Deemed not credible and barred from testifying in the 10th Judicial Circuit, Michael Rowan received what has been a career death sentence for many law enforcement officers in the country.
He was placed on a Brady List, a tool about half of the Florida state attorney's offices use to keep track of law enforcement personnelwith a history of credibility issues, before his termination as theAvon Park police chief in 2011.
Rowan's career in law enforcement found a second lifeat the Clewiston Police Department and the Hendry County Sheriff's Office.His appearances in court also did notstop as prosecutors in the 20th Judicial Circuit were unaware of his past indiscretions until the Naples Daily News and News-Press recently inquired about his continued use.
Despite his past ouster and concerns about his credibility from its state attorney colleagues, local prosecutorswill continue to use the Hendry County lawman as a witness, adding another inconsistency to a system lacking uniformity.
"We have reviewed the documents from the 10th Circuit and do not find the facts as alleged are a Brady violation," Communications Director Samantha Syoen said."We will continue to use Rowan as a witness and will provide in discovery to the defense the material from the 10th Circuit in every case where Rowan is a witness."
More:State attorney used Hendry County officer as witness despite him being on a noncredible list
TheSupreme Court's 1963 decision in the Brady v. Maryland case established that prosecutors were required to disclose any exculpatory evidence, including evidence that would impeach a witness.But from circuit to circuit, prosecutors handle Brady material differently.
Some offices only issue notices to indicate the presence of potential Brady material. Others compile lists to notate officers with potential credibility issues or ban them outright from testifying. The 10th Judicial Circuit's list, obtained through a public records request,contains at least 87 current or former officers that it will not call as witnesses.
The 10th Judicial covers Hardee, Highlands and Polkcounties. The 20th covers Collier, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.
Then-State Attorney Jerry Hilldisqualified Rowan from testifying on Aug. 25, 2011.
Rowan's credibility came into question after he was accused of making "inappropriate recordings" and giving "untruthful and insubordinate" responses when approached by then-City Manager Julian Deleon.
The city manager also noted Rowan made threats about having "nine inches of paperwork" and recordings that "would lock everyone up," in reference to elected officials after they chose to revisit his employment contract.
Rowan filed a complaint against the elected officials, including allegations of open meetings law violations and falsifying documents, but an investigator from the state attorney's office found no wrongdoing.
At the request of the city of Avon Park, the Polk County Sheriff's Office also investigated Rowan and found that he had instructed a police employee to wipe his computer's hard drive. Taking into account the Sheriff's Office investigation and his own office's inquiry, Hill determined he could never use Rowan as a witness again.
"During the course of that investigation, we discovered a pattern of conduct on your part that I find troubling," Hill wrote. "Standing in isolation the incidents that Investigator (Michael) Ivancevich details would be a cause for concern. Taken in their totality, they rise to a level that this office cannot ignore."
A second life
Months after his dismissal as police chief, he found employment in the 20th Judicial Circuit at the Clewiston Police Department.
Arrest records obtained by the Naples Daily News and News-Press show Rowan was the primary arresting officer in 11 cases. He assisted in dozens of others and computer assisted dispatch records show he was called to the scene at least 33 times before his employment ended in March 2017 due to budget cuts.
The State Attorney's Office for the 20th Judicial Circuit was unaware of Rowan's past until recently. It wasn't until the Daily News and News-Press inquired about Rowan that it requested his do-not-use letter from the 10th Judicial Circuit.
In one of the recent cases Rowanworked, which resulted a felony drug conviction, his use is being questioned by defense counsel.
More:Attorney files for mistrial after prosecutors failed to disclose Hendry officer's credibility issues
Attorney Adam Oosterbaan filed a motion of a mistrial last week in the case against his client Carlton Rush, indicating the state and Rowan failed to disclose the credibility issues.
Oosterbaan argued Rush would not have been convicted if not for Rowan's testimony.
Sentencing was scheduled to take place this week but has been delayed as the court determines what course of action to take with regard to Oosterbaan's motion.
Adding to the disjointed nature of the criminal justice system, John Chambliss, communications coordinator for the Office of the State Attorney in the 10th Judicial Circuit, has said Rowan's letter is still in effect in its jurisdiction.
Chambliss said it would be inappropriate to comment on prosecutions in other circuits.
The list that's not a list
Although it has barred current and former officers from testifying, the local state attorney's office has maintained that does not maintain a Brady List per se. Public records indicate otherwise.
Names kept in tabular format, internal emailsalong withletters to agencies compiled in a supervisors' file and obtained through public recordsrequests make up its list.
And if there was any confusion about the vernacular,State Attorney Amira Fox and Assistant State Attorney Anthony Kunasek have referred to the discredited officers and their corresponding files as the "do not subpoena list" in emails.
In total, 14 officers or deputies in the 20th Judicial Circuit have received the designation but the state attorney's office has no set criteria for how it makes its decisions.
"Each case is evaluated on a case-by-case basis as are the findings about potential witnesses," Syoen said. "We cannot speak in generalities. We also must rely on our law enforcement partners to vet their employees prior to being hired."
Sex, lies and videotape
A review of letters the state attorney'soffice penned about the officers and internal affairs recordsshow a variety of reasons, some more flagrant and brazen than others.
On the more innocent side, former Cape Coral police officer Toni Palermo forged the sentence, "I wish to press charges," on two victims' statements on the day after her first shift alone.
Former Collier County Sheriff's Office deputy Charles Smith threw away his law enforcement career after surveillance footage showed him attempting to steal a $9.94 bottle of Melatonin from Walmart. He resigned from the Sheriff's Office and was not prosecuted for petty theft due to his age and the cost of the merchandise.
His colleague, Robbie Lewis, also joined the ranks of the discredited one year laterwhen he intentionally withheld that a person arrested on suspicion of DUI had blown into two different intoxilyzers, including one that indicated a "purge failure."
Coupled with a previous incident where jurors complained Lewis' conduct, then-State Attorney Stephen Russell wrote to Sheriff Kevin Rambosk that Lewis "lacks an understanding of the criminal justice system and his responsibilities within it as a law enforcement officer."
After Lewis received a suspension and was disqualified from testifying, he was transferred to a civilian position at the Sheriff's Office, where his salary his risen 19% since his demotion, payroll records show.
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Then, there are officers who abused their positions and went rogue.
In 2015, then-Charlotte County Sheriff's Office deputy Eric Ireland's love life landed him in hot water. Ireland was arrested on the charges of official misconduct and perjury in connection with a tip he gave the Fort Myers Police Department that resulted in the arrest of his ex-lover's husband.
Ireland claimed an informant provided him with information that police could find drugs in the man's truck, days after the man was released from an Alabama prison.
He followed up with the detective on the day of the arrest with a description of the vehicle, the types of drugs it was carrying and their concealed location, as well as an exact location of the vehicle. But in truth, there was no informant.
During the traffic stop that led to the arrest, police observed a black Mercedes-Benz driving around and the driver laughing in a “child-like manner.”
Two undercover detectives later positively identified the driver as Ireland, according to arrest affidavit.
Around the time of Ireland's arrest, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office also caught Ireland using law enforcement databases to stalk a woman he threatened to give a citation to if she didn't go on a date with him.
But for the 14 law enforcement officers identified, their inclusion also tells a tale of inconsistency andfails to portray the fuller picture of past misconduct of officers that could potentially testify in court.
Liars, crooks and racists missing from list
The state attorney's office does not actively search for or request disciplinary files of law enforcement officers.
"The Chief of our Special Prosecution Unit reviews any disciplinary matter brought to our attention by law enforcement," Syoen said."It is also part of our discovery disclosure document that it is up to the defenseto request public record for a law enforcement officer’s personnel file from their agency."
The personnel files of current officers and internal affairs logs show the state attorney's office simply cannot relyon law enforcement to hire and retain ethical officers before calling them to the witness stand.
Former Hendry County Sheriff's Office deputy Germain Garcia was added to the do not subpoena list in January. Internal affairs records show Garcia was arrested after he claimed to have made an arrest when it was done so by a bail bondsman impersonating an officer.
But there's no mention of the past history of misconduct for theHendry County deputy in its professional standards division, which forwarded the internal affairs documents to the state attorney's office.
More than 10 years ago, Lt. Benjamin Rowe resigned while under investigation at the Collier County Sheriff's Office for forging the signature of his ex-girlfriend's father on a Medicaid benefits application and misusing a government database to run her name.
Rowe acknowledged forging the signature but said he had permission to do. It resulted in $2,308 in food stamp benefits being conferred illegally.
The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, which holds the power to revoke Florida officers' certification for moral character violations, placedhim on six months probation and ordered ethics training.
Moral character violations include but are not limited to adjudication of guilt for felony offenses, some misdemeanor crimes such as theft, as well as instances of dishonest behavior or bias.
Allowed to keep his certification, Rowe joined the Hendry County Sheriff's Office where he was been remained.
More:Police officer who had video of FMPD captain went from Brady List to Hendry County Sheriff's Office
The state attorney's list also makes no mention of Rowan'scolleague, Darrin McNeil, who was fired by the Moore Haven Correctional Institution in 2013.
Before gaining being employed by the Sheriff's Office and the Clewiston Police Department, commission records show McNeil was fired because he "used (a) racial slur toward (an) inmate, resulting in a use-of-force incident by back-up officers."
Within the 20th Judicial Circuit, data obtained from the Commission shows the complaint against Rowe was one of 839 made against law enforcement officers for moral character violations through 2019.
More than 190 officers within the 20th Judicial Circuit have lost his or her certifications for moral character violations since the early 1980s.
These figures do not necessarily include proven agency policy violations for untruthfulness that have resulted in some officers such as former Charlotte County deputy William Saxer landing on a Brady list.
Saxer was added to the list more than a year after he was terminated for lying about performing a query in Pawn Finder for stolen items. He then compoundedhis lies with more untruths when pressed.
"It’s not something I’m proud of, and it’s something I will never do again,” Saxer said during his internal affairs interview. “… I’ve learned from this situation, and I’ve taken the steps to get my head screwed back on straight and I’m willing and able to take and accept any punishment the agency sees fit.”
The problem with his famous last words and unbeknown to the state attorney's office was that the incident wasn't a first. He committed a similar infraction in 2005 when Saxer lied about respondingto a call for service despite his vehicle sitting unoccupied and motionless in a parking lot.
