Deputy Dumps Disabled Man From Wheelchair
Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer
Created: 2/12/2008 10:20:40 AM
Updated: 2/12/2008 4:25:14 PM
TAMPA, Fla. (NEWS CENTER) -- When Brian Sterner was booked for a
traffic violation in Tampa Bay last month, he couldn't believe what
happened next.
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 wheelchair 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 a local television station, WTSP-TV, showed them their
own tape.
On Tuesday, officials held a news conference and announced that Deputy
Charlette Jones, who dumped Sterner, 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 Monday
night and said he found himself in "disgust" and was "appalled at
every level."
Docobo also announced that two cor****als and a sergeant involved are
now on administrative leave with pay, and the jail supervisor on duty
did not have knowledge of the incident.
Sterner said the whole incident was incredibly degrading and an
example of how poorly trained the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office is. He
added that 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.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/watercooler/article.aspx?storyid=80510
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