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Deputy Training Among Steps Spurred By Inmate's Treatment

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 15, 2008

TAMPA - Within weeks, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will implement training for detention cadets and deputies on how to lift, search and otherwise handle disabled inmates to prevent situations such as one with a quadriplegic man in January that triggered national criticism.

A detention corporal was fired, two deputies resigned and five others were suspended without pay or reprimanded for not intervening when a deputy tipped inmate Brian Sterner's wheelchair and dumped Sterner on the floor of Orient Road Jail's central booking area, according to internal affairs documents released this week. Jail video of Sterner being dumped gained notoriety on the Internet and generated a firestorm of criticism against the sheriff's office and the jail.

The incident and subsequent allegations of abuse spurred Sheriff David Gee to form an independent commission to review the inner workings of the county's jails. That panel will present its findings and recommendations to Gee on Sept. 10, commission member James Sewell said. The commission meets again on Aug. 22.

Among those recommendations will be a training plan unveiled before the commission today by sheriff's office Maj. Jim Previtera, who is in charge of the training division, Sewell said.

The training will focus on new cadets, current detention deputies and midlevel supervisors, Previtera said in an interview today.

The sheriff's office worked with the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities at the University of South Florida and the Advocacy Center for Persons With Disabilities Inc., a state nonprofit organization, to assess training needs and develop the curriculum, Previtera said

The first phase of the plan, to be implemented in three weeks, will be eight hours of training for detention cadets on how to handle disabled inmates, Previtera said. Patrol cadets already receive training on dealing with disabled people, he said.

Next, all detention deputies will receive four hours of in-service training in the fall on the same subject, he said.

Lastly, 40 hours of advanced crisis-intervention training geared toward communicating with the mentally ill will be made available to any interested detention deputies, Previtera said. This training already is available to patrol personnel, he said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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