Brevard County sheriff and deputy sued for alleged racial profiling

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon | Florida Today

An Air Force contractor is suing Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and former Brevard County Sheriff's Office Deputy Zachary Ferreira in U.S. Federal Court for allegedly violating his civil and constitutional rights during a January 2018 traffic stop.

According to the lawsuit filed last month, Lee Edward Anderson was driving to work on a January evening in 2018 when he was pulled over by Ferreira, who claimed he saw a plastic bag thrown out the window. He detained Anderson, while other deputies searched the area and found a bag allegedly containing crack cocaine. Then they searched his car, found nothing incriminating, and took Anderson to Jail.

The State Attorney's Office later threw out the arrest charges for lack of evidence. Video footage captured from Ferreira's patrol car showed nothing being thrown from Anderson's car window.

CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING TODAY: Help support our local journalism

Now Ferreira and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey face a federal lawsuit for Anderson's false arrest and imprisonment and violations of civil and constitutional rights.

First reported by FLORIDA TODAY news partner News 6/ClickOrlando, a lawsuit filed in the U.S. district court for central Florida on October 22 alleges the Sheriff and Ferreira violated Anderson's 4th and 14th amendment rights, which relate to illegal search and seizure as well as due process, in addition to federal civil rights violations under 42 USC 1983.

Anderson, in an interview with News 6 said he was passing time before his midnight shift at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where he works as an Air Force contractor, and believes Ferreira targeted him because he is black.

“In my opinion, he saw me as a crime,” Anderson said. “And he was going to arrest me no matter what.”

The lawsuit alleges that Deputy Ferreira falsely claimed that a clear plastic bag tied in a knot containing two rocks of crack cocaine was thrown out of the passenger side window of Anderson's car as he drove to work on the night of January 29, 2018.

Ferreira conducted a traffic stop, ordered Anderson out of the car, and confronted him about the alleged bag of drugs. The original stop, Anderson told News 6, was for a faulty tag light.

"Anderson stated very clearly that the windows to his vehicle were all up and that he never threw anything out of the vehicle," the lawsuit reads.

Other deputies arrived on scene, and allegedly found the bag in the grass by the side of the road. A field test returned a presumptive positive for crack cocaine.

Deputy Ferreira then asked to search the vehicle, a request which Anderson refused. According to the complaint, Ferreira and other deputies "illegally searched (Anderson) and his vehicle" but "did not find any evidence of criminal activity to connect (Anderson) to the alleged cocaine found inside the plastic bag."

Anderson was charged with a third degree felony of cocaine possession and a first degree misdemeanor of possession or use of drug paraphernalia. Anderson was cuffed, placed in the back of a patrol car and booked at the Brevard County Jail where he was held for about 36 hours before posting bond of $2500.

Anderson immediately pled not guilty to the charges which the lawsuit describes as "baseless and frivolous."

On February 14, 2018 State Attorney Phil Archer's Office dismissed the charges against Anderson, indicating that prosecutors thought that evidence was insufficient to take the case to court.

"This case underwent a careful and thorough review by experienced prosecutors to determine if they reasonably believed the alleged crime could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," State Attorney spokesman Todd Brown said in a statement to FLORIDA TODAY.

"When that process found the required evidence was not sufficient, prosecutors were ethically and legally obligated not to pursue prosecution of the defendant. While there was sufficient probable cause to arrest the defendant, the standard of proof required to prevail at trial, is significantly higher," Brown said.

According to State Attorney's Office, review of the footage from the BCSO patrol car did not show anything being tossed from Anderson's vehicle as alleged by deputy Ferreira.

"Nothing could be seen being thrown from the defendant’s motor vehicle on the in-car video. Additionally, the defendant denied throwing anything from his motor vehicle and provides no further admissions. Under these circumstances, absent additional independent evidence, there was no reasonable likelihood of successful prosecution," Brown added.

Deputy Ferreira's conduct "was objectively unreasonable and violated the clearly established rights of (Anderson) under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and 42 USC 1983, to be free from stop, detention and interrogation in the absence of probable cause," the lawsuit alleges.

“None of this makes sense,” Anderson's attorney Daniel Faherty told News 6. “There was no tag light out, there was no baggie thrown from his car.”

Faherty was unable to provide comment to FLORIDA TODAY by press time.

Anderson is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Ferreira for his loss of liberty, freedom and mental anguish.

The lawsuit specifically names Sheriff Ivey as being responsible for damages resulting from Anderson's arrest and detention in jail. These relate to his reputation, health, shame, humiliation and embarrassment, mental and emotional distress, legal expenses and cost of bond and other related expenses.

Former deputy Ferreira is accused of acting in bad faith and exhibiting "wanton disregard of human rights, safety, or property" and the false arrest and imprisonment of Anderson. News 6 reports that Ferreira is no longer a BCSO deputy.

Records show Anderson has no criminal history and holds secret security clearance with the Department of Defense, a clearance which was interrupted because of the arrest but has since been reinstated, News 6 reported.

“This isn’t supposed to happen in America,” Anderson told News 6. “I was in the wrong place, wrong time, right color.”

Sheriff Wayne Ivey did not respond directly to the allegations when asked for comment. In emailed statement on Thursday, BCSO spokesman Tod Goodyear wrote:

“Sheriff Wayne Ivey and the members of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office remain unwavering in our commitment to protect our citizens and community!! It is our belief that “it takes a community to protect a community” as we all work together to keep Brevard County a safe place to call home!!”

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon is a watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact him at 321-355-8144, or asassoon@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @alemzs