BRADENTON — The two Bradenton Police Department officers did not turn on the blue emergency lights on their patrol car before they tried to stop the man riding a bicycle with no headlight in the early morning of Sept. 28.
The officers never radioed dispatch that they were about to make a traffic stop.
And the officers never turned on video cameras in the car that later might have given police investigators and the family of Derrick Humbert a better idea of what happened when Humbert led officers on a chase that ended with one of the officers shooting Humbert in the back with a Taser.
A short time after he was arrested and placed in an ambulance, Humbert, 38, was pronounced dead at Manatee Memorial Hospital.
A medical examiner’s office is awaiting a toxicology report in order to determine a cause of death. Officers learned after Humbert died that he had been wanted on a warrant for possession of marijuana.
A police review of the case also is continuing, but Bradenton Police Deputy Chief William Tokajer said despite questions about how the officers attempted to pull over Humbert for a traffic stop, investigators have not found that the officers acted improperly, including in how the Taser was used.
Still, Humbert’s family, which includes his four children, has many unanswered questions about what happened.
The traffic stop
Officer Del Shiflett, who was driving, and Officer Christopher Roden, were clad in plainclothes and wearing black bulletproof vests with the word “POLICE” emblazoned across the front when they attempted to stop Humbert, Tokajer said in an interview Friday.
The officers were part of a special detail the department recently began to target minor violations and conduct field interviews in an effort to prevent more serious crimes, he said. The officers are sent to specific spots in the city when there is a spike in robberies or burglaries, Tokajer said.
“Your minor offenses lead to the discovery of other crimes that may be occurring,” Tokajer said. “We are very vigilant with our enforcement. We are going to stop the people, talk to them and find out what they are doing out.”
Officers Shiflett and Roden never were able to learn what Humbert was doing out.
Humbert, who was riding his bicycle south between the 800 and 900 blocks of 27th Street East, approached the officers’ marked patrol car while heading north just after midnight Sept. 28. The bike had no headlight affixed, which is against state law, according to police reports.
Shiflett shined the car’s spotlight on the bicycle and locked eyes with Humbert, according to the report.
Shiflett exited the patrol car and then commanded, “Stop the bike,” according to reports.
“Nope, see ya,” Humbert replied.
Officers are not supposed to use a spotlight to direct a motorist at night for a traffic stop, according to the department’s general orders. The officers did not activate their car’s blue emergency lights.
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