MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – After Mary Brown was diagnosed with diabetes, she experienced nerve damage, poor blood circulation and sores that were difficult to treat.
Doctors had to amputate both of her legs from the knee down. Brown needed to see an endocrinologist, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a mental health provider and a social worker. But with poverty comes neglect.
The 52-year-old wheelchair user panhandles for money. A few weeks away from Christmas, Brown was at a gas station in Homestead. A Miami-Dade police officer shouted her alleged crime.
"You got a dollar from that lady," he said.
The officer said Brown was a regular at the Chevron gas station at 12701 SW 268th St. She hadn't learned her lesson, so he threatened her.
"We are going to add another charge," the officer said. "You are going to be in there forever instead of getting out tonight."
As it turned out, there were lessons to be learned about the way police officers handled Brown's arrest. Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez promised to contact experts to ensure proper training when facing a disabled offender.
Jay King, a gas station customer, filmed Brown's fall after police officers handcuffed her. The officer also threatened King with a loitering charge.
"Would y'all get me some help, please? They are hurting me," Brown said.
King did what he could without getting arrested. Days later, the Miami-Dade Police Department released two segments of body cam video.
"Listen man, that lady has been testing us for the past two weeks," the officer said during the body-camera video recording, as he was looking for plastic gloves. "Yeah bro, you can't just get off, because you are handicapped."
Attorney Mark DiCowden said on Friday that he is representing Brown. He wants Miami-Dade County to pay. In a letter of intent to file a lawsuit, he claimed Brown suffered "severe injuries" during the Dec. 3 arrest. No matter how superficial a wound is, diabetes patients have a higher risk of infection and have problems with wound healing.
"She was obviously mishandled by law enforcement," DiCowden said during a news conference.
Brown appeared in front of Judge Michelle Alvarez Barakat on a trespassing charge, which was dismissed.
The incident had similarities with Sheketha Holman's November arrest in Harris County. The 36-year-old wheelchair user was handcuffed and ended up on the ground at a gas station. Officers shot Holman with a Taser and she was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing.
VIDEOS RELEASED DEC. 8
LETTER FILED DEC. 9
