Former Miami Beach forensic technician Jason Bruder was charged with falsifying police evidence records.
– Michael Grieco
For more than three years, the laid-off Miami Beach crime scene technician Jason Bruder has stayed mostly at home with his pet Chihuahua named Tina. He survived financially with the help of friends and family. Nobody wanted to hire him – because he was brought to justice on charges of manipulating official police files.
“Everywhere I applied it was a big minus,” Brother said. “Uber and Lyft, they even denied me.”
But now Brother is moving to get his old job back after the Miami-Dade prosecutor dropped his case earlier this month. The criminal trial imploded after a wrongful trial was declared when it was revealed that prosecutors had failed to share important evidence with brother’s defense attorney.
“It’s a great relief,” said Brother. “I still have to fight to get my career back.”
Brother, 46, filed a complaint with the Communications Workers of America, which represents civilian crime scene technicians for the Miami Beach Police Department. His case will end up going to an arbitrator, he said.
Miami Beach police declined to comment on Brother’s employment status.
Brother worked as a technician in Miami Beach for over 14 years, looking for fingerprints, taking photos, and gathering evidence at crime scenes. He previously worked for the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department.
But in September 2018, the department claimed that he was supposed to move evidence from a cabinet to the police holdings. He didn’t, and to cover up his sloppiness, prosecutors said he later made entries on a police log to create the appearance that he had actually moved the evidence.
No evidence was lost and no convictions were tainted. Brother was fired by then Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates and charged with nine counts of falsifying public records. Brother waited nearly three years to go to court, delays caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic
His trial began in mid-August, but was suspended after it was discovered that prosecutors had implemented a version of police protocol that was not given to defense attorney, in violation of what was termed a “discovery” trial. It turned out that three entries in the log had been mysteriously completed afterwards by someone else at the police department.
A copy was sent to the prosecutor who did not notice that it had been changed. The amended document challenged the credibility of the evidence that was to be used to convict Brother.
In a statement, the Miami-Dade prosecutor said that “it emerged during the trial and without the prosecutor’s knowledge that the Miami Beach Police were continuing to use the minutes after the trial was brought against Brother.”
“The case was contingent on Brother forging the documents. However, the subsequent use of the same protocols and the additional changes to these documents undermined the prosecutor’s ability to demonstrate that protocols for the use and maintenance of the protocols were consistently followed. “
Following the misconduct, the Miami Beach Home Affairs Department said it was investigating why – and who – filled out the evidence record after Brother was charged. The review is ongoing, according to a Miami Beach police spokesman.
“I am thrilled that we were able to lead the prosecutor to the right decision in this case,” said his defense attorney Michael Grieco. “My client should never have been charged with a crime, and it is unfortunate that it took us three years and a jury to get here.
“I really hope Mr. Brother can put the pieces back together after his life was ruined by an overzealous former police chief.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 12:52 p.m.
David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. Born in San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter.
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