2 ex-Hollywood cops arrested in video frame-up case

The case of Hollywood police officers caught by a dashboard camera discussing how to twist the facts of a car accident resulted in two being charged Wednesday.
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
Miami Herald
Jun. 04, 2010

Two former Hollywood police officers were arrested Wednesday and charged with doctoring a police report in 2009 after one of them crashed into a vehicle of an alleged drunken driver.

The allegations drew national attention after video shot from inside a police cruiser captured employees saying they would ``do a little Walt Disney'' to protect the officer.

Ex-cops Joel Francisco, 37, and Dewey Pressley, 43, were fired earlier this year. On Wednesday, each was charged with four counts of official misconduct and one count of conspiracy to falsify records, the Broward state attorney's office said.

Both men surrendered and were booked into Broward County's main jail. They were released on Thursday morning, WSVN reported. Bail for each was set at $100,000.

Charges were not filed against three other police employees fired in the scandal's wake: Community Service Officer Karim Thomas, Sgt. Andrew Diaz and crime scene technician Andrea Tomassi.

Broward prosecutors said ``an investigation into other individuals at the crash scene is continuing.''

Jeff Marano, a leader with the Police Benevolent Association, said the charges were ``overkill'' and reiterated the union's theory that prosecutors reacted to political pressure.

``We're not happy about it,'' Marano said of the charges. ``It's a dark day.''

The scandal hit a department still recovering from prior troubles.

Police Chief Chadwick Wagner was promoted to the job in late 2007 after an FBI probe sent four officers to prison and prompted the departure of Chief James Scarberry, who also came into the job to clean up corruption.

The latest scandal stemmed from a car accident around midnight Feb. 16, 2009, in the 2800 block of Sheridan Street when Francisco rear-ended a car driven by motorist Alexandra Torrens-Vilas. She was arrested.

In a recording taken by an in-car dash camera while Torrens-Vilas sat in the back seat of a police cruiser, officers could be heard discussing how to distort the facts to shift blame from the officer and make it appear he was not at fault.

``We'll do a little Walt Disney to protect the cop because it wouldn't have mattered, because she is drunk anyway,'' one employee said.

In concocting their cover story, an employee described how they would say a cat jumped out of Torrens-Vilas' car, causing the crash.

After the accusations of the doctored reports surfaced -- the result of a defense attorney viewing the dash camera video -- prosecutors dropped the drunken-driving charges filed against Torrens-Vilas.

Miami Herald staff writer Amy Sherman contributed to this report.