The Gainesville Sun
It’s been almost three years without any new leads in the death of Gainesville Police Officer Scott Baird.
But, in spite of the lingering mystery and lack of progress in the case, police and prosecutors aren’t talking about throwing the book at the person or persons who may still come forward.
What’s more important than the passage of time is finding out what happened, said State Attorney Bill Cervone.
“Somebody is not going to get punished because they stayed quiet for three years,” he said.
Like Cervone, police are careful to remind people the primary goal in their continuing investigation is to get to the bottom of Baird’s death. Charges, police said, can only be discussed once they know what happened behind Gainesville High School early on the morning of Feb. 12, 2001.
“We have a big piece of the puzzle missing,” Gainesville Police Chief Norman Botsford said.
Police know that someone, many believe more than one person, dragged a 200-pound batting cage from a field at GHS, over a fence and onto NW 16th Terrace, which borders the west side of the high school. Baird, on duty that morning, apparently was trying to move the cage when a teenager, driving home from taking his mother to work, hit it, forcing the cage into Baird. The officer was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Police still don’t know who moved the cage or why.
Theories have ranged from a prank carried out by high school or college students, to someone trying to steal the cage but instead abandoning it in the street.
Botsford said, “Until we have as complete a story as possible from the investigation we’ve done, as well as people or witnesses, we couldn’t possibly make any decision about what charges would be appropriate.”
At this point, Botsford said, there has not been “any significant progress” in the investigation.
That, however, has never stopped speculation about what charges someone accused of moving the batting cage might face in a courtroom.
Early after Baird’s death, one charge discussed was felony murder. Under that legal theory, a person who commits a felony could be charged with murder if someone dies as a result of the felony act.
Sgt. Keith Kameg said the idea of felony murder is not one that has been floated by Gainesville police. The Florida Highway Patrol initially said it could be the most serious charge faced by defendants in the case.
Some in the legal community have since suggested the most severe charge likely in the case would be manslaughter, not murder.
Considered a second-degree felony, manslaughter involves the unlawful but unintended killing of a person. It carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
But sentencing on the charge would vary depending on the facts of the case and a defendant’s background, including prior criminal history.
Cervone echoed officers’ comments that, at this point, he has no case to try in connection with Baird’s death and therefore hasn’t made any charging decisions.
“I have nothing here upon which I could make any judgment whatsoever,” Cervone said. “I can tell you only that I have a totally clean slate with regards to this. The fact that three years have gone by doesn’t change that.”
Stressing that he would need to know more about what happened when the batting cage was moved and Baird died, Cervone also said that a specific sentence is not demanded if anyone is ever charged in the case.
“There is nothing involved here that legally requires some sort of mandatory sentence of any extent. There’s no way to guess what’s an appropriate . . . sentence when you don’t know who did it or why,” he said.
Right now, Cervone said, the focus needs to be on determining the facts that led to Baird’s death, especially for his family’s peace of mind.
“Every day that goes by is another day that Scott Baird’s family lives without knowing what happened and why he had to die,” he said. “I would be more interested in just knowing what somebody’s involvement was.”