#oneofourown

(Terrance Williams Missing Person Case)

The deputy argued he'd merely provided transportation to a service station for a man who later went missing.

By Melissa Siegel | February 21, 2021 at 04:29 PM

The case revolved around a man who disappeared shortly after being pulled over by police. Photo: Susan Chiang.

A Collier County sheriff’s deputy prevailed in litigation filed by the family of a man who vanished 17 years ago, shortly after a roadside interaction with the deputy.

On Jan. 12, 2004, plaintiff’s decedent Terrance Williams, 27, a Black man and a pizzeria’s employee, was driving near Naples Memorial Gardens cemetery in North Naples.

An interaction ensued between Williams and Collier County Sheriff’s Deputy Steven Calkins, a white man. Williams was frisked and placed in Calkins’ patrol vehicle, but the interaction was not reported to Calkins’ dispatcher and Williams was not handcuffed or charged with a crime.

Williams was declared missing a short while later and has not been located. He was declared legally dead in 2009.

Williams’ mother, Marcia Williams, acting as the representative of her son’s estate, sued Calkins. The lawsuit alleged that Calkins was involved in Terrance Williams’ disappearance and presumed death.

The matter proceeded to court-ordered arbitration.

The estate’s counsel claimed that Calkins was the last person to see Terrance Williams alive. The estate’s counsel claimed that Calkins returned to the cemetery without Williams, moved Williams’ vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway, then radioed dispatch and reported that he had found an abandoned vehicle.

Calkins did not tell dispatch about his prior encounter with Williams. Calkins also described the vehicle as a “homie” car and made racially insensitive remarks about the type of person who would own such a vehicle.

The estate’s counsel further claimed that Calkins called a towing company to remove Williams’ vehicle before reporting the vehicle to dispatch. The estate’s counsel noted that, when the towing company retrieved the vehicle, Calkins had the towing records sent to him personally, rather than to his police-department computer.

The estate’s counsel also claimed that, in October 2003, a Mexican immigrant vanished after having been the subject of a traffic stop effected by Calkins. The estate’s counsel claimed that the immigrant was not arrested but was placed in Calkins’ police cruiser.

The defense claimed that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Calkins. The defense claimed that Williams was experiencing vehicular problems and that Calkins merely provided transportation to a gas station. The defense also presented witnesses who claimed to have seen Williams five to 11 days after the incident involving Calkins. One witness claimed that he knew Williams by sight and saw Williams a week after the incident involving Calkins.

Calkins claimed that he did not feel threatened by Williams and therefore did not feel the need to inform dispatch regarding the encounter. The defense also claimed that the October 2003 incident was a response to a traffic accident.

Williams was survived by his mother and four minor children. Williams’ estate sought recovery of wrongful-death damages that included damages for his family’s loss of services, loss of support and emotional suffering.

Court-appointed arbitrator Robert Doyle Jr. found for the defense. Doyle ruled that the estate’s counsel did not demonstrate ”with the more persuasive and convincing force and effect of the evidence” that Calkins was responsible for Williams’ disappearance and presumed death.

The sealed arbitration ruling was filed on Nov. 24, 2020. Neither party moved for a new trial during the ensuing 20 says, so the ruling was unsealed on Dec. 21, 2020. The estate’s counsel moved for relief from judgment and for a trial, but the motions were denied. Judgment was entered on Feb. 2, 2021.

Ben Crump, Michael P. Gagliardi and Christopher M. O’Neal of Ben Crump Law in Tallahassee teamed with Devon M. Jacob of Jacob Litigation Inc., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania to represent the plaintiff.

The defense attorney was John F. Hooley of the Law Offices of John F. Hooley in Naples.

Case no.: 11-2018-CA-002611-0001-XX.

Read more at: https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2021/02/21/florida-deputy-denied-role-in-mans-disappearance-after-roadside-encounter/?slreturn=20210327220436