- An off-duty sheriff's sergeant was arrested for allegedly attacking an elderly couple at a beach bar in Florida.
- Melbourne police mistakenly detained a 15-year-old Black teenager while searching for a runaway, resulting in a fractured elbow.
- Officer William Markle resigned 15 days after the incident, with prior records of disciplinary issues but no confirmed link to the detention.
MELBOURNE, FLORIDA — Florida law enforcement is facing renewed scrutiny shortly after an off-duty Florida sheriff’s sergeant was arrested for allegedly attacking an elderly couple at a beach bar.
In a separate incident, body-camera footage shows Melbourne police officers forcing a 15-year-old Black teenager to the ground and placing him in handcuffs while searching for a different runaway youth. The officers realized within minutes that they had detained the wrong person, but the teenager was left with a fractured elbow.
One of the officers involved resigned 15 days later.
Police Were Searching for a Runaway Teenager
The confrontation unfolded on the evening of Wednesday, June 24, after Melbourne police were called to an apartment complex to search for a 16-year-old runaway.
The missing teenager’s mother reportedly warned officers that he might run and asked that he be taken for a mental-health evaluation under Florida’s Baker Act.
Police records described the runaway as White and Hispanic. The 15-year-old who was mistakenly detained is Black. However, the records released to local media did not establish exactly what physical or racial description each responding officer had received before the pursuit began.
Officers said they saw a teenager wearing a white shirt and carrying a backpack running through a courtyard and across Lake Washington Road. They believed he was the missing youth and began ordering him to stop and get on the ground.
Bodycam Captures Taser Threat
The body-camera footage shows officers shouting commands and threatening to use a Taser as they approached the teenager.
The boy repeatedly told them that he had not been running and was not resisting. He appeared confused as the officers ordered him onto the ground and moved to restrain him.
Officer William Markle later wrote in his report that the teenager ignored commands, resisted efforts to place him in handcuffs and reached toward his waistband. Markle said the movement caused officers to fear that the boy might be reaching for a weapon.
No weapon was reported to have been found.
Markle wrote that he pinned both of the teenager’s elbows against the ground while the officers secured his wrists.
Officers Realize They Have the Wrong Teen
The mistake became clear after an officer asked the handcuffed teenager whether he was the person police were trying to find.
He said no.
The department’s dispatch records show that officers reported having someone in custody at 7:56 p.m. Just one minute later, another entry stated that the person they had detained was not the runaway.
The officers removed the handcuffs after confirming his identity.
Police located the actual runaway a short time later and transported him for a mental-health evaluation.
Teenager Suffers Fractured Elbow
After the handcuffs were removed, officers noticed swelling around the teenager’s right elbow.
Emergency medical workers initially believed the elbow might have been dislocated. Later reporting said the injury was diagnosed as a fracture.
The teenager’s mother, Angela Sparks Hansen, said her son should never have been injured during a search for someone else.
“This should have never happened,” she told FOX 35. “My son should not have a broken elbow.”
The department completed a use-of-force report, although its findings had not been publicly released when the body-camera footage became available.
Officer Resigns 15 Days Later
Markle resigned from the Melbourne Police Department effective Thursday, July 9, exactly 15 days after the confrontation.
In his resignation letter, Markle said he had decided to pursue other career opportunities. He did not mention the injured teenager, the mistaken detention or the department’s use-of-force review.
Melbourne police confirmed his resignation but did not say whether Markle had been under investigation or facing disciplinary action. The department also did not confirm whether his departure was connected to the June 24 encounter.
Personnel Records Reveal Previous Discipline
Personnel records obtained by FOX 35 showed that Markle had previously faced discipline for several alleged policy violations.
Those records included incidents involving failure to activate his body-worn camera, improper application of a city ordinance, delays in completing reports and processing evidence, and conduct unbecoming an officer related to the alleged off-duty harassment of a former boyfriend.
The Melbourne Police Department said its administrative review of the mistaken detention remained ongoing. No criminal charges against Markle or the other officers involved had been announced.
To see more disturbing cases involving police misconduct, mistaken identity, and shocking incidents caught on camera, check out our video here:
