Deputy Do-Wrong

The cover-up was discovered a year later after one of the deputies involved unwittingly confessed on tape. He'd stopped a driver and conducted a DUI assessment that was recorded. Apparently forgetting that the audio-video device was still on, the deputy began chattering to a colleague about the time he and Perry had chased after a stolen car — even after being ordered to stop the pursuit. Perry had passed the stolen car at about 50 mph on a city street, pulled in front of it, and was rammed. The stolen car zoomed away, and the deputies involved gathered elsewhere to get their story straight. Once the tape was reviewed, the case blew wide open.

Although Perry's credibility as a witness is gone, BSO has continued to litigate, even stall the Gomez case. In late April, a federal court judge sanctioned BSO's attorney for not providing documents requested by Kubiliun. BSO's attorney, Bruce Jolly, declined to comment about Perry for this article.

"Germán Gomez should be taken care of for the rest of his life," Kubiliun says, "because there was no reason for this officer to have been hired or even been on the force that night. He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time — and when I say the wrong place, that was in front of Lewis Perry."

Gomez says he's angry about what happened to him, but his almost childlike demeanor doesn't convey that.

"To remember exactly what happened is difficult for me," he says, with a sad smile. "God has obviously saved my life."