Sadistic Cop Dumps Man from Wheelchair
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.”
