Henn still 'Kickin'......

[mede8er]

Anyone remember Preston Henn.........

Swap Shop owner Preston Henn criticized the Broward Sheriff's Office Tuesday, saying a recent confrontation would not have gotten out of hand if not for overzealous and incompetent deputies. Additionally, they pointed a gun at his wife?

Henn, 74, is back in charge of the Swap Shop after spending more than a week under psychiatric care since he clashed with deputies on May 20. Deputies used a Taser on him outside his Swap Shop office, then brought him to the hospital under the Baker Act, which allowed him to be detained for up to 72 hours. He stayed beyond that, leaving Imperial Point Medical Center on Sunday.

"We are standing by our deputies and believe they acted appropriately," said sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal, adding that the deputy who fired the Taser is trained in dealing with "people who are disturbed."

The sheriff's office and the state attorney's office have yet to decide whether to charge Henn for his actions on May 20.

Henn disputed some key elements of the official account of the incident, which led to him spending a week and a half under psychiatric evaluation. And he said surveillance video proves his point.

"Thank God I have surveillance equipment at the Swap Shop," Henn said. "If I was a poor average citizen, BSO would accuse me of attacking a chief and I'd be in jail right now."

The video shows Henn arriving at his office in a golf cart after getting away from deputies who had handcuffed him minutes earlier. He goes into his office, with three deputies in pursuit. A few minutes later, Henn is seen coming out of his office, brushing a woman aside, and coming toward Chief George Jarboe of the sheriff's office. Deputy Christopher Labarbera is seen behind Henn with a Taser.

What happens next is the subject of disagreement between Henn and the Sheriff's Office. Henn said he calmly walked out of his office and was hit in the back with a Taser and fell into Jarboe. Leljedal said Henn came charging out of his office, and that the Taser wasn't fired until after Henn hit the chief. Because the surveillance video is a series of still photographs, it's not clear exactly when the Taser was fired.

After he was stunned, Henn struggled with deputies who led him to a patrol car' Henn then kicked out a rear passenger window.

"I had no knowledge of what I was doing for 45 minutes," Henn said Tuesday, blaming his behavior on his shock after being hit in the back with 50,000 volts. He complained that a Taser should not be used on a 74-year-old man. He also complained that a deputy aimed a gun at his wife, which is apparent on the video.

And while Henn admitted that the Taser could not explain his actions earlier on May 20, he said he did nothing wrong. The day began with Henn trying to evict a vendor who, he said, was late on his rent. The vendor, Joel Leibovitch, complained that Henn was evicting him without cause, and that Henn had shoved him to the ground. According to a deputy's event report, two witnesses verified Leibovitch's account. But two deputies, who were working off-duty security details and were being paid by Henn, did not arrest the Swap Shop owner. Instead, he ordered them off the Swap Shop property, according to the report.

"That's not unusual," said Leljedal, referring to the decision not to arrest Henn.

Leibovich declined to comment on the May 20 incident, except to say that he was up to date with his rent payments. Leibovich again called for deputies on Monday, complaining that Henn had renewed his eviction effort.

Henn also said he was justified in getting away from the deputies in his golf cart after his handcuffs were removed later on May 20. He said the cuffs left his arms bruised, and showed the bruises during an interview Tuesday, stating they have not gone away.