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Another Disabled Inmate Uses Jail Video To Make Abuse Case

Image from surveillance video

The same attorney who represented a disabled inmate weeks ago in an abuse case against the sheriff's office said another handicapped inmate also was dumped from a wheelchair by deputies.

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By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 28, 2008

TAMPA - A video that was used to convict a man of attacking deputies now is being used against the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The same attorney who represented a disabled inmate weeks ago in an abuse case against the sheriff's office said another handicapped inmate also was dumped from a wheelchair by deputies.

Former inmate Brian Sterner's treatment on Jan. 29 by detention Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones resulted in her arrest on a felony charge of adult abuse and her resignation after 22 years with the agency. The video of his treatment made its way around the globe, prompting outcries from the public and an apology from Sheriff David Gee.

Largo lawyer John Trevena wants the sheriff's office to open a second criminal investigation into the treatment received by Benjamin Rayburn, 32, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence.

This time, the sheriff's office is offering no apologies.

"The use of force was justified by inmate Rayburn's efforts to assault a deputy," sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said in a written statement. "Under normal circumstances he would have been placed in cuffs and leg irons before being strapped into the restraint chair.

"Rayburn's personal wheelchair was brought into Central Booking by the arresting officers when he was processed," Carter wrote. "Standard practice is to replace it with an issued chair when an inmate is placed in housing."

Rayburn was arrested Oct. 3, 2006, on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, armed false imprisonment and a warrant for grand theft.

Lawyer: Video Contradicts Report

According to an incident report written by detention Deputy Bret Strohsack, Rayburn was put in a holding cell for a "cooling off period" after being disruptive in the medical area of the booking room.

Rayburn banged on the glass door with his fists, demanding to be let out, Strohsack wrote.

The deputy said he opened the cell door to tell Rayburn to calm down, but the inmate threatened to cut him with an object in his hand that later was determined to be a glass crack pipe.

Rayburn threw the pipe; it hit the Plexiglas door and shattered, Strohsack said. The pieces struck another deputy in the back of the head.

"I relocated Rayburn from his wheelchair to the holding cell floor," Strohsack wrote in the report.

Trevena said the video contradicts the incident report.

"The video is very clear," Trevena said. "Rayburn may have been verbally combative but there was no physical provocation whatsoever."

Rayburn was left crawling on the floor for more than an hour, he said.

"If you look at the video, you can see he's the victim, not the perpetrator," Trevena said. "Even if he had attacked them, which is not shown in any way in the video, dumping him out of a wheelchair is not in any way appropriate."

The video, shot from an overhead camera several yards away from the holding cell, shows Rayburn knocking on the glass door. When a deputy opens the door, Rayburn makes a downward swinging motion of his arm.

It is difficult to see if Rayburn is holding something in his hand or if an object is thrown.

The video then shows deputies going into the cell and forcing Rayburn to the ground.

Rayburn was arrested that day by Tampa police after being found in a drunken condition, according to published reports. Police said he shot a man in the back with a .32-caliber handgun after finding his girlfriend asleep with the man at Sailport Waterfront Suites, 2505 Rocky Point Drive. The victim recovered.

'I'm Not Alleging He's A Saint'

The video of him in the holding cell was used as evidence to convict Rayburn of the add-on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and battery on a law enforcement officer, Carter said.

"My client has a substantial criminal history, and I'm not alleging he's a saint," Trevena said. "But regardless of who the detainee is, no one should be mistreated."

Sterner, 32, a quadriplegic, was arrested on a traffic-related violation. He was dumped to the floor after Marshall-Jones allegedly told him to stand so that she could frisk him and he did not comply.

The massive media attention to Sterner's case prompted a flood of calls to Trevena's office by people who claimed mistreatment by the sheriff's office, he said.

However, filing their civil rights complaints would be nearly impossible without evidence, he said.

"We've been inundated with inquiries," he said. "But absent specific evidence, such as this video in this case, it is not possible to litigate their cases."

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com. Reporter Ray Reyes contributed to this report.

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