Coral Springs Police Rush to Judgment By James W. Colvert, Sr. PhD On February 6th, 2008, Anthony Murray was shot to death during an argument with three men in the street at 8600 Block of Forest Hills Boulevard. Mr. Murray, of Virginia, thirty-one years of age, was visiting family. An artist sketch of the shooter was taken from three eye witnesses to the crime. Detective Scott Myers of the Coral Springs Police Department was supposedly the lead detective in the investigation of this murder. The police received an anonymous phone call from Crimestoppers saying that the artist sketch resembled Anthony Colvert of Coral Springs. It is supposed that Detective Myers, checking into the background of Mr. Colvert, found out he was convicted of a felony charge of drug possession in 1986 and that he served his sentence on that charge. Mr. Colvert also had other charges stemming from marital discord and driving infractions. Putting Mr. Colvert’s picture in a photo array, two adult eye witnesses could not identify Mr. Colvert while a minor child said it could possibly be him. Mr. Colvert was scheduled to fly to Atlanta to help a friend with his construction work. Because of this flimsy evidence, Detective Myers rushed to judgment and arrested Mr. Colvert for felony murder in a hate crime (Mr. Murray was black; Mr. Colvert is Caucasian.) Mr. Colvert was then placed in the county jail for a period of forty days, during which his fiancée and family searched for evidence which would exonerate him. This is what they found: 1. Mr. Colvert was with a friend at the time the crime was committed more than two miles from the scene of the crime. 2. Mr. Colvert and his friend made several cell phone calls during the time the crime was supposed to have been committed. Triangulation of cell phone towers confirms Mr. Colvert’s whereabouts during the commission of the crime. 3. The eye witness description of the person committing the crime showed a person with a clean shaven face. Time and date stamped video shows Mr. Colvert with a full face beard four days after the crime. 4. Only the minor child made a possible identification from the photo array. I happen to be Mr. Colvert’s father. I know Tony better than almost anyone other than his mother. We have known from the first moment that Tony could not have murdered Mr. Murray. Tony has an aversion to guns which he got from me. He has never owned a gun and would not allow one in his home. He is a gentle giant with an easy going personality. Detective Myers rushed to judgment in arresting Anthony Colvert and the state’s attorney had to release him because he was innocent, a fact that did not enter into consideration with Mr. Myers. The age old idea of being” innocent until proven guilty” did not figure in Mr. Myers’s consideration of the crime. He was satisfied that because someone made an anonymous identification, because Anthony was a convicted felon in 1986 (having served his time 22 years ago) and because he held a plane ticket, he must be guilty and trying to flee the jurisdiction. Anthony volunteered to take a lie detector test and was subsequently given a voice stress test which he passed. He volunteered to make a statement which no one has seen fit to reveal. He denied vehemently his guilt from the first moment. The police searched his home and his vehicle and discovered nothing that could link him to the crime. Even the shirt they took from his home was nothing like the one described by the eye witnesses! I assume that Detective Myers needs to prove himself to his Department, his fellow officers or even to himself and he made a rush to judgment. Having arrested Mr. Colvert, it was nearly impossible to back down. The State’s Attorney said he would not have arrested Mr. Colvert with the evidence at hand. He did not take statements from family or friends which could have exonerated him before being subjected to arrest. In the blog connected with coralsprings.com, Mr. Myers was quoted as saying, “Coral Springs Police have their man!” and “…Colvert is definitely the shooter but we are looking for another man …”. He is later quoted as saying that “the other man” is not a suspect, as formally accused, but is sought as a witness. The other man has not yet been found or identified. In his rush to judgment, Mr. Myers has defamed the name and reputation, not only of Anthony Colvert, but also his children and family. His picture (a mug shot) was splashed across the pages of both print and electronic media saying that he was definitely the person committing the crime. I sent Mr. Myers an email in which I said, “I am waiting for you to apologize to both Anthony and his family for putting us all through the hell of the past forty days. If it proves that you are not man enough to do this, I won’t be surprised, since I don’t hold you in any great regards anyway. You have caused the character of Anthony and his family to be defamed. Your superiors must know that you have left yourself and the entire Police Force vulnerable to a number of charges. You have not upheld the respect and dignity your fellow officers deserver. You are either lazy beyond words, looking for the quick charge and arrest, or you are simply incompetent and should be dismissed.” To this I would add that if it was not laziness or incompetence on the part of Mr. Myers, it must have been gross stupidity of someone in a situation beyond his ability to take rational action. Whatever the reason, Mr. Myers made a rush to judgment which was allowed to stand by his superiors and colleagues, thus making the burden of an unjustified arrest not just Mr. Myers callous action but action shared by the Police Chief and his entire force. Robert’s Rules of Order indicate that silence is consent and therefore the responsibility of this unfair and defaming action is shared by the entire Police Force. I hope no one asks me to support this Police Force with my donations this year. James W. Colvert, Sr. PhD Professor of Philosophy & Religion Broward Community College (37 year tenure) Retired Presbyterian Minister (50+ years) 4111 NW 79 Avenue Coral Springs, FL 33065 (Resident since 1972)