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1 Deputy Is Focus Of Probe In Disabled Inmate Case
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Published: February 15, 2008
TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said a criminal investigation into the dumping of a disabled man at Orient Road Jail in January is focusing on the guard who tipped the inmate over and no one else in the room.
The videotape has garnered national attention.
Gee said this morning that a criminal investigation is under way but that before detectives can go any further, the victim, Brian Sterner, 32, has to come in for a victim interview.
"We haven't spoken to Mr. Sterner," Gee said during a news conference on the front steps of the sheriff's operations center in Ybor City. Until he comes in, we can't move forward, Gee said.
On Jan. 29, video cameras in the Orient Road Jail booking room recorded detention Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, raising the back of a wheelchair and sending Sterner tumbling to the floor. Sterner, of Riverview, was taken to the jail on a warrant stemming from a traffic violation.
Gee said the others in the room at the time, who did nothing, likely would not be charged criminally. Marshall-Jones was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Three of her supervisors were suspended with pay.
"This has affected our department," Gee said. "I hurt more for all the men and women who work here and do a good job. … It's very hurtful."
He said he found it troubling not only that the disabled man was dumped to the floor but also that none of the other corrections deputies did anything to help.
"People who should have taken action didn't," he said.
He said he hoped the criminal investigation would be completed soon and the matter resolved.
The case has drawn widespread attention, including a segment on the "Today" show this week, and has sparked a review by the civil rights division of the Florida Attorney General's Office.
Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.
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