[FL] PBSO Sgt. Brent Raban: "But like a good batterer i know the areas that hide the marks well."

...Together with two subordinates, [Palm Beach Sheriff's Office] Deputies Gregory Lynch and Michael Woodside, Raban would work the streets of the county's western communities, sometimes sporting a camouflage skullcap emblazoned with the word "PUNISHMENT," the investigation determined... Interviews done by internal affairs paint Sergeant Brent Raban as the leader of the group... The result of the investigation was the firing of Deputies Gregory Lynch & Michael Woodside and Radan's demotion from Sergeant to Deputy... "It was a comment I made in extremely bad taste," Raban told investigators later. "It was meant as a joke"...

Facebooker Palm Beach Sheriff's Sgt. Brent Raban wrote on fellow-facebooker Ralph Clark's photo of a battered suspect:
"Gravity... usually its agood something...sometimes it bites ya... ...had a guy run from me last night...i caught him upstairs and he too fell down soome stairs last night...and his medical clearance took a while...ask Lynch. But like a good batterer i know the areas that hide the marks well." [LINK]

SGT. RABAN'S FACEBOOK PROFILE PICTURE:
Demoted deputy on Facebook: 'I know the areas that hide the marks well'
Palm Beach Post
By Michael LaForgia
July 28, 2009
[Excerpts] Sgt. Brent Raban wore a badge and carried a gun issued by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, but he didn't think of himself as a crime fighter. Instead, the seven-year Sheriff's Office veteran considered himself a punisher on the mean streets of Belle Glade, and he bragged in Internet postings about his prowess in battering the people he arrested, according to an internal investigation released Monday. Together with two subordinates, Deputies Gregory Lynch and Michael Woodside, Raban would work the streets of the county's western communities, sometimes sporting a camouflage skullcap emblazoned with the word "PUNISHMENT," the investigation determined... Lynch and Woodside each were found to have broken four department rules and recommended for firing... In a prominent place on [Facebook] Raban's page, the former sergeant typed, "It's not crime fighting ... It's dealing out PUNISHMENT!"... In other places on his Facebook page, Raban crowed about dealing harshly with the people he arrested, writing in one instance that he roughed up one suspect. "But like a good batterer," he added, "I know the areas that hide the marks well." "It was a comment I made in extremely bad taste," Raban told investigators later. "It was meant as a joke." In another instance, he lamented that he was losing his cool because he had gone 14 days without hitting someone. [Full article here]
Cops suspended over controversial Facebook postings
WMGT
Posted by Brandon Long blong@wmgt.com
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
[Excerpts] ...Palm Beach Sheriff's Office Colonel Michael Gauger says the entries are "very concerning." Interviews done by internal affairs paint Sergeant Brent Raban as the leader of the group. There is a photo of him wearing a skull cap with the word "Punishment" on it. The comment on it reads, "It's not crime fighting...It's dealing out PUNISHMENT."... An email in December tipped off the sheriff's office. What followed was an internal affairs investigation into Sergeant Brent Raban, Deputy Sergeant Gregory Lynch and Deputy Sergeant Michael Woodside... Deputy Sergeant Gregory Lynch and Deputy Sergeant Michael Woodside were fired. Lynch has about two years with PBSO, Woodside less than one. Sergeant Raban has more than ten years with PBSO. He was demoted. He has also been reassigned and is not returning to the Glades. The Palm Beach County State Attorney's office found there was not enough evidence to press charges. [Full article here]
Rogue sheriff or foolish facebooker?
Palm Beach County Top News Examiner
Claire Portmann
July 29, 3:45 AM
[Excerpts] Brent Radan, with his actions on the streets of Belle Glade and his braggadocio on facebook, brought an Internal Affairs investigation down on himself and his two subordinates... In his photo album section, there are booking pictures of suspects who have required medical attention. They have the feeling of trophy mount displays. Under one of these, Radan comments about the suspect having been on the biting end of gravity and “But like a good batterer I know the areas that hide the marks well”... Whether the self promotion and allegations made on his facebook pages are true or not, the damage has been done. The result of the investigation was the firing of Deputies Gregory Lynch & Michael Woodside and Radan's demotion from Sergeant to Deputy. But the real damage is that which has been done to the image of and trust in the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. It is especially so in the western part of the county, where these three patrolled and confronted people on the streets. [Full article here]
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