MELBOURNE, Fla. – Newly obtained body camera video shows Melbourne police officers forcing a 15-year-old boy to the ground and handcuffing him during a search for a runaway teenager.
They soon discovered they had the wrong kid.
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The June 24 video shows officers threatening to use a Taser as they order Cohen Everage onto the ground. Cohen repeatedly says he was not running and was not resisting before crying out that his arm was hurt.
The mistake becomes clear when an officer asks Cohen whether he is Armani, the name of the runaway police were trying to find.
“No,” Cohen answers.
According to officers’ written accounts, police were called to an apartment complex after 16-year-old Armani Roman left home. His mother told officers he might run and asked that he be evaluated under Florida’s Baker Act.
Officers said they saw a teenager in a white shirt and backpack running through a courtyard and then across Lake Washington Road. They believed the teenager was Armani and ordered him onto the ground.
Officer William Markle wrote that Cohen ignored commands, resisted officers’ attempts to handcuff him and reached toward his waistband. Markle said the movement caused officers to fear Cohen could be reaching for a weapon.
Markle wrote that he pinned both of Cohen’s elbows to the ground until officers could secure his wrists in handcuffs.
The department’s dispatch timeline shows police reported having someone “in custody” at 7:56 p.m.
One minute later, an entry reads, “THIS IS NOT ARMANI.”
The department’s records list Armani as white and Hispanic. Cohen is listed as Black. The documents do not establish what racial description each officer received before the chase.
Officers removed the handcuffs after determining Cohen was not the runaway.
Police said Cohen’s right elbow appeared swollen. Fire Rescue personnel believed it might have been dislocated, according to the case report. The department’s records also show that a use-of-force report was completed, but the documents provided to News 6 do not include its findings.
Officers found Armani a short time later and transported him for a mental health evaluation.
Fifteen days after the takedown, Markle resigned from the Melbourne Police Department.
His resignation letter, effective July 9, says he believed it was in his best interest to pursue other career opportunities. It does not mention Cohen, the mistaken detention or the use-of-force review.
Melbourne police confirmed Markle’s resignation but have not answered News 6’s questions about whether he was under investigation or facing discipline, or whether his departure was connected to the June 24 incident.
Cohen’s mother referred News 6 to an attorney. News 6 left that attorney a message but has not yet received a response.