said. “He now has a fear of police.”

The complaint features research from organizations and journals that have suggested African-American men are targeted by cops. Rodal said he's also asked Miami-Dade County for a list of all Angulo's arrests over a year.

“I intend to get into those numbers, why this is happening and who's getting pulled over,” Rodal said. “The way to change it is to have a conversation so that it's no longer implicit.”

Read the full complaint:

 

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