Thug Female Cop Dumps
Quadriplegic Man from Wheelchair Onto Floor
Mike Deeson
Tampa Bay’s 10 News | February 12, 2008
Tampa,
Florida - The Hillsborough Co. Sheriff’s Office held a press
conference at 10:30am regarding the deputy who can be seen
on video dumping a man in a wheelchair onto the ground.
They’ve announced that Deputy
Charlette Jones has been relieved of her duties without pay
pending the outcome of an investigation. She has not
officially been terminated.
Jones has been employed by the
Hillsborough Co. Sheriff’s Office since 1996.
Chief Deputy Joe Docobo watched
the video for the first time last night and said he found
himself in “disgust” and was “appalled at every level.”
Docobo also announced that two
corporals and a sergeant involved are now on administrative
leave with pay, and the jail supervisor on duty did not have
knowledge of the incident.
Brian Sterner broke his neck
almost 14 years ago and is a quadriplegic.
Sterner, who can drive, was
arrested on a traffic violation. When he was booked into the
Orient Road Jail last month, Sterner couldn’t believe what
happened.
He says a deputy looked at him
and didn’t believe he was a quadriplegic. She walked behind
him, took the handles on the back of the hospital-grade
wheel chair and dumped it forward.
Sterner says he tried to roll
as he was going down, but hit so hard he thought he had
broken two ribs. Then, while he was on the floor, deputies
frisked him and tried to get him back into the chair.
Sterner says he told them how
to pick him up and put him back into the chair, but because
he can’t feel anything from his breastbone down, he says he
was injured and didn’t know it. Sterner thought he had
broken two ribs, but jail x-rays showed that wasn’t true.
The Hillsborough Sheriff’s
Office didn’t know anything about the incident until we
showed them their own tape. Now an investigation is
underway.
J.D. Calloway, a spokesman for
the Sheriff’s Office, says this has all come to light today,
so this review is very active.
While we tried to get a written
report about the incident, the major who runs the Orient
Road Jail told us there is no incident report, because as
far as they are concerned, they didn’t have a problem with,
or cause a problem to, an inmate in a wheelchair.
But don’t tell that to Brian
Sterner.
Sterner says it’s incredibly
degrading and it’s an example of how poorly trained the
Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office is. He adds, if they’re trying
to figure out if somebody needs to be in a wheelchair or
not, there are many other ways to do it than to dump
somebody on their face.
Chief Deputy Joe Docobo added
at the press conference this morning, the sheriff’s office
will now try to “make things right for this gentleman.”
END