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Deputies Negligent In Quadriplegic Inmate Dumping

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By JOSH POLTILOVE and RAY REYES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

Updated: 08/13/2008 12:11 am

Brian Sterner

Charlette Marshall-Jones

TAMPA - A Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office corporal was fired and a second deputy resigned over the treatment in January of a quadriplegic inmate, according to internal affairs reports released Tuesday.

Six others were suspended without pay or reprimanded for not intervening when Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones tipped inmate Brian Sterner's wheelchair and dumped him on the floor of Orient Road Jail's central booking area, the investigative documents said.

The findings showed cause for Cpl. Decondra Williams to be terminated, which occurred June 6. A hearing officer recommended a five-day suspension for Deputy Dawn Thomas, but a disciplinary review board found the charges of failing to act and following procedures unsubstantiated. She resigned anyway on May 12, the reports said.

Marshall-Jones resigned shortly after the incident occurred Jan. 29 but before the reports were compiled.

According to the report, as Williams stood behind the booking counter, she heard Marshall-Jones order Sterner to stand. "Inmate Sterner made comments such as 'make me stand' and 'do your job,'" the report states.

Sterner wasn't being combative, according to the report. After being dumped, he was searched and left on the floor for about two minutes before deputies helped him into the wheelchair, the report states. Marshall-Jones then completed the booking process.

"Corporal Williams testified she did not construe the incident involving Inmate Sterner as a use of force, stating, 'I didn't know it was force because I didn't know he could not stand.'"

Williams also told investigators that she wasn't aware Marshall-Jones' actions violated sheriff's office policy and procedures. She said he didn't act physically violent but was an "unbookable" inmate who should have been placed in a holding cell.

Williams didn't question her peer's actions or check Sterner's condition. Instead, she helped Marshall-Jones search Sterner while he was on the floor, the report states. She also failed to tell her supervisors what happened.

"As a result of Corporal Williams's inaction, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was adversely impacted on a national level."

Williams, Thomas, and Detective Charles Alexander saw some or all of the incident, and Gary Hinson was the sergeant in charge of booking, the reports said.

Alexander was suspended three days without pay and Hinson was given a written reprimand.

"None of the deputies intervened and/or assisted Inmate Sterner in any way, documented the incident, or brought the actions of Deputy Marshall-Jones to the attention of a supervisor or higher authority," the reports said.

Deputies Keith Ralston, Ryan Dance and Howard Owens were also suspended three days each without pay for their treatment of Sterner, the reports said.

When Sterner was arrested Jan. 29, the three transported him and other inmates during a roughly four-mile trip from Orient Road Jail to Falkenburg Road Jail. For transport, Sterner was placed on the floor of a standard sheriff's office van without being secured with safety devices.

Sterner should have been transported in a van accessible to handicapped people, according to the report.

Ralston, Dance and Owens failed to follow standard operating procedure and were negligent in protecting Sterner, the report states.

Sterner is paralyzed from the chest down. He was arrested on a traffic-related warrant. When he was being booked, a surveillance camera recorded Marshall-Jones tipping Sterner out of his wheelchair.

Marshall-Jones, a 22-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was charged with abuse of a disabled person. She was allowed to enter a pretrial diversion program, and if she completes it, the felony charge will be dropped, Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said.

Michael Maddux, Sterner's Tampa-based attorney, declined to comment Tuesday on the release of the investigative documents. Maddux has filed a notice of his intent to sue the sheriff's office over the treatment of Sterner.

Marshall-Jones, 45, resigned from the sheriff's office in February, but she would have been fired if she had not quit her job, according to the internal affairs report.

The video of Sterner being dumped gained notoriety on the Internet and generated a firestorm of criticism against the sheriff's office and the jail. As Sterner lay on the floor that January day, Deputy Thomas told investigators she did not think the incident would cause such controversy. "To me, the incident was not as important as it has grown to be," Thomas said. "Now a global thing, it was not that important to me at the time."

A month after Sterner's complaint went public, along with a string of subsequent abuse allegations, Sheriff David Gee created an independent review commission to examine the inner workings of Hillsborough County's jail system. Gee could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

The group continues to meet and is expected to release in September its final report on the jail, commission member Brian Kensel said.

Editor's note: Editor's note: Cpl. Steven Dickey was not suspended without pay for his actions in the jail booking of Brian Sterner. Earlier versions of this story contained an error.

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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