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Veteran Officer Appeals Dismissal

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2007

After 25 years with the Florida Highway Patrol, Greg LaMont had risen to the rank of captain and oversaw four counties, including Pasco.

But after a traffic stop last year, in which LaMont is accused of berating a motorist and punching the man's car, he finds himself fighting a criminal charge, and his highway patrol career is over.

LaMont, 46, of Brooksville, was charged with criminal mischief after a Michigan man he stopped for speeding along Interstate 75 accused him of punching and damaging his 2002 Mercury Sable. Hussein Ahmad Atris also said LaMont called him "stupid," "brain dead" and "crazy" during the Sept. 3, 2006, stop, according to patrol documents.

The Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office charged LaMont with a first-degree misdemeanor in April, two days before the highway patrol placed him on administrative duty. He was fired July 31 and ended his career as commander of the Land O' Lakes district, which includes Pasco, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties.

An internal investigation concluded LaMont was guilty of conduct unbecoming a public employee and of violating statutory authority, rules, regulations or policies.

In a letter dismissing LaMont, then-Florida Highway Patrol Director Christopher Knight wrote: "The circumstances are further aggravated because you are a captain and a district commander, whose duty it is to set the example of correct and honorable behavior for those you supervise. As a 25-year member of the Florida Highway Patrol, you can be in no possible doubt as to the improper nature of your conduct."

LaMont has appealed his dismissal to the Public Employees Relations Commission.

The criminal case is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 14. If convicted, LaMont faces a year in county jail, one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.

LaMont could not be reached for comment. His attorney, George Angeliadis, did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.

In an interview conducted as part of his internal investigation, LaMont denied punching the car or using abusive language during the stop. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge he is facing.

According to patrol documents, LaMont and other troopers were working on I-75 in Pasco County. The trooper in an aircraft, Sgt. Miguel Cendan, alerted LaMont to two speeding vehicles, one driven by Atris and the other by his fiancee, Nicole Lee Hall.

Hall and Atris were on their way home to Dearborn, Mich., after a stay in Parrish. The couple's 10-year-old son, Zein, was riding in the backseat of his mother's car.

It isn't clear from investigative documents how LaMont signaled Atris and Hall to stop. Both vehicles stopped in the roadway, according to statements from LaMont, Atris and Hall.

Hall and Atris told investigators they stopped in the road because they didn't realize they were being stopped for speeding. Both said they thought there was some sort of emergency happening.

LaMont pulled his car into the median, got out and began yelling and signaling Atris and Hall to pull their cars out of the right-of-way, documents say. Another trooper drove by in the right lane, flashing his siren and motioning for Hall and Atris to move.

When they didn't move their cars, LaMont continued yelling as he approached until they finally complied.

LaMont told investigators he used a loud voice in telling Atris and Hall to move their cars but denied using abusive language. Nothing else unusual happened, he said. He wrote both Atris and Hall speeding citations - they were traveling 83 mph in a 70-mph zone - and sent them on their way.

Atris, Hall and their son, however, said LaMont smashed the left rear of Atris' Sable with his fist as he approached, denting the car and causing about $1,000 in damage. The couple said they didn't realize the Sable was damaged until they stopped in Georgia later that day.

Hall filed the formal complaint on Sept. 6, 2006.

In a statement to investigators, Angeliadis said he found problems with the evidence.

"I did have a chance to review the statements of the witnesses and found them to be glaring with inconsistencies," he said.

Although LaMont has no criminal record, he does have a disciplinary history with the highway patrol. In 2001, he received a five-day suspension for a violation of policy.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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