Feb 13, 2008 10:39 am US/Eastern
Shock: Deputy Dumps Quadriplegic Man In Wheelchair
Video Shows Officer Push Man Onto Floor, Frisk Him
HILLSBOROUGH, Fla. (CBS) ―
Police are investigating a case of what appears to be shocking police brutality caught on surveillance camera: a disabled man being dumped from his wheelchair inside a jail.
Brian Sterner, 32, became a partial-quadriplegic when he broke his neck in a wrestling accident 14 years ago. Last month, he was being booked at a Florida jail after an arrest stemming from a traffic violation when the incident happened.
"This deputy, she looked at me and she didn't believe I was a quadriplegic, and she walked behind me with those handles on the back of that hospital-grade wheelchair, sne she just dumped it straight forward," he says.
Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones frisked Sterner as he lay crumpled on the floor, even as he told them he thought he'd broken two ribs.
"I told them how to pick me up and put me back in the chair, but without sensation, I mean, I don't feel anything from my chest down, I didn't know they were broken then," he says.
The entire incident was recorded by the jail's surveillance camera, but although it happened two weeks ago, the Hillsborough sheriff's office never knew about it.
"This has all come to light today, therefore this review is very active," says J.D. Calloway of the sheriff's office.
Jones and three supervisors have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. Sterner has not yet filed a formal complaint, but he says no one should have to go through what he endured.
"It's incredibly degrading, it's an example of how poorly trained the Hillsborough County sheriff's office is. If they're trying to figure out if somebody's in a wheelchair or not, there are many other ways you can do it besides dumping somebody on their face," he says.
Sterner emerged from the booking with bruised ribs. He ended up spending five nights in jail before posting $2,000 bail.
As for the reason Sterner was stopped by police in the first place -- he was seen driving 5 mph in a 30 mph zone, while waving his arms around inside his car.
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