Deputy now suspended after dumping man from wheelchair
By: Mike Deeson
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."
I honestly can't believe this. I hope she gets fired.
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Captain of the MFS Frigate of Pizazz +2 vs. Douchebags - Est vicis pro nonnullus suscito vir
"Are you an idiot? What demand do you think there is for aircraft carriers that aren't government?" - Captain Chewbacca
"I keep my eighteen wives in wonderfully appointed villas by bringing the underwear of god to the heathens. They will come to know God through well protected goodies." - Gandalf
"There is no such thing as being too righteous to understand." - Darth Wong
FSTargetDrone wrote:She needs to be more than fired. She needs to be held accountable and penalized in some way other than a firing.
It seems like she would be subject to litigation. There's links out there to the video, if anyone wants to watch it. It's pretty damning, and there's another deputy who seems to be laughing as well.
PRFYNAFBTFCP
Captain of the MFS Frigate of Pizazz +2 vs. Douchebags - Est vicis pro nonnullus suscito vir
"Are you an idiot? What demand do you think there is for aircraft carriers that aren't government?" - Captain Chewbacca
"I keep my eighteen wives in wonderfully appointed villas by bringing the underwear of god to the heathens. They will come to know God through well protected goodies." - Gandalf
"There is no such thing as being too righteous to understand." - Darth Wong
My sister once commented that people join law enforcement agencies so they can go on power trips and bully other people. Now I find more evidence to suggest this is true. How depressing.
Those gun nuts do not understand the meaning of "overkill," and will simply use weapon after weapon of mass destruction (WMD) until the monster is dead, or until they run out of weapons.
They have more WMD than there are monsters for us to fight. (More insanity here.)
FSTargetDrone wrote:She needs to be more than fired. She needs to be held accountable and penalized in some way other than a firing.
It seems like she would be subject to litigation. There's links out there to the video, if anyone wants to watch it. It's pretty damning, and there's another deputy who seems to be laughing as well.
IANAL, but there are Federal civil rights laws that carry criminal penalties.
To echo Chewie, just when you think people can't get any lower, some asshole breaks out the shovel.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Would this be grounds for assault charges? The bitch certainly deserves to be terminated. Hell, everyone involved deserves some disciplinary action. That kind of behavior, and just brushing it off, in unacceptable from someone who's supposed to be an example for society.
Sig images are for people who aren't fucking lazy.
Sidewinder wrote:My sister once commented that people join law enforcement agencies so they can go on power trips and bully other people.
Well, not everyone in law enforcement is like that. My uncle who was in the internal affairs department on the St. Louis police force spent most of the last decade of his life going after bully cops and seeing they were appropriately punished
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Napoleon the Clown wrote:Would this be grounds for assault charges? The bitch certainly deserves to be terminated. Hell, everyone involved deserves some disciplinary action. That kind of behavior, and just brushing it off, in unacceptable from someone who's supposed to be an example for society.
I don't think they "brushed it off", I think the guilty parties probably tried to actively suppress the incident once they realized they fucked up.
I can understand that someone not medically trained might be confused at the idea a quad has sufficient control over his hands and arms to drive, but the gentleman in question has pretty obvious atrophy of his legs. He clearly can't walk. Tipping cripples out of wheelchairs is just not right and she should know better.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
I haven't seen the video, but what I want to know is, what in the hell was the thinking of the deputy who dumped him out of his chair? What in her mind made this seem like the first thing she should do? Was he being argumentative, was he being obstinate in some way? Even if he was, he's clearly in the chair for some reason and should never have been dumped out of it. Did she even ask if he could walk? The only thing that could justify doing such a thing would seem to be a situation where he was striking out at the deputy in some way.
No, in the video he was sitting there very passively, his hands quietly in his lap, not moving. I don't think he was even speaking to her.
I've known of other situations where paraplegics have been ordered to stand up and, when they couldn't (of course) they were physically forced out of their chairs. There is a level of stupid that simply doesn't understand paralysis. Of course, I have no idea if he was ordered to stand up, or if the officer in question was really that stupid. Another problem with the paralyzed is that they are, obviously, very vulnerable on a physical level to someone attacking them whether that person is an authority figure or not.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Napoleon the Clown wrote:Would this be grounds for assault charges?
It's grounds for a lawyer to start shouting "Yipee!". A government department, ie, very deep pockets; a cripple as a victim, so a really sympathetic jury; and all on tape?
Anyone else find this level of official idiocy really funny?
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Not really - but then, I have disabled relatives who have to put up with all sorts of stupid shit. Fortunately not always to this level, but this sort of thing is more common than people want to believe.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
As much sympathy as I have for this guy concerning his injury and mistreatment by the police, it's quite frankly absolute bullshit that he's allowed to drive a car. Even if a quad can find a way to physically operate a car, he obviously has severely reduced abilities compared to a normal driver, and normal drivers in the US are already killing each other at a rate equal to more than a dozen 9/11 attacks every single year. I refuse to accept this idiotic notion that driving is a "right".
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Someone who is that disabled who wishes to drive a car is, I believe, actually required to pass a real driving test where they have to demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle. In other words, unlike most drivers in the US, he had to actually demonstrate his ability.
A lot depends on how much hand/arm control he has - clearly while this man's hands and arms are somewhat impaired they aren't totally paralyzed. As far as I'm concerned, if he actually can control the machine, regardless of what adaptive controls he needs to do it, he can drive.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Broomstick wrote:Someone who is that disabled who wishes to drive a car is, I believe, actually required to pass a real driving test where they have to demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle. In other words, unlike most drivers in the US, he had to actually demonstrate his ability.
A lot depends on how much hand/arm control he has - clearly while this man's hands and arms are somewhat impaired they aren't totally paralyzed. As far as I'm concerned, if he actually can control the machine, regardless of what adaptive controls he needs to do it, he can drive.
A drunk can "demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle" too.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Darth Wong wrote:A drunk can "demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle" too.
What's your point Wong? People less than perfect shouldn't drive? He passed his damn driving test, why should the standard be higher for him than for anyone else?
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Darth Wong wrote:A drunk can "demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle" too.
If drunks could reliably pass driving tests, then they wouldn't be a hazard. Are you implying that this guy got a license out of sympathy or something? If he meets all the knowledge, maneuver, hazard perception and vehicle control requirements, then I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to drive.
Driving tests simulate close to ideal driving conditions, they do not test a person's response in emergency situations. If a person's disability would have an obvious negative effect (ie. he wouldn't be able to respond as quickly as an able bodied person) then there should be stricter regulations.
Darth Wong wrote:A drunk can "demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle" too.
What's your point Wong?
That you're a stupid bitch who can't read, perhaps?
People less than perfect shouldn't drive?
Oh yes, of course, that's what I was saying. Your skills of reading comprehension are magnificent!
He passed his damn driving test, why should the standard be higher for him than for anyone else?
He's impaired, fucktard. Driving requirements are deliberately set far too low precisely because of what I said before: that driving is considered a "right", and so anybody who can barely drive in a straight line can pass. The tests are made easy so that people who really shouldn't be driving (like this guy) can do so anyway. The fact is that there are plenty of people in this country who could probably blow the legal limit for blood alcohol and still pass the driving test, it's so goddamned easy.
Attitudes like yours are why situations like this persist on our roads. Whenever someone speaks of getting medically unfit people off the road, he is viewed as some sort of tyrant. I know you like to stick up for the disabled, but this is fucking ridiculous. Driving is not a right; it is a responsibility: a responsibility to every other person on the road.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Napoleon the Clown wrote:Would this be grounds for assault charges?
I know this is a vague answer but... possibly. Most people would likely say something like official oppression would be the charge. I would tend to go with the assault charge myself. BUT that really depends on alot of circumstances that we do not know. I am not saying that there is a good excuse for the deputies actions, but with better information people could form better opinions about why it happened.
It is possible that the deputy believed the guy to have more mobility than he really does because he was able to drive. Often when people in wheelchairs are able to stand, they won't tell you that for what ever reason. Does that mean you can dump them out of their chair? no. Unfortunately most departments don't have policies on how to search and handle wheelchair bound prisoners. Policies and facilities should be in place (or be made) to handle paralyzed prisoners.
In our jail, the prisoner cannot have any property in the cell other than socks, undergarments, a shirt and pants. Nothing else. Why? Because it can be a weapon or used for suicide.
I just realized I was on a rant... so I will stop now...
The deputy should be penalized. I am reluctant to say give the deputy the pink slip, but in a case like this where what amounts to physical abuse of a prisoner by an officer, I say terminate them.
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Darth Wong wrote:A drunk can "demonstrate actual ability to control the vehicle" too.
What's your point Wong? People less than perfect shouldn't drive? He passed his damn driving test, why should the standard be higher for him than for anyone else?
Let's put it this way; A drunk driver is a hazard on the road because of (but not limited to) impaired motor skills.
This individual has imparied motor skills constantly, therefore that makes him a very real danger to people around him when he's supposed to be responsible for controlling a heavy and fast moving vehicle.
Sidewinder wrote:My sister once commented that people join law enforcement agencies so they can go on power trips and bully other people. Now I find more evidence to suggest this is true. How depressing.
I find statements like this to be completely worthless. You've seen enough evidence to suggest that the blanket statement that people become officers to bully people is true?
You must have some low fucking standards...
As for the OP this deputy should at the least be fired and charged with assault.
Searching a wheelchair isn't that difficult even without training.
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