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Gee Apologizes For Treatment Of Inmate In Wheelchair

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By MIKE WELLS of The Tampa Tribune and KRISTA KLAUS of News Channel 8

Published: February 13, 2008

Updated: 02/13/2008 07:10 pm

TAMPA - An apology from Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee came today with a promise to investigate the jail deputy who dumped a disabled man out of a wheelchair and the supervisors who did nothing to intervene.

The man, Brian Sterner, said an apology is a good start but he also wants the deputy charged with a felony: battery of a disabled person.

A woman who answered the telephone at the home of the deputy, Charlette Marshall-Jones, said: "I feel positive. When I know I'm not wrong, I feel that way. … I do believe the truth will come out, but I can't offer more than that."

On Jan. 29, video cameras in the Orient Road Jail booking room recorded the deputy raising the back of Sterner's wheelchair and tipping him onto the floor. Sterner had been taken to the jail on a warrant stemming from a traffic violation.

An internal affairs investigation is reviewing the actions of Marshall-Jones and three of her supervisors: Cpl. Steve Dickey, 45; Cpl. Decondra Williams, 36; and Sgt. Gary Hinson, 51. Marshall-Jones was suspended without pay, and the supervisors were suspended with pay.

Gee, who apologized to Sterner's attorney Tuesday, issued a written statement of regret.

"I am personally embarrassed and shocked by the horrific treatment Mr. Sterner received," Gee wrote. "I cannot and will not even try to offer an explanation for what is seen on the video."

Gee said the incident was not caused by a lack of training. Marshall-Jones had 22 years on the job.

"It represents aberrant behavior that is totally out of context with policies, practices and standards of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office," he wrote.

"I offer my personal apology to Mr. Sterner for the treatment that he received while being processed through Central Booking."

Last year, more than 72,000 inmates were processed at the booking center, and more than 230 of them came to jail in wheelchairs, Gee said.

Sterner, 32, of Riverview, appeared today on NBC's "Today" show with his attorney, John Trevena.

He suggested that the state attorney's office get involved in the case.

"And then the attorney [general] could get involved, and then [Gov.] Charlie Crist could get involved, and then somebody else that leads this country could get involved," Sterner said. "Because it's not about one deputy, it's not about a sheriff, and it's not about a governor."

Crist said he found the incident "terribly disturbing."

"It goes beyond a pale by any compassionate person's standard I'm sure, and I wonder if there may be a civil rights issue to it," he said. "We're looking into it."

Dickey, who is seen on the video smiling afterward, declined to talk about the investigation.

"All I can say is I was not there during the incident," he said. "I did not view the incident."

Dickey is president of the Hillsborough detention deputies' chapter of the West Florida Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents deputies.

Sterner has been without the use of his legs since a wrestling accident in 1994, he said. He has no feeling below his sternum and has partial use of his arms. Trevena says his client is classified as quadriplegic.

Sterner drives a Mini Cooper outfitted with hand controls. On Oct. 25, Tampa police ticketed him, saying he blocked an intersection, court records show. He later was charged with the third-degree felony of fleeing to elude an officer in connection with the same incident.

Deputies arrested Sterner on Jan. 29 on a warrant from Tampa police at his home in Riverview. He posted bail and was freed Feb. 3.

Sterner said he told Marshall-Jones at the jail that he couldn't walk, but she didn't believe him and ordered him to stand.

After she dumped him from his chair, the video shows Sterner landing on his front and then rolling over on his back while his pockets were checked.

Sterner said he thought he had cracked two ribs, but it turned out to be bruising, Trevena said. An X-ray found no fractures.

"I think these types of things occur fairly routinely, and it's only when you have unequivocal evidence like this that something can happen about it," Trevena said on the "Today" show.

Sterner said the incident isn't about race or a wheelchair.

"Just like Rodney King got beat on the street and I got thrown out of my wheelchair, it happens to people every day," Sterner said. "It's just now there's cameras that catch it."

Trevena said he wants Marshall-Jones charged with felony battery, and for her supervisors to be disciplined and undergo mandatory retraining.

Prosecutors have consulted with sheriff's detectives and are awaiting the completion of the internal affairs investigation before a determination on charges is made, Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said.

News Channel 8 reporters Krista Klaus and Mike Vasilinda and Tribune reporter Josh Poltilove contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at mwells@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7839.

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