When I first heard the news reports about six high-school cheerleaders in Polk County, Florida, whupping up on a girl who posted insults about them on MySpace, it didn’t really surprise me. When I learned that they had videotaped the whole beating to post on MySpace, that didn’t surprise me, either. And when I learned that the video was never posted by the girls even though it is all over the InterWeb, I was puzzled.
But when I learned that the only reason the video was all over the place was because Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had released it to the media, I wasn’t surprised a bit. See, the high sheriff of Polk County is a blabbermouthed media whore who gladly sacrifices due process and individuals’ legal rights on the altar of his ego.
Judd wasted no time going on a media tour to express his outrage at the brutality of the attack and the girls’ lack of remorse after their arrest:
“It’s absolutely an animalistic attack,” Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday on NBC’s Today. “They lured her into the home for express purpose of filming the attack and posting it on the Internet.”
But then, a judge imposed a gag order on the high sheriff of Polk County:
Responding to an emergency request by an attorney for one of the eight people arrested in the case, Circuit Judge J. Michael McCarthy said there was concern that further public discussions about the case could affect the suspects’ right to a fair trial.In his request for the gag order, attorney James “Rusty” Franklin wrote that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had “released a barrage of inflammatory, prejudicial information about this case” to the media, and Sheriff Grady Judd had characterized the suspects as having ” ‘animalistic behavior,’ a ‘pack mentality,’ ‘disgusting.’ “
Well, predictably, that just pissed off Judd, who released the following statement:
I have the highest respect for the court and highest personal respect for Judge Michael McCarthy. He is my friend. I do, however, respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling to prohibit me, as an independent constitutional officer, to speak freely and inform the public regarding this case or any case.
This isn’t the first case where Judd’s media whoring has jeopardized a victim’s getting justice. In March 2007, Ryan Skipper was brutally murdered in Polk County by a couple of repeat offenders and likely meth addicts, and Sheriff Grady Judd was there as judge, jury and spokesman for justice as he tried Skipper in the court of public opinion. Trish broke the story on Pensito Review last March, and we covered it extensively.
In a nutshell, Sheriff Grady Judd alleged that 24-year-old Ryan Skipper was out cruising for gay sex when he hooked up with the two thugs who were so repelled by Skipper’s gay advances that they stabbed him more than 20 times, slit his throat, left his body on the side of the road and stole his car.
Now to me that sounds about as brutal and animalistic as it gets — much more so than a couple of teenage girls having a dust-up over some insults on MySpace. But there is a similarity between the two cases. Judd saw an opportunity to mouth off to the media about aspects of the cases before either investigation was completed. In one case he released evidence — videotape — to the media that should have been preserved for the trials. In the other, Judd assassinated the character of a young gay college student based on what his killers said.
But Sheriff Judd’s brand of law in Polk County can itself be brutal. When the sheriff’s SWAT team caught up with a man suspected of killing a policeman and his dog the day before, they fired 110 rounds of ammunition, hitting the suspect 68 times. Judd’s comment at the time:
“I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that’s all the ammunition they had,” Judd said.
Nice sound bite, Sheriff Grady!
Is the Polk County Sheriff’s position an elected position? If so, when are the good people of Polk County going to kick Sheriff Judd out on his ear where he belongs? I remember his name from the Ryan Skipper murder and now this. At the very least his performance in office has been unprofessional to the extreme and that should be reason enough to un-elect him. But my guess is that he has the people fooled that crime is “low” in the county and it’s all because of him.
Actually, Garry, I monitor the news in Polk County, and crime there is high, especially violent crime. The place is rife with crystal meth and crack cocaine. It’s largely rural and poor, with a high number of migrant laborers. Sheriff Grady pretty much runs the county, he meets with church leaders about crime, he professes Christian beliefs, which plays well in rural Polk County. He’s also played the media well, and maintained a high profile that local folks think is a good thing. The honest people of Polk County see him as God’s gift to law enforcement and the bad guys I think are pretty intimidated by him.
So, Buck, it is an elected position? And, other than him being a media whore and making inappropriate statements to the press, he’s a good sheriff? I live in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, a suburb that is right next to New Orleans. We had a sheriff, Harry Lee, who was practically worshipped by the electorate. If anyone ran against him, he would still get over 80% of the vote. The impression everyone had was that he kept crime low out here, which isn’t easy with New Orleans right next door. Still, he was able to put his foot in his mouth often enough. Like when he told his deputies to “pull over blacks driving around in rinky-dink cars”. Or, on national TV he said that his deputies “served at his pleasure which means they have to do whatever pleases me”.But he was no Bible-thumper and refused to enforce the state obscenity law by ignoring it and allowing adult book and video stores to operate. He considered them, correctly, a victimless crime if a crime at all, so he refused to close them. But then the New Orleans area has never been a bastion or moralism. He died of leukemia within the past year.
Yes, he is elected. One thing about Grady Judd — he is not “colorful,” in the way Henry Lee may have been, and as was this site’s spiritual godfather, Zeno Ponder, a populist Democratic Party leader in the North Carolina mountains. Judd is a Christian nationalist and an exemplar of how dangerous these people can be when they get power. But he is neither evil nor stupid, he’s a rightwing religious zealot with a motor mouth.
The other factor is the jurisdiction, which is east of Tampa and south of Orlando. There are certainly nice parts but it has its share of hardscrabble neighborhoods where meth is rampant. Mostly, though, as Buck said, it’s Jesusland. Here’s the thing: Grady Judd fits right in, and it is not surprising that he is the most powerful elected official in Polk County.
Gosh Gary, you’re making me want to jump in the car and get on I-10 and head on over! I haven’t been to Louisiana in about 10 years, and I am long overdue. Your description of your late sheriff is precisely the kind of stuff that makes it fun (to visit).
Trish,
There’s more. Did you know that our former governor, Democrat Edwin Edwards, was indicted and convicted for accepting bribes in exchange for riverboat casino licenses? During the trial his defense was that he never told anyone that they HAD to pay him to get the licenses. He didn’t deny taking the bribes. The jury didn’t buy that argument, as he’s still serving a term at a federal penitentiary. While he was governor rumors swirled that he liked to play craps for high stakes. He was a high-roller and preferred Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas. He wore a disguise at the tables which included a wide-brim hat and dark sunglases. All the dealers knew him as “Dr Wong”. It wasn’t unusual for him to bet $10,000 a roll. After a particularly bad Vegas trip, Ceasar’s dispatched a private jet to the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge to pick up payment on his marker which was overdue. Attache’ cases of cash were reportedly delivered by the governor to the pilot of the jet. While chatting with a driver of a Gray Line bus in Vegas I was told that “the reason you have a casino in New Orleans is so your governor doesn’t have to come out here to gamble!”. In spite of all of this many people here still think Edwards was a great governor and wish he were still in office! And come visit whenever you like. We need the visitors and the business they bring. We’re still recovering from Katrina!
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i think that all the girls that was in the fight should face time cause there was no need for the fight and there was no need to hurt that girl that bad and it sure didnt tak all of the girls and i feel sorry for the girl that the beat she should have fought back