did I did I do something wrong yes what you hit this definitely over here I hit you yeah you did hit you he just looked at you crazy I hit you I never touched you man I would never touch anybody I did never did I hit you you didn't hit me no that guy said I did not hit him he knows I didn't hit him I was going home to my mom did I do something wrong no I didn't do anything wrong get off of me you're gonna be sued do I look like I've been drinking f*ck you man all you wanted to do is hurt me did I do something wrong yes what you hit this I definitely over here I hit you yeah you did please help me please I can't I can't I'm here you can't I know my right my name is Jonathan Montel Jonathan Jonathan is this you yeah that's my stuff oh my God I don't have anything I don't smoke pot I don't do drugs nobody said you did buddy nobody said you did look oh my God you did put your shoes on Jonathan oh man f*ck you don't even bother don't even bother I'm so mad I didn't do anything wrong nobody said you did nothing wrong man Jonathan nobody said you did do anything wrong I now my now I can't get back to my flight what's wrong I fly home every weekend to see my family so what's the problem today you had too much to drink I didn't do anything now you guys like did this to me I didn't do anything nobody did anything to you buddy why am I here right now look at me Jonathan why you remember me from the hallway you gave me a high five I didn't do anything get out of here don't talk to me Jonathan you take any medication I don't huh Jonathan you take any medication I have nothing to say you're not gonna say anything where do you live at Jonathan I don't answer questions you're not gonna answer anything now I thought I was your friend man I gave you a high five you you said I was not my friend you said I was cool you said I was the best officer are you here to take me home I don't know where home is man you're not talking to me are you here to take me home can I leave am I allowed to leave not right this second buddy give me my you don't have any ID in your wallet go ahead take your wallet can I leave no not right now no you're dissing me are you dissing me there's another officer coming to talk to you are you dissing me don't go anywhere are you no are you dissing me yes right now you're what I'm talking for what what did I do you're not acting in a rational what did I do you're not acting in a rational can I leave no you can't leave no you're telling me I can't leave right now where do you wanna leave to you just you just missed my flight you just missed my flight I was going home to my mom my head was where you live at Jonathan no not right now did I I'm gonna get another officer gonna come here and he's gonna help you no did I do something wrong this tell me right now right now you smell your your breath smells like you're I don't give a sh*t did I do something wrong I do because you're creating a disturbance here in the no I didn't do anything wrong you are yeah you did yeah no is that wrong is that against the law I'm going nobody's gonna let you fly sit down sit down I didn't do anything wrong and I'm trying to go home I'm trying to go home man I'm just trying to go home like I love my kid I just wanna go home please please baby I just wanna go home oh no way no on August 6th 2,023 officers at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport responded to a reported disturbance at the TSA checkpoint the subject Jonathan Montel was visibly distressed and exhibiting signs consistent with alcohol intoxication that initial observation became the legal foundation for everything that followed under Florida Statutes Section 8 56.0 11 public intoxication that creates a disturbance or endangers the safety of others constitutes a criminal offense combined with the reported disturbance at a federal security checkpoint officers had reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate a temporary investigative detention under Terry versus Ohio Terry versus Ohio 3 92 United States 1 1968 permits a brief investigative stop when an officer can point to specific articulable facts suggesting criminal activity the critical distinction this case turns on is what separates a Terry stop from a de facto arrest and when that line was crossed without the required probable cause help me help me I'm out help me help me get off me I'm trying to go home you made me bleed look at me bleed look at me bleed I didn't do anything wrong to you I just wanna go home you're gonna stay right here let me go I didn't do anything to you let me go let me go let me go get off of me you're gonna be sued you're gonna be sued please please you're gonna be sued get off of me stay down get off of me get off of me I didn't do anything to you I didn't do anything to you man seriously you don't have to do this are you kidding me why did you do this to me I just wanted to walk away I just wanted to walk away I just wanted to walk away I wanted to walk away I wanted to walk away oh oh oh I'm here please I'm here I got you I got you I'm not fighting with you I'm not fighting with you please help me please he's gonna f*cking hurt me please put your other arm behind your back oh my God put your other arm behind your back I'm trying to I'm trying to I'm trying to please help me please help me oh my God that guy hurt me so much all you wanna do is hurt me nobody wants to hurt you no you did all you wanna do is hurt me oh my God all I want to do is f*cking leave man that was it f*ck you sit down no sit down you're a p*ece of sh*t Jonathan I tried to help you out no you didn't do anything I tried to no you what you did was f*cking punch me in my eyes nobody punched you no you punched me it's all on camera buddy no good good I can't believe Jonathan f*ck you do I look like I would f*cking hit a guy like him he's too big for me is he drinking or something at 1 minute 45 seconds into the encounter Montel stated I have nothing to say seconds later I don't answer questions these are unambiguous invocations of the right to silence officers did not acknowledge either invocation they continued asking about his home address medication use and personal phone number throughout the remainder of the encounter the Fifth Amendment protects against compelled self incrimination in a de facto custodial environment which this detention became continued interrogation after an invocation of silence is constitutionally problematic under Missouri versus Cybert 5:42 United States 600 2004 deliberate continued questioning after a silence invocation can render subsequent statements inadmissible Montel asked to leave four times between the two minute and three minute marks each request was denied under Florida versus Bostic 5:01 United States 4:29 a seizure exists when a reasonable person would not feel free to leave a seizure was clearly established by this point the legal question shifts to whether that seizure was still supported by Terry's lower standard of reasonable suspicion or whether it had matured into an arrest requiring probable cause officers cited an alleged battery by Montel as the basis for escalating to physical force this is the pivot point if the battery occurred it provides both probable cause for arrest and legal justification for the use of force that followed under Graham versus Conner 4 90 United States 3 86 1989 the reasonableness of force is judged by three factors the severity of the alleged crime whether the subject posed an immediate threat and whether the subject was actively resisting on the first factor a third degree felony battery on a law enforcement officer is a serious charge on the second no weapon was present on the third Montel was verbally and physically resistant but not presenting an armed threat the ground restraint and handcuffing sequence falls within the physical control tier of the use of force continuum no impact weapons no chemical agents no deadly force was applied that is relevant to the proportionality analysis however the factual predicate for the battery charge is contested a bystander captured clearly on body cam audio stated that Montel had not struck the officer this constitutes on scene exculpatory evidence Florida Statute Section 7 84.07 subsection 2 b requires proof that the subject intentionally touched or struck a law enforcement officer who was engaged in the lawful performance of official duties both elements are now in question the intentional contact is disputed by an eyewitness and if the underlying detention had transitioned into an unlawful arrest lacking probable cause the lawful performance element may also fail I don't care you've been drinking do I look like I've been drinking all I want to do is go home my wife and my son ma'am when I was looking for you why are you acting like a fool bro I didn't do anything man all I was trying to do was go home all I want to do is go home man so when we were looking for the kid yeah I saw him in the hallway do I look like I was trying to do anything all I want to do is go home to my son my son is a boy b*tch man all you want to do is hurt me he f*cking threw me on the floor man f*ck you man all you wanna do is hurt me no f*ck you man I didn't do sh*t man you're gonna go back on it you're gonna go back on the ground just do it and I hope your f*cking where's your video cam it's right here man it's been on the whole good it doesn't blink it doesn't blink where is it at so f*ck out of here don't touch me you p*ece of sh*t I didn't touch you that was the horrible that's not how you do it either please man I just want to take my kids home stand up I didn't do anything man it's my kid I didn't so hard like please I didn't like I didn't I didn't do sh*t please it's so hard are you kidding me are you really kidding can you not like I'm not walk like a normal person like this way I can't because it's so hard do you understand how hard this is right please like can you like can you please lie I'm not going anywhere do you think I'm gonna run away from you what are you asking please can you like please like we'll get you in a minute I actually haven't told you what I did wrong right actually actually what did I do wrong what did I do wrong we're gonna he's gonna explain that to you I don't know this I got here I got here after after everything was done I didn't do anything wrong I didn't do anything wrong I'm legal I'm legal in this f*cking system what did I do wrong no I wanna talk to you you're a good man I appreciate it I need you to tell me what I did wrong I gotta find out I haven't found out yet once I find out I didn't do anything wrong once I find out what did I do wrong what did I do wrong what did I do wrong I'm gonna f*cking open up my office tomorrow I have an office where do you live at Tampa are you kidding me I didn't do anything wrong what did I do wrong I have a job I have a job can you please tell me we're gonna explain everything to you I'm asking I'm asking what what what's your phone number what's your phone number I have a I have a phone I have a company I have other I have other people that were give a report to me please I'm asking you for we have people we're gonna report you also I'm just asking you for kindness please just have a seat have a seat in the car we're gonna go over all the kindness I mean what am I being ex what did I do you wanna find out yes I wanna know what I am doing no I need to know what I'm being exposed to are you gonna go in the car voluntarily what did I do are you gonna go in the car voluntarily no or I'm gonna put you in the car you didn't tell me what I'm being exposed for are you gonna go in the car voluntarily did I did I do something wrong yes what you hit this definitely over here I hit you yeah you did hit you he just looked at you crazy I hit you come on man please man my daughter my daughter man are you kidding I never eat you are you kidding me my daughter my daughter are you kidding me he just no are you kidding me my daughter I never touched you man I would never touch anybody I swear to God I love cops I love cops I would never I would never disrespect you oh my God oh my God what's your name he said I f*cking hey a cop I would never touch that Jonathan oh my God Jonathan sit in the car what did I do oh my God oh my God hold it up until we figure out what's going on Johnny he just said I f*cking in the car let's go have a seat in the car no I can't trust you get in the car this guy said I need to have him I did never did I hit you you didn't hit me no that guy said I did not hit him he knows I didn't hit him the disorderly conduct charge under Florida Statute Section 8 77.03 requires conduct that corrupts public morals or outrages the public sense of decency not merely loud or profane behavior profane language directed at law enforcement officers is constitutionally protected speech under city of Houston versus Hill 4 82 United States 4:51 profanity alone cannot sustain a disorderly conduct charge Montel also repeatedly demanded to be told what he was being charged with this is not merely emotional it invokes a due process right under the 14th Amendment the right to fair notice of the legal basis for one's detention officers remained vague in response for an extended period the failure to timely communicate the grounds for detention compounds the constitutional exposure and directly undermines the lawfulness of the continued seizure on the civil liability side these facts present a viable Section 1983 claim under 42 United States Code Section 1983 which permits suits against officers who deprive individuals of federally protected constitutional rights under color of state law potential claims include unreasonable seizure without adequate probable cause continued interrogation after silence invocation and use of force premised on a disputed and potentially unsupported factual predicate qualified immunity would be the primary defense officers are shielded unless the constitutional right was clearly established at the time of the violation the 5th Amendment invocation issue and the Bostic seizure standard are both well established law not novel questions this reduces the likelihood that qualified immunity would provide complete Protection on every claim particularly the continued interrogation after an invocation of silence in a de facto custodial setting no what are we doing man I'm not here to hurt you do I look like I'm getting in the car and we'll talk no please just put me on the side over here I just my daughter my daughter is here my daughter just flew here man she's here you're gonna make things worse Jonathan I have a six year old daughter come on get in the car I'm gonna talk to you please are you gonna make things worse man my daughter I'm asking you for a favor man my favor is can we sit over here and talk about for what I'm telling you did I do anything wrong to you well they're gonna explain it no I but I did I do anything wrong no not to me no get in the car why am I going in this car why are you hitting me you bite me you're gonna be in trouble come on let's go let's go just stay calm stand up stand up Johnson knock it off please please please let's go I swear to God I would never I would never help I would never do this stop please please you're a good cop please help me please help me please help me please I'm asking you for please please help me please I can't I can't I'm air trapped oh my God oh my God please help me please what did I do to hurt you oh my God you're let me go right now you're a good man thank you you're a good man appreciate let me see you I love you I love you I love you let me see your wife I love you so much man you do like that alright buddy do anything sh*t I swear to God I didn't do anything I swear to God I didn't do anything I'm not a p*ece of sh*t here do me a favor turn this way I swear to God I didn't do anything turn this way face this way my kid is waiting for me to be here it's in that box I swear to God I swear to God I don't have anything no we're just getting your wallet I have no the why you keep pushing me like that my arm he keeps pushing my arm relax relax man nobody's hurt please you're a p*ece of sh*t no he's not no nobody's a p*ece of sh*t no this guy you're having a bad day man no I didn't do anything wrong man are you kidding me all I wanted to do was go home alright please can I go home Jonathan what's your birthday 10 six 79 10 6 79 you can't keep me in a car like this you can't 10 six 79 you can't you can't I know my rights let me out now now now I didn't do anything wrong let me out now let me out now did I did I do something wrong charge me with something OK right now what's your address Jonathan no you charge me with something right now you don't wanna give us your address do you want me do you do you really wanna get me sued are you kidding Jonathan we're trying to help you out but we can't no you're not you're trying to f*cking f*ck me up where where is this did I do something to you we'll get it don't worry about it relax are you kidding me let's examine the constitutional framework the responding officers received a grade of B minus the initial detention was legally justified the force applied stayed within the physical control tier however continuing to question Montel after two explicit invocations of silence failing to timely articulate grounds for detention and relying on a factually contested battery allegation as the basis for escalation are material procedural failures these are not minor oversights they are the specific deficiencies that generate civil rights exposure and can result in suppression of evidence and dismissal of charges at the trial level Jonathan Montel receives a grade of C+ he correctly invoked the right to silence demanded to know the basis for his detention and at no point presented an armed threat the deductions are significant physical resistance to a lawful detention even a detention with constitutional defects does not produce a favorable legal outcome it eliminates the most powerful argument available that no basis for force existed at all the correct legal remedy for an unlawful detention is compliance in the moment and challenge through the courts afterward that principle has been affirmed consistently across Fourth Amendment jurisprudence Montel's conduct gave officers the very justification they needed both for the use of force and for the battery charges his legal position would have been substantially stronger had he remained physically passive and let the constitutional violations stand on their own three lessons emerge from this encounter that apply to officers and civilians alike first silence invocations must be acknowledged when a subject states they have nothing to say or declines to answer continued questioning in a custodial or de facto custodial environment is not a neutral act it is a constitutional violation with evidentiary consequences second the factual predicate for force matters using physical force to effect an arrest that is premised on a disputed allegation particularly one contradicted by on scene eyewitness testimony creates compounded legal exposure the force may be proportionate in isolation and still be unlawful if the underlying basis for the arrest fails third physical resistance converts a potential constitutional win into a criminal charge a subject with a viable unlawful detention claim who physically resists has handed the government its most defensible justification for everything that followed compliance preserves rights resistance forfeits them let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more content on police court interactions