Jan. 30--An attorney for two men shot by DeLand police officers is accusing the department of covering up details about the incident last Sunday at a trailer park on Carroll Street.
Scott M. Miller said he plans to file a federal lawsuit this week against the department, Chief Bill Ridgway and Officer Bobby Harrelson, alleging violation of civil rights by a law-enforcement officer on behalf of Javier Perez, 37, and Leobigildo Espinoza, 36.
Police said the two men were shot after aiming a weapon at officers. Police said officers announced their presence in English and Spanish.
Miller, though, said witnesses' statements differed widely from police accounts.
In particular, witnesses said neither man was holding a weapon when police arrived, and that they only heard police announce themselves after a number of shots had been fired. The men had been firing a BB gun earlier in the day, but it was sitting on a stove about 20 feet away when officers arrived, Scott quoted witnesses as saying.
Perez and Espinoza face two counts each of aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer.
A call to the DeLand Police Department for comment was not immediately returned.
Copyright 2012 - The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
