No Arrests Made In Racial Profiling Case: Sarasota County Sheriff
Crime & Safety
No Arrests Made In Racial Profiling Case: Sarasota County SheriffSARASOTA, FL — No charges will be brought against three men who were recorded following an 18-year-old Black man through the Sarasota neighborhood of Skye Ranch last month, according to a statement from Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman.
The teen, Cornell Harris, III, recorded the Oct. 10 incident with his phone as he walked through the neighborhood. His mother shared the video online and filed a complaint accusing the men of racial profiling with the sheriff's office, reports said.
The video shows the teen being followed by 36-year-old Romulo Nobrega, 41-year-old Stephen Carega and 43-year-old Geffrey Gardner, Hoffman said.
The men follow "Harris for an extended period of time, while attempting to question him and becoming more confrontational," the sheriff said.
Several versions of the video were edited and shared on several social media platforms, according to Hoffman. One social media influencer even falsely claimed that a gun was used during the incident, he added.
During the investigation, witnesses told deputies that "Harris made inappropriate comments towards female neighbors in the area," the sheriff said.
The three men then followed the teen "in what can only be described as an agitated manner," Hoffman said.
After following Harris on foot, Carega left the area, went home, got in his vehicle and drove to where the teen was still walking.
The video shows Carega getting out of his vehicle and taking out "what appeared to be a wooden stick of some type," the sheriff said. He stayed about 30 to 36 feet away from Harris, who was still walking and videotaping the incident.
Another Skye Ranch resident restrained Carega, keeping him from advancing towards Harris. There was no gun seen during this encounter, Hoffman said.
An off-duty sergeant living in the area who learned about the incident and responded to the scene "correctly determined that Mr. Harris was lawfully walking" and told the men to stop following him, according to the sheriff.
"As your sheriff, I understand the public interest that this event brought to our community over the last several weeks. I also understand the heightened emotions of everyone involved. As a law enforcement agency, our job is to put aside emotion, outside influences and social media commentators to conduct a thorough investigation to determine if a criminal violation of Florida law has occurred," Hoffman said.
He continued, "It should be noted that in order to establish probably cause for an assault charge we must prove that there was, (1) an intentional unlawful threat by word or act to do violence (2) coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and (3) creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent. Detectives were not able to establish these three elements during the course of their investigation."
