[renner01]

Jesus what is wrong with our commissioners? Power really seems to corrupt and make them feel above the law



clock May 16, 2006 12:01 am US/Eastern
Miami Commisioner Winton Arrested At MIA
Winton Was Charged With Disorderly Conduct And Battery
Miami-Dade Police Say Winton Appeared Intoxicated
Officers Had Been Called To Escort Winton From A Bar
Image

Brian Andrews
Reporting
Poll

Should This Arrest Cause Commissioner Winton To Be Removed Fom Office?

(CBS4 News) MIAMI Miami City Commissioner Johnny Winton has been arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and Battery on a Law Enforcement officer, following an alleged scuffle with police at Miami International Airport. Winton was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment after he allegedly slipped and injured his head. A Miami-Dade police spokesperson says Winton appeared to be intoxicated.

Police sources and others who were present told CBS4 reporter Brian Andrews that the dust-up happened Monday evening on Concourse E, near a bar, when the commissioner allegedly became upset about a flight delay caused by weather. Miami-Dade Police spokesperson Nelda Fonticella said Winton was intoxicated, and management at the bar had called for help in having him removed.

Witnesses told Andrews that Winton allegedly argued with another person, and two Miami-Dade police officers responding to the management's request tried to calm things down.

The officers apparently had the opposite effect, when Winton is claimed by witnesses to have taken a swing at one of the officers, and tried to kick another. It was when Winton was attempting the kick, witnesses say, that he lost his footing and slipped on the marble floor, fell, and injured his head.

Fontinella told CBS4 that as police attempted to take him out of the bar, Winton became belligerent and yelled "don't you know who I am?"

Winton was taken to ward D at Jackson Memorial Hospital, commonly known as the jail ward, for treatment of his injuries. Miami-Dade police say he will eventually be taken to the Miami-Dade Jail for processing of the charges against him.

CBS4 attempted to contact Miami Mayor Manny Diaz but was unable to reach him for comment. Commissioner Winton’s chief of staff said he was unaware of the incident, outside of what he’d heard from the media, and had been unable to reach commissioner Winton.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

 

[spellbound]

They should have left him on the floor with a "Your Tax Dollars At Work" sign next to his limp, drunken body.

 

[renner01]

What a jerk-off

Miami city commissioner Johnny Winton sits bloodied in the rear of a Miami-Dade police car after his arrest on battery and disturbing the peace charges following a bar fight.

Miami city commissioner Johnny Winton in handcuffs after his arrest on battery and disturbing the peace charges following a bar fight

 

[Roark]

Wow. Not good.
What a terrible arrest photo. That one blows Nick Nolte's away.
The lesson here is don't wear flip flops to the airport because you might get loaded and slip when you are trying to kick a cop. Next time, he should wear some comfortable loafers.

Man, how many police did the 5'5'' 160 lb guy think that he was going to take out??

 

[miamicanes]

Well, at least he wasn't buying drinks for a transvestite prostitute

I hope it doesn't hurt him too badly, though... he's one of my favorite City Commissioners, and one of the few who's consistently fought against excessive City Hall bureaucracy (the story of his 2-day quest to get a building permit for a steel shed from Home Depot, and subsequent fight to have the process streamlined for the City's homeowners to make it quick and easy, comes to mind). Nine times out of ten, when some hapless homeowner gets hurled into the meat grinder of the City's bureaucracy and ends up having to beg the City Commission for mercy, he's the first one to stand up and say, "Screw lofty academic idealism, this is a real person who's getting hurt for no good reason but blind bureaucracy, and it's our job to step in and save him because nobody else can."

 

[dave8721]

Commissioners usually get removed from office when accused of a felony (Winton is accused of 2 serious ones). So I wonder who will be replacing him? If I remember correctly Mayor Diaz got to choose Teele's replacement when he got removed from office for merely threatening to harm a police officer (as opposed to Winton who actually did).

Reason #1 why you do not try to fight a group of cops. Odds are you are going to lose. Badly.

 

[BornInTheGrove]

lololol pardon my french lololol.... but he got fucked up!

 

[renner01]

A LITTLE HUMILITY NEVER HURT ANYONE


Posted on Wed, May. 17, 2006

MIAMI
Winton regrets airport fracas with police
City Commissioner Johnny Winton said he was sorry after an embarrassing run-in with police at Miami International Airport.
BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ AND DAVID OVALLE
[email protected]

Visibly uncomfortable, at times seemingly near tears, Miami City Commissioner Johnny Winton on Tuesday publicly apologized following an alcohol-induced scuffle with police that may prompt his removal from office -- and at the very least has scarred his political career.

''You can work your entire life to build a good reputation and through choices severely damage that reputation in the blink of an eye,'' Winton told reporters in front of his Coconut Grove home.

``My choices last evening did precisely that.''

His apology came as Miami-Dade police released documents detailing the public altercation at Miami International Airport on Monday evening.

Winton and a Texas man named Karl Folckemer, both headed to Houston, were drinking at the Altitudes Bar near Gate A-3 as their flight was delayed -- and ultimately canceled -- due to foul weather.

A receipt released by police shows Winton started a bar tab at 5:48 p.m. and paid $130.26, including a $20 tip. Charged: seven glasses of Mondavi Pinot Grigio wine and four beers with side shots of Knob Creek whiskey and Disaronno amaretto liqueur.

According to police, around 7:30 p.m. Folckemer was complaining to American Airlines ticket agents because of the weather delay and because the airline would not provide him a hotel for the night.

Miami-Dade airport district officers Chuck Greene and Juan Murias were summoned and Folckemer was warned not to revisit the gate.

`WITHIN HIS RIGHTS'

Then Winton stepped in for Folckemer, identifying himself as a commissioner and loudly saying the man was ''within his rights to argue with the agents,'' according to a police incident report.

The officers walked away, figuring the two would return to the gate and continue arguing. They did, police said.

Police were again called to the scene and Winton began cursing at them: ''Go f--k yourselves,'' he said, according to an arrest report.

The commissioner ''had a strong odor of alcohol on breath, had slurred speech,'' the report says. The officers told Winton he was under arrest on a charge of disorderly intoxication, a misdemeanor.

At that time, the report said, Winton ''threw his hands up in an aggressive combative manner.'' The officers then ``physically handcuffed Winton.''

As the officers escorted Winton out, the handcuffed commissioner struck Greene with his shoulder and head, hitting the officer's shoulder-mounted radio against his mouth, chipping his tooth, the report said.

Winton kicked Murias in the groin, police said.

The commissioner lost his balance, police said, slipping on the airport's marble floor and slamming the right side of his face into an elevator wall.

In addition to sustaining his injuries, Winton now faced two felony counts of battery on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an officer with violence.

Folckemer was charged with disorderly intoxication and trespassing after warning.

It wasn't clear whether the incident was captured by video surveillance cameras.

LIKE A `JERK'

At around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, Winton -- his head wrapped in gauze -- posted $15,000 bond and told WFOR-CBS4 he had acted like a ``jerk.''

He described one officer as ``the most aggressive person I've probably ever met.''

Later Tuesday, Winton was less critical of police: ''I have had a long and positive relationship with law enforcement personnel for years and I respect the different challenges they may face daily,'' he said in his prepared statement.

The Miami-Dade state attorney's office Tuesday was still reviewing the case and had not decided if it would charge Winton on all four counts. Prosecutors' deliberations may take days, or even weeks. Should Winton be hit with felony charges, a suspension from office pending trial would be likely.

SUSPENSION POLICY

Russell Schweiss, a spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush, said it is the policy of the governor to suspend public officials who are formally charged with a felony. He said the governor's office has already requested the ''charging document'' from the state attorney's office.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, a close Winton ally who took criticism earlier this year for partnering with the commissioner on a multimillion-dollar real-estate deal, called the arrest ``an unfortunate incident for a man who has distinguished himself as a dedicated public servant to the residents of South Florida and our city.''

He said in a statement: ``Everyone in our country has a right to a presumption of innocence pending the resolution of our legal process. I ask all city residents to allow this process to take its course.''

Miami Herald staff writer Gary Fineout and research editor Monika Leal contributed to this report.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/14596369.htm

 

[Rx727sfl2002]

sounds like the officer slammed winton into that wall based on the police report which would be very serious on his part. (but they say he fell) if a man kicked you in the nuts what would you do as an officer? get mad and slamm his ass into something. floor wall whatever... suprisingly that area of the airport had no cameras yet its by an elevator?

winton will get all charges dropped but will be handed a misdemeanor of public intoxication or disorderly conduct but nothing more.

they usually give you a slap on the wrist if you have a good background and are a public figure.

lets see how it plays out...

 

[The Mad Hatter!!]

winton is actually a very good commisioner, he has constantly fought for changes in city hall, in my opinion he's probably the best commisioner we've got, so its quite sad that he got drunk and acted like an idiot.

 

[BornInTheGrove]

shit happens when you get shit-faced.

 

[rider_of_rohan]

shit does happen, but its best to not happen in public and involve the police and the news.