By Lisa J. Huriash
Sun Sentinel
HALLANDALE, Fla. — A barrage of police gunfire, 19 rounds in all, struck four mobile homes, two cars and a tree — everything it seemed, except the intended target: a fellow officer on the ground screaming, “I’m a cop!”
The last entry in a case of mistaken identity and misplaced firepower was issued in an Internal Affairs report this week, with the officer who was fired upon being reprimanded.
The incident unfolded in Oct. 28, 2013, when Hallandale Detective Tony Distefano joined in the chase of a suspect being pursued by Broward Sheriff’s deputies. Thinking he was the culprit, two deputies fired 19 rounds at Distefano, missing them all.
A Hallandale Beach Internal Affairs investigation, released late Thursday, found Distefano, who was wearing workout clothes, at fault for not being dressed appropriately. The deputies who shot at him were cleared in an earlier Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy defended his detective. “Thankfully, you averted tragedy, and deputies missed their intended target,” he wrote in a memo to Distefano.
That the shooter who fired the majority of shots was exonerated, Sgt. Terence Thouez wrote in the Hallandale Beach internal probe, was “simply untenable” and “inexplicable.” The “volume of fire,” he said, was “not justified.”
Sheriff Scott Israel categorized Sgt. Thouez’s assesment on Maneka’s response as deficient and bankrupt. “The sergeant never sought the expertise of any use of force expert in coming up with his opinion,” Israel said. “BSO’s review of the incident was analyzed and studied by at least three BSO tactical experts, and Maneka’s reaction is consistent with scientific research on deadly force encounters. “
The episode began when a deputy attempted to pull over and serve a restraining order on Jayson Kalinowski of Fort Lauderdale. Kalinowski sped off, his girlfriend and their child in the car, and deputies pursued him down Interstate 95.
Distefano, wearing sweat pants and a USMC T-shirt, was on his way to work and stopped at a red light near I-95 when he spotted Kalinowski driving into oncoming traffic. The suspect jumped out of his car and hopped a fence. Distefano, carrying his Glock pistol in his right hand and police radio in his left, took off after him.
According to reports, Distefano heard deputies commanding him to get on the ground, but thought they were shouting at Kalinowski. Distefano called, “Hallandale PD” several times, but the deputies kept shouting.
He told investigators he was either on the ground or almost there when Sgt. Andrea Tianga, who was featured on the reality TV show “Police Women of Broward County” fired a shot at him.
Deputy Christopher Manekas, thinking Distefano had fired at Tianga, ripped off 18 more rounds.
Distefano lay on the ground screaming, “I’m a cop! I’m Hallandale police ... kilo 12, 10-37 Distefano!” according to the Sheriff’s investigation. “Kilo” is a police radio designation and “10-37" is police code for law enforcement.
Sheriff’s Lt. Shawn Enser, who had seen Distefano running with his police radio, realized Manekas was a fellow officer.
“Cease fire, he’s a cop!” Enser yelled at Manekas.
But Manekas didn’t hear him over the din of gunfire. He reloaded a fresh magazine and kept firing, some round hitting the mobile homes, cars and tree. The lieutenant finally grabbed Manekas by the vest and forced him to stop.
The Sheriff’s Shooting Review Board concluded the shooting was “proper,” but recommended Manekas receive 24 hours of training. He also received extensive evaluations of his performance in high-stress situations, and he excelled in all their reviews.
Thouez, in the Hallandale Beach report, wrote that Manekas “demonstrated a lack of firearm discipline” and would have kept on shooting had he not been physically restrained by a supervisor.
The Hallandale Beach Internal Affairs report said Distefano should receive counseling about “the dangers of taking law enforcement action outside his immediate jurisdiction while not readily identifiable as a law enforcement officer.”
The chief still credited the detective’s actions.
“I must applaud you for your courageous efforts in this matter to assist a fellow officer together with your efforts to apprehend a violent felon,” he wrote. “In no manner is this memorandum an indictment that you are responsible for being fired upon by friendly fire.”
Sheriff Israel said, “While I recognize the officer’s good intentions, his actions were a compilation of tactical errors that could have ended with a tragedy.”
Flournoy said he is researching “easily accessible outer garments” that could be attached to clothing so plainclothes cops could be identified to avoid a similar near-tragedy.
Kalinowski was later found hiding in a shed by a police dog, who bit him on the leg. He was arrested on several charges, including resisting arrest.
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