An Opa-locka Police Sergeant was arrested, accused of beating his wife and children. According to investigators; Sergeant Johane Taylor Jr., who resides in Miramar, is accused of beating his wife and children over the years, beginning in 2014. Taylor is the brother of Opa-locka Mayor John Taylor. Police said that abuse would often happen in front of his children. According to the arrest report, during one incident, authorities said he dragged his wife out of a car and threw her onto the floor, hitting her, while four children were in the back seat. Another time the victim lost consciousness during a beating, the report states. She said she was left bruised and with broken ribs. In January, Police said Taylor put a gun to the woman’s forehead, saying he was going to kill her, before eventually putting it away. Taylor’s wife said he threatened her, telling her not to report the crimes.

Taylor is also accused of beating three of his children, ages 7, 10 and 13. The arrest report said their mother reported that he would “would line the three children up after they did something that was not to his liking and would hit them with a belt the number of times that was equal to their ages,” leaving them bruised.

The children’s maternal grandmother also reported seeing Taylor hitting the oldest child in the head with a vacuum cleaner. Taylor is now facing several serious charges including felony battery, aggravated child abuse and assault. The city of Opa-locka released a statement regarding Taylor’s arrest Wednesday evening. ”The City of Opa-locka and its police department have a zero-tolerance policy for police misconduct,” it said. A city spokesperson said following his arrest, “the decision was made to immediately relieve Sergeant Taylor of duty without pay pending the results of an investigation.”

Taylor has since bonded out from the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Source: Wilson Louis Top Stories

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