Woman detained by deputies files suit

She alleges that psychiatric care she received after threatening to commit suicide was unnecessary.

By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 1, 2002

A woman who threatened suicide in 1998 has sued the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, alleging that deputies violated her rights by handcuffing her and committing her for treatment against her will.

Patricia Constantino of Shady Hills filed suit Monday against the Sheriff's Office, Deputy Christopher LaFramboise and a former detective, Steve Madden.

In the suit, Constantino said there was no need for deputies to take her into custody because she assured them that she no longer intended to take her life. She resisted deputies' efforts to detain her, at which point, she alleged, she was dragged down porch steps, tackled and handcuffed. The deputies then took her to the Harbour in New Port Richey for psychiatric treatment.

Constantino, now 48, alleges that she suffered "intentional and negligent physical trauma and injury to her neck, shoulders and arms . . . , embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish and damage to her reputation." She is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $15,000.

The Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the suit, citing an agency policy against discussing pending litigation. Constantino filed suit, according to her complaint, after the Sheriff's Office refused to settle the matter out of court.

A Sheriff's Office report from the Sept. 30, 1998, incident says that Constantino tried to hang herself from a ceiling fan with an electrical cord. The report says that deputies felt compelled, under the state's Baker Act, to detain Constantino and commit her for psychiatric treatment to be sure she didn't harm herself.

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