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Avon Park Couple Celebrates Court Acquittal

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: March 12, 2009

SEBRING - Sue Diaz looked to her three guardian angels for strength this week during her trial for battery of a police officer.

Throughout the proceedings, Sue took the advice she said her heavenly protectors - her father, grandmother and uncle - gave her; to "sit down and be quiet."

"And I've done that," Sue said. "Through the whole trial, I sat down and (kept) quiet and hear the ugly things they were saying about me. It feels bad, but all I could remember was those three."

The jury went in to deliberate around 3:15 Wednesday afternoon. At 5:20, they returned with verdicts of not guilty for Sue Diaz and her husband, Pete Diaz, on the charge of battery of a law enforcement officer.

Pete Diaz was also found not guilty of resisting an officer with violence.

A third defendant, Michael Davis, the couple's son-in-law, was found guilty of the lesser charge of misdemeanor battery of a law enforcement officer.

"It was kind of rough because they read hers first - not guilty," Pete said. "Then they read my son-in-law's and they put guilty on him with a lesser charge. I said, 'What are they going to say about me now?'"

Sue was "happy" about the jury's verdict, while Pete said it felt "pretty good."

Although the Avon Park couple was found not guilty, their 20-year-old son, Michael Diaz, was sentenced Feb. 4 to five years in prison after entering pleas of no contest to the same charges.

The fifth defendant, Richard Mendez, was found not guilty Thursday afternoon of the same counts. The allegations were that he pushed Officer Christy Harbaugh and made threatening remarks toward her after other officers arrived at the Diaz home to investigate a battery complaint.

Happy New Year?

The year 2008 did not start off well for the Diaz family. On the first day of the year, they were taken into custody on the charges following allegations they hit Avon Park Police Officer James Parker several times.

The incident started while the family was at an Avon Park New Year's Eve party. Erica Diaz, who was not arrested, said she and her sister started arguing after getting into the middle of a domestic squabble between the host couple, according to a Jan. 3, 2008 Highlands Today report.

Erica said she tried to leave the party after the incident, and her mother, Sue, and brother, Michael, tried to stop her. The three were outside arguing when off-duty officer Parker reportedly arrived to try and stop the argument.

At that time, the suspects allegedly began hitting Parker and shouting profanities at him, with Sue Diaz also jumping on the officer's back and causing the two to fall to the ground.

Erica believed it was Parker who started the fight. Sue filed a battery complaint against the officer and the matter was looked into, Avon Park Cmdr. Michael Rowan previously said.

No charges were filed against him.

That issue was discussed by both attorneys during closing arguments at Wednesday's trial.

Assistant State Attorney Richard Castillo asked the jury whether they believed an eight-year law enforcement officer would "throw away" his career by hitting a 45-year-old lady in front of several witnesses.

Defense attorney Mark Taylor asked whether it was "common sense" to believe that Sue Diaz, at 5 feet 3 inches and disabled, could hold down the 6 feet 2 inch, 215-pound police officer.

'She Has Not Been The Same'

Over the past year, Pete has been keeping a "clear mind" while dealing with the charges against him and his family.

Sue has not taken it so well.

"It's been rough for her," Pete said. "She has not been the same."

Sue said she was frightened simply by seeing other local law enforcement because of her belief she was seen as a "cop beater."

"I was always scared," she said. "When I got into Sebring, I could drive comfortable. In Avon Park ... every time I see a police car, I panicked."

The only time she was happy was when she got to see her son during prison visits.

After leaving, "I would go back to my shell," Sue said.

Finding Peace

Pete said Thursday morning he and his wife may one day look at moving out of Avon Park. Right now, they are waiting to see where their son winds up serving the remainder of his sentence.

Michael is presently in a jail in Orlando, according to his father.

As for Sue, she proclaimed that Thursday morning was "very good" because of Wednesday's verdict.

It was guardian angels that sustained her through the trial, but it was a symbol of her 28 years of marriage that told her she and Pete would be OK.

"The symbol of your (wedding) ring does not have no cut," Sue said. "I walked around that courtroom, because around that courtroom circle, there was no cut. My peace was that we would not be found guilty and we would not be separated by 15 years in prison."

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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