‘Whole Thing Was Avoidable’: Florida Cop Illegally Chasing Driver Over ‘Unreadable License Plate’ Runs Over Innocent Black Man, Family Demands Charges
It took about 20 minutes before Orlando Police Detective Christopher Moulton discovered there was a body of a Black man underneath his patrol truck following the pursuit of another Black man over a minor infraction. But seven months after the death of Gerald Neal, investigators have provided few details as to how the 56-year-old homeless man ended up dead beneath Moulton’s unmarked patrol pickup truck. Instead, police and prosecutors have pinned the blame on Dornell Bargnare, the 30-year-old Black man that Moulton had tried to stop because of an “unreadable license plate,” sparking the pursuit that led to Neal’s death. Gerald Neal was 56 years old and homeless when he was killed because of a police pursuit of another Black man over a minor infraction. (Photo: facebook.com/gerald.neal.77 and Ben Crump law firm) However, as details slowly emerge, we are learning that Moulton turned off his body camera immediately after discovering the body beneath his patrol truck, which is a departmental policy violation because the suspect he had been pursuing had not yet been arrested. Also, not only was Moulton violating departmental policy when he chose to engage in a high-speed pursuit over a minor infraction — which has been in place for 20 years to prevent the deaths of innocent bystanders — he also turned off his emergency lights seconds after the pursuit began. 'Brought Tears to My Eyes': Viral Video Shows Black Man Yanked Out of Vehicle By Cops Over How Low His Truck Was The only evidence that has been released so far is a 20-minute portion of footage from Moulton’s body camera that apparently does not show how Neal was killed because it had an obstructed view of the street while Moulton was driving. Orlando police have also said the police truck was not equipped with a dash cam. “There was a guy under your truck,” an officer told him, according to the video that has been publicized. “Under my truck?” Moulton replied. “Hiding? I’ll go check right now.” Moulton then turns off his body camera, which is a violation of the Orlando police department's policy, stating the following: Once the camera is activated to record it may not be deactivated until the scene is secure. If at any point during an activation, a member has reason to deactivate the BWC prior to the final conclusion of an incident, that member will verbally state the reason for the deactivation while the BWC is still recording. Watch the video below. Cop Hindered Evidence The incident took place on Feb. 12, 2025, after Moulton spotted Bargnare with an unreadable license plate and decided to pull him over in his unmarked patrol pickup truck. He turned on his emergency lights to execute the traffic stop but then turned them off in eight seconds after Bargnare sped up and made a right turn, sparking the pursuit, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Less than a minute later, Bargnare crashed into a tree and took off running. Moulton stopped his truck and jumped out to chase him on foot, but was unable to find him after 20 minutes, which is when he returned to his truck and encountered the other officers. Barngare was arrested more than two hours later in someone's house. The Florida Highway Patrol, the agency investigating the incident, stated in its report that Bargnare struck Neal, who was walking on the sidewalk. The FHP also stated in its report that Moulton “traveled onto the south curbed shoulder to the left of V1, causing the front tire of V2 to collide with P1” – making it seem as if Moulton merely struck Neal with his front tire. However, the body camera video indicates his entire body was beneath the truck with maybe one of his hands visible to observers. And that was when Moulton turned off his body camera, which hindered the investigation, according to a former law enforcement officer interviewed by Orlando media. “Body-worn camera video is evidence,” former Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott told WFTV-9 in an interview. “And the officers have to be very deliberate and very careful as to the reasons they’re turning on and off their body-worn camera videos.” Orlando police departmental policy also states that “officers may engage in pursuit when they have a reasonable suspicion that a fleeing suspect committed or attempted to commit a forcible felony” — which was not the case here considering Moulton was pulling Bargnare over for a license plate infraction. The policy describes forcible felonies as murder, armed robbery, armed sexual battery, arson, kidnapping, burglary armed with a firearm of an occupied structure, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon (which specifically states “does not include a motor vehicle as it relates to this policy”) and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer resulting in serious bodily injury. Departmental policy also forbids unmarked patrol cars from engaging in pursuits and requires marked patrol cars to keep their emergency lights on during a pursuit, stating the following: Officers deciding to engage in pursuit must balance the need to stop a suspect against the potential threat to everyone involved or affected by the pursuit, and if not caught, the community would continue to be at an increased level of danger. A vehicle pursuit is justified only when the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the level of danger created by the pursuit. All sworn members will receive initial training on the vehicle pursuit policy. Family Retains Ben Crump Neal’s daughter, Shaquail Neal, told the Orlando Sentinel that her father was living with her up until two weeks before his death and became homeless by choice “following a series of tragic family deaths over the span of a year.” “That was his way of grieving,” she said. His family has since retained nationally renowned attorney Ben Crump, who said he is preparing a lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department. Meanwhile, Bargnare, who is out on bond, has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash with death, vehicular homicide, driving without a valid license causing serious bodily injury or death, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, burglary of a dwelling, and resisting arrest without violence. A police report states that he ran into somebody’s home, which was where he was arrested three hours after Moulton began pursuing him and why he was charged with burglary, although it does not state whether he actually stole anything. Moulton, who has been on paid administrative leave since the crash, has been disciplined by his department on three previous occasions; once for improper use of force and twice for vehicle crashes, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Natalie Jackson, co-director of litigation for Ben Crump Law, told the Orlando Sentinel the firm has been in touch with the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office, which has “not discarded the possibility the officer could be charged with criminal wrongdoing.” “We want everyone responsible for death to be held accountable,” Jackson told the Sentinel. The video was first obtained by WFTV-9 in August, which posted portions of the video in its newscast last month. The Orlando Sentinel then obtained the video, which posted less than a minute of the video in its article, specifically the part where an officer informs Moulton there is a body beneath his truck. Neither site has published the full 20-minute video released to them. Atlanta Black Star has also filed a public records request with the Orlando Police Department for the full video, but has not received it yet. Meanwhile, Neal’s family has not even received the autopsy, which would determine the cause of his death. “This whole thing was avoidable and there’s been no accountability whatsoever,” Shaquail Neal told the Orlando Sentinel.
