By WJHG Newsroom
Published: Nov. 13, 2021 at 11:09 PM CST
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The Bay County Sheriff’s Office is releasing a statement after charges against a man arrested earlier this month were dropped.
According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, they received a call from a UPS employee about two men standing on the sidewalk video-taping. This UPS center is next to two schools, Mosley High School and New Horizons Learning Center. The caller said when he asked the two men why they were there, they refused to explain.
A deputy at a nearby school was concerned about the presence of the two men near the school since the schools were near dismissal time. The deputy says the men were not forthcoming with any information to satisfy the concerns of the deputy, so the deputy called a supervisor.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office says based on the lack of information from the two men and the fact there were two schools nearby and students were dismissed and walking in the area, the deputies arrested one of the men based on Florida State Statute 810.0975, which states:
“…Each principal or designee of each public or private school in this state shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency to prohibit any person from loitering in the school safety zone who does not have legitimate business in the school safety zone or any other authorization, or license to enter or remain in the school safety zone or does not otherwise have invitee status in the designated safety zone.
(b)1. During the period from 1 hour prior to the start of a school session until 1 hour after the conclusion of a school session, it is unlawful for any person to enter the premises or trespass within a school safety zone or to remain on such premises or within such school safety zone when that person does not have legitimate business in the school safety zone or any other authorization, license, or invitation to enter or remain in the school safety zone.”
The man arrested was identified as Jason Gutterman. When Gutterman went in front of a judge for his First Appearance, the charges against Gutterman were dropped.
After questions were raised about the incident, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office released this response:
“In 2008, this statute was ruled in a case in South Florida as unconstitutionally vague. In 2013, the problems identified within the statute were corrected by the Florida Legislature and it remains a viable part of Florida State Statute.
“In the times in which we live, work, and send children to school, law enforcement must navigate challenges with a respect for Constitutional rights, and a laser-like commitment to protect the vulnerable. In this case, it was the children attending two schools just across the street from two men whose simple cooperation could have quickly ended this incident. BCSO deputies provided ample opportunity for the men to ease the concerns deputies had about why they were in the School Safety Zone.
“Despite historical questions about Florida State 810.0975, BCSO deputies decided to err on the side of caution and remove Gutterman from the School Safety Zone. They believed it was more important to protect the students from potential harm than it was to protect their reputations from any potential damage they would face on social media.
“Florida State Statute 810.0975 is a chargeable criminal offense. As such, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office could choose to pursue this charge against Gutterman, but has decided not to do so.
“The Bay County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to constitutional policing, and protecting the rights of the people we serve. Our deputies have received specialized training to ensure they protect constitutional rights and, in light of this incident, we will be adding to our training curriculum.”
The lawyer representing Gutterman has released the following statement:
“We are appalled that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office has refused to take responsibility for the illegal arrest of Mr. Gutterman, an independent photojournalist who was clearly exercising his First Amendment rights. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release claiming that the statute was amended in 2013 to be made constitutional. This is outright untrue. There was no change made to the part of the statute the federal court ruled unconstitutional. Any person with the internet can look up the statute pre-2013 and post 2013. Mr. Gutterman was filming the UPS facility on the public sidewalk and provided permissible purposes to deputies for being there before he was unlawfully arrested. Instead of attempting to fill the hole dug by his deputy when he unlawfully arrested Mr. Gutterman, Sheriff Ford has instead chosen to grab his own shovel and dig it deeper. Instead of conceding that the Statute is unconstitutional, the sheriff has indicated he will continue to enforce it, thereby violating the rights of the citizens of Bay County and all who visit. We expect the sheriff to retract his untrue and inaccurate statement and issue an immediate public apology to Mr. Gutterman, his wife, and his son.”
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