Punish now, severely

What do you say? A Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy with 22 years' experience dumps a quadriplegic out of a wheelchair inside the jail's door. At least it was caught on video, so there is no question about what happened. Three other deputies - all of them supervisors - never lifted a finger to intervene or report the mistreatment up the line. The spectacle has become a national embarrassment; the question now is what Sheriff David Gee intends to do about it.

The circumstances that led to Brian Sterner being arrested are murky enough. He is paralyzed from the chest down and has limited use of his arms. Sterner was driving a small car fitted with hand pedals in October when Tampa police on patrol in Ybor City saw him waving his arms and shaking his head. He had been driving 5 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police lost sight of him, but found him later nearby. They said he made "foolish" statements. Police found no alcohol or illegal drugs, but charged Sterner with fleeing. He was arrested on a warrant Jan. 29 and brought to the booking room at the jail. That, Sterner said, is when Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones told him to stand to be searched. He said he couldn't. The video takes it from there.

Chief Deputy Jose Docobo, the second-in-command, said the only thing possible Tuesday, after the video became a national story. "This is not how we do business here at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office," he said, adding: "There is no excuse ... this is indefensible." The department suspended Marshall-Jones without pay and placed the three other deputies on paid leave while it investigates. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum asked the state's Office of Civil Rights to review the incident.

Here's what authorities need to answer: Why did Marshall-Jones do what she did? At various times from the moment Sterner was dumped and then picked up from the floor, other deputies could be seen on camera. Why did no one seem surprised by the act of dumping a man from his wheelchair or step in to halt the mistreatment? The four deputies put on leave have a combined 86 years of experience at the Sheriff's Office. Yet Gee's staff said they learned of the incident from a Tampa television reporter. What exactly are his supervisors supervising?

Gee deserves a chance to reassure the public this incident is an aberration. His reaction Wednesday - "I am personally embarrassed and shocked" - is consistent with a sheriff who has raised his department's professional standards. But Gee needs to promptly hold his deputies accountable for this disgusting abuse, starting with the deputy who dumped the quadriplegic out of the wheelchair. The punishment should be swift and severe enough to send the clear message that this is intolerable. Then Gee needs to look at the leadership of a jail that allowed an embarrassment like this to explode in his face.

[Last modified February 13, 2008, 23:09:33]