INVESTIGATING THE POLICE: THE JUAN G. PEREZ INCIDENT

On June 26, a videocamera at the Sarasota County Jail recorded a Sarasota police officer kicking a handcuffed suspect.

Before the department even had finished investigating possible criminal charges against the officer, the city had paid out $400 to the man who was kicked, Juan G. Perez. A Herald-Tribune reporter happened to be at Perez’s home on July 16 when a police detective drove Perez to the bank to cash the $400 check.

Combining the criminal investigation with the civil settlement violates a basic rule of police work, say legal experts who also have suggested that police officials may have broken the law.

Police Chief Peter Abbott apologized to the community, and implied that the unusually quick settlement attempt came only after the detective had taken Perez's statement for the criminal investigation. But an e-mail obtained via a public records request showed that that police considered sending a detective with a settlement offer even before beginning the criminal investigation.

The fallout includes:
• Abbott placed on paid leave on July 24;
• Sarasota City Manager Robert Bartolotta seeking an outside agency to do an administrative review;
• Six or more police offers under scrutiny; and
• Perez, 21, working with an attorney to possibly sue the city.