Internal Affairs Probe Cites Miami Sergeant for Grabbing Elderly Vet by Throat

Miami police officers were responding to a tenant dispute at a Little Havana apartment complex in March 2022 when the situation devolved into a 69-year-old veteran getting seized by the throat by a police sergeant and arrested on a bunk charge of battery.

In heavily redacted body-cam footage obtained by New Times, two cops are shown speaking with the man, Culon Walker, outside the doorway of a two-story, blue-gray apartment building. Wearing a button-down T-shirt covered with palm fronds and black jeans, Walker is clearly upset in the video — his voice rises as he tells Sgt. Antonio Fernandez that his roommate is not allowed back inside. He is heard loudly urging Fernandez to reach out to another officer who had previously sided with him in the tiff.

After a few moments of listening to Walker shout about the conflict, Fernandez lunges at the elderly man, grabbing him by his throat and taking him to the ground inside his apartment, according to witness statements. He accuses Walker of spitting on him.

"Now you're gonna go to jail," Fernandez tells Walker as he handcuffs him and walks him down the stairs of the apartment building to his police car.

"You spit in my face," Fernandez tells Walker.

"I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to," Walker says.

"You didn't mean to spit in my face?" Fernandez asks. "Why did you spit in my face?"

"I didn't. I was talking. I was just talking," Walker says.

Fernandez then takes Walker to a patrol vehicle, searches him, and places him in the back of the car. Within minutes, Walker is whisked off to a police station on a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer.

It did not take long for the sergeant's superior and fellow officers to determine that the spitting was purely accidental. As Walker explained, he had no teeth and often unintentionally spat when he spoke. Numerous officers who were called in to review the footage believed Walker's explanation, including a ranking Miami police lieutenant, an internal affairs report states.

At the station, Walker complained of chest pains and was transported by fire rescue to Miami Veteran Affairs hospital, where the lieutenant made contact with him and explained that he was being "unarrested." Walker, who noted he is disabled and had a heart condition, remained at the hospital for five days following the altercation. He told investigators that he was evicted when he returned home.

Walker died nine months later, on December 4, 2022, at his daughter's residence in Princess Anne, Maryland, according to a local obituary.

The Miami Police Department's internal affairs office and the Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP), an independent oversight panel for Miami police, determined that the sergeant had used excessive force during the incident. The case will be discussed at the CIP's April 25 meeting.

According to the Miami Police Department's use of force policy, "officers shall only use such force as is reasonably necessary and authorized to effect an arrest or defend themselves or others," and the level of force used "should be consistent with the subject's level of resistance." Officers are also prohibited from striking the head, face, or throat of someone who doesn't pose an imminent threat to officers or others on the scene.

Fernandez has worked for the Miami Police Department since 2006 and has ten use-of-force incidents on his record. He's currently on paid administrative leave, a department spokesperson tells New Times.

The local police union did not respond to New Times' request for comment on the incident.

The internal affairs report states that while Fernandez maintained that he did not choke Walker, he admitted that he instinctively reached forward and put his hands on Walker's neck to push Walker away when he felt the spit on his face. He told internal affairs that he thought the spit was intentional because he was not looking at Walker; he also said that he became upset because he had already gotten COVID twice.

"Sergeant Fernandez stated that at the time, he thought the spit was intentional, but now in a 'calmer environment,' he can see that it was inadvertent," the internal affairs report states.

In the body-worn camera footage, Fernandez is seen attempting to justify his actions to his partner while Walker is in the police car. "I'm gonna wash up," Fernandez tells his partner after making a circular motion around his face. "Can't let that go because next time he deals with somebody, it's gonna get worse."

Walker says, "I didn't do nothing... I was in my own house."

According to the obituary, Walker was born in Georgia and attended high school in Salisbury, Maryland. In his youth, he cooked in several restaurants, worked as a correctional officer, and eventually joined the Army.

"He played basketball, softball, and he was a good pitcher," the obituary reads. "There was no doubt he could strike them out!"

New Times was unable to reach Walker's family for comment.