“Ocala Gazette” lawsuit against MCSO to be reassigned to another judge following hearing

A hearing was held on August 12 for the “Ocala Gazette’s” lawsuit against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office [Caroline Brauchler/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

After the final hearing was held Monday in the “Ocala Gazette’s” lawsuit against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Circuit Judge Steven Rodgers recused himself from the case after hearing over two and a half hours of testimony and arguments.

The “Gazette” seeks to obtain surveillance footage from the Marion County Jail in relation to the death of inmate Scott Whitley on Nov. 25, 2022. Whitley’s surviving family has viewed this footage and claims it shows several detention deputies using excessive force against Whitley, despite his compliance with their orders- causing his death.

The court must decide whether the footage is exempt from being released as a public record under Florida Statutes §119.071(3)(a)1 and §281.301, which allow video surveillance to be shielded from the public if it would compromise the facility’s security, or whether there is good cause to release the video as a public record to serve a public interest.

The “Gazette’s” case refers to the precedent of the case when news outlets successfully sued for the release of surveillance video footage of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting in Parkland for the public to understand the questionable police response. The “Gazette” wishes for the court to find that releasing the footage of Whitley’s death would serve the public’s interest, as it believes Whitley’s death is part of the larger societal problem of the treatment of the mentally ill, in and out of jail.

On Tuesday morning, the “Gazette” received a notice that Rodgers would be recusing himself from considering the case any further. The case has been reassigned to Lake County Circuit Judge James Baxley.

The “Gazette” seeks to verify the events that caused Whitley’s death, given the different narratives described by the Whitley family after viewing the footage and by the sheriff’s office. MCSO claims Whitley was not compliant with deputies’ commands leading up to and during the incident that led to his death, contrary to the family’s claim that the footage shows Whitley in compliance. Over the course of the 12-minute altercation that led to Whitley’s death, the nine officers involved deployed Tasers 27 times and used pepper foam and physical force to subdue him. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

During the hearing on Monday, MCSO General Counsel Marissa Duquette reemphasized the department’s claims that releasing footage from the Alpha Echo Pod of the jail could expose potential blind spots and weaknesses in the facility’s security system. Duquette and the defense’s witness Nathan McClain, the MCSO detention investigations supervisor who filed the initial incident report after Whitley’s death, said releasing the footage could allow inmates to potentially use contraband or attempt to escape with knowledge of the capabilities of the security system.

The “Gazette,” represented by attorney James Slater, asked Rogers on Monday to determine whether the records the newspaper is seeking are subject to disclosure; to find that MCSO had a duty to disclose these records; to find that MCSO’s delay in releasing the records was unjustified; to find that MCSO’s refusal to release the records was unlawful; to order MCSO to permit the “Gazette” access to the footage without delay; and to award the “Gazette” compensation for attorney’s fees, costs and expenses accrued.

The court heard testimony for the plaintiff’s case from “Gazette” Publisher Jennifer Hunt Murty and Pamela Whitley, the sister of the descendent.

The “Gazette” brought forward 16 exhibits of evidence; including several articles covering Whitley’s death and the subsequent lawsuits; correspondence between the “Gazette” staff and former MCSO general counsel Tim McCourt, who is now a circuit judge; correspondence between “Gazette” staff and Duquette, who took over for McCourt at the beginning of 2024; photographs from the cell and hallway of the jail where Whitley was killed; and legal records from both the “Gazette” lawsuit and the Whitley family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff, which has now been settled.

The correspondence included multiple attempts and suggestions of compromise from the “Gazette” for MCSO to release the footage.

Murty’s testimony emphasized to the court the newspaper’s motive for obtaining the footage, highlighting the “Gazette’s” desire to bring attention to the larger community issue of the treatment of the mentally ill and the conditions in the Marion County Jail.

Murty described the discrepancies she found between the narrative given by the sheriff’s office and the narrative given by the Whitley family after they viewed the footage.

“The initial press release concerned us because it was misleading,” Murty said. “It could have been a really important opportunity for the sheriff to shine a light on a societal problem, which is that we do not have enough resources for those that are mentally ill or their families who are trying to take care of them.”

Murty described the press’ role as part of the checks and balances system of government and explained her desire to protect a vulnerable population by demanding accountability.

“The only way sometimes you can get through to people to show the misery of it is to show them a photo or a video,” Murty said. “We can write all the words but until you see it, it’s easy to try to act like it’s not happening.”

Pamela Whitley, who spoke on behalf of her brother’s estate, called herself “her brother’s voice,” offering her perspective since her brother no longer can. She has seen the footage from her brother’s cell and described what she saw to the court.

“It was barbaric. I saw it with my own two eyes. They repeatedly kept tasing him and also pepper sprayed and he was pleading for help,” Whitley said. “I don’t know how more compliant you can be when you’re sitting on a toilet completely naked with your hands up saying, ‘Wait.’”

The family’s case against MCSO was settled, a decision which was made by Whitley due to the declining health of her parents and their inability to take the stand, she said. The estate received compensation of $150,000, and now wishes to support the “Gazette” in its case.

“My family would like the public to see that video, because I don’t think that was an isolated incident,” Whitley said.

McClain’s testimony brought to light further details of Whitley’s time in jail, clarifying that the man was housed in the Alpha Echo Pod of the complex, where inmates who are deemed “escape risks” are held under higher surveillance.

While being questioned by Slater, McClain testified that “in theory,” an inmate would be able to map out the locations of the cameras in the jail and relay that information to other inmates or be able to take advantage of any weaknesses or blind spots in the surveillance system.

McClain described the circumstances of why Whitley was denied clothes while in custody, saying that inmates who pose a risk to themselves or others often have all items removed from their cells that they could use for harm, including clothing and bedding.

In McClain’s report, he described only the detention deputies’ actions at the time of Whitley’s death and did not describe any actions Whitley made that could be noncompliant. He explained this by claiming that as he knew the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be investigating the death due to use of force, his investigation was surface level to give the FDLE investigators an overview.

The judge could not make a ruling within the same day of the hearing, citing a need to further review the evidence and testimony. No further events have been scheduled in court since the case was reassigned to Baxley.

Slater urged the court to rule in favor of the “Gazette,” saying it is in the public’s best interest to bring the footage into the light.

“I think we’ve met our burden to show that there’s good cause that the public has an interest in this. We’ll call this that it’s newsworthy,” Slater said. “The family wants the video out there.”