FL:Local man claims discrimination because he is white
Originally published — 4:51 p.m., October 10, 2007
Updated — 8:20 p.m., October 10, 2007
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/oct ... _he_white/?
It began mundanely enough with the sound of scraping metal and a 911 call.
Charles Goehle, 31, recounted for the dispatcher how a Hispanic man had swiped his van against Goehle's Ford F-350 in Bonita Springs. The dispatcher asked if she should send a deputy, and Goehle said with resignation, "Yeah, you better."
What happened in the ensuing minutes and hours is the heart now, a year and a half later, of a complaint of racial discrimination against the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Goehle and his supporters packed into the U.S. Attorney's reception office Wednesday to officially file his complaint, alleging he wound up in handcuffs that April 2006 afternoon because the deputies were "more favorable to the immigrant community" than to Goehle, a white man.
The case flips the tradditional narrative of prejudice and pits Goehle against a department that was quick to respond Wednesday with the release of Goehle's three 911 calls, on the last of which he can be heard bringing up race himself: "You better get a deputy here now before I kill a Mexican," he warned.
And in the middle of the volley of allegations, posted with Goehle before the news cameras and holding a sign over his head -- "Whites Have Rights" -- was James Muwakkil, who gained local notoriety advocating for the black community in Fort Myers.
"Every group racially discriminates at various times. The Hispanic community is no different," Muwakkil said, after Goehle dropped off the complaint. "This is going to change the face of civil rights because it's no longer people of color who are being affected. Now it will include white males who will find themselves to be the minority."
Lee County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante said he was limited in what he could say about the case, but he called the discrimination claims "outlandish, ridiculous."
Ferrante questioned why Goehle would wait until now -- 17 months after the incident, five months after Goehle pleaded out to an aggravated assault charge stemming from that day -- to file his complaint.
Would Goehle have felt so strongly that he was the victim of discrimination, Ferrante asked, if he'd gotten off in court?
"Whether it's an African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic (person)," he said, "it doesn't matter. We deal with all people the same."
Goehle's three 911 calls that day track a growing frustration and ultimately fury in his voice as he waited for a deputy to show up.
In the second call, he reports that the Hispanic driver has taken off. He agrees with the dispatcher to follow the van and, when he finds it, to direct the deputy there.
By the third call, Goehle would later say he was in "fear for my life" as he stood in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. He claims people came out of their duplexes and walked toward him as the victim, identified as Cayetana Regino, started calling out.
"Everybody says, 'I don't know, I don't know, no hablo ingles,'" Goehle told the dispatcher, before shouting an expletive. "If the son of a bitch tries to leave, I'm going to shoot him."
He admitted Wednesday that "the gun did come out of (my) truck briefly" so that he could defend himself against a crowd that was "coming after me." But Goehle denies any wrongdoing.
Goehle's arrest report picks up where the 911 tape leaves off: deputies accused him of pointing the gun at Regino, who was standing with three children, and later telling detectives that Hispanic people "need to speak English or go the (expletive) back to Mexico."
He was taken to jail and ultimately convicted on one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was given three years of probation, court records show.
Goehle said Wednesday he didn't mean what he said about the Hispanic crowd. He was scared, he said, and rambling -- and anyway, Muwakkil said, he didn't deserve what came next.
"To me it was no different than when you just say things. You get cut off on the street and go, 'I wish I could wring his neck,'" Goehle said, but "I know how it sounds."
In his federal complaint, Goehle says the investigation was the "hasty" work of an angry deputy who'd canceled a fishing trip for the case. The complaint alleges that deputies' reliance on an "illiterate" teenage relative of Regino's for translation "rather than a qualified professional reveals bias and partial treatment."
Goehle claims investigators ignored his request for a lawyer and interrogated him for "four grueling hours in handcuffs."
"Mr. Goehle maintains that race, ethnicity, language, and excessive force caused him to be charged falsely, be arrested falsely, and eventually be convicted falsely," the complaint finishes. Goehle said outside the courthouse that deputies were scared of seeming unfair to the Hispanic community.
He said he's been badly traumatized by his arrest.
The attorney who represented Goehle in his criminal case declined to comment on his allegations, citing the confidential relationship between lawyers and their clients.
Ferrante said Wednesday that Goehle seemed to be confusing his criminal case with the new complaint, looking to invalidate the investigation process only because he didn't like the outcome in court. "If you were violated that much," Ferrante said, "you would want immediate action, not wait a year and a half to see how the criminal case pans out."
Ferrante added, "Some of these allegations are outlandish, and as an agency we stand our ground."
