Jail accused of culture of abuse

A second video shows possible mistreatment in Hillsborough.

By Abbie Vansickle and Rebecca Catalanello, Times Staff Writers
Published February 19, 2008

A video of the alleged beating shows Marcella Pourmoghanie on the ground. The incident was caught on film, and Pourmoghani filed suit Friday. The Sheriff's Office reviewed the case three times, finding proper procedure was followed. See video of her beating
	[Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]

ADVERTISEMENT November 2006: A mug shot shows Marcella Pourmoghani after a Hillsborough deputy dragged the inmate by her hair and punched her. [Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office] [Dirk Shadd | Times] Marcella Pourmoghani describes how a Hillsborough deputy hit her in 2006 during a news conference Monday in St. Petersburg. Her attorney, Virlyn B. Moore III, is by her side. [Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office] January 2008: Conduct in Hillsborough jails came under scrutiny when a video showed Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones dumping Brian Sterner, a quadriplegic man, out of a wheelchair. On Monday, Marshall-Jones resigned from the Sheriff's Office. Read that story

TAMPA - For the second time in a week, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office faces a claim of a deputy abusing an inmate at Orient Road Jail.

A federal lawsuit filed Friday alleges systemic violation of rights by jail employees.

"This is not an isolated situation," said Virlyn B. Moore III, the Venice lawyer who filed the suit. "This is a culture of the institution."

Moore says that, in November 2006, a detention deputy beat Marcella Pourmoghani, causing brain injury and loss of consciousness.

Pourmoghani's suit comes just days after the Sheriff's Office made national news with the release of a videotape that showed a detention deputy dumping Brian Sterner, a quadriplegic man with spinal cord injuries, out of his wheelchair onto the floor. Moore said the timing of the suit is purely coincidental.

The Sterner videotape prompted an immediate, public apology from Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee, who called the deputy's behavior "inexcusable."

The Sheriff's Office, however, says that deputies followed proper procedure in the case of Pourmoghani. The agency issued a statement Monday night saying the woman's case has been reviewed three times. Each time, sheriff's officials found no wrongdoing on the part of jail employees.

Inmate cites culture

Pourmoghani, 40, and her attorney say there is a culture of abuse at the jail. Moore pointed to another of his clients, a college student who reported she was raped at the 2007 Gasparilla festival. When police discovered an outstanding warrant for the woman, she was booked into Orient Road Jail. Police later apologized, but the woman said a doctor at the jail refused to give her medication to prevent pregnancy.

Moore said he plans to file a federal lawsuit in that case in the coming days against the agency and Gee, among others.

Prompted by Sterner's case, the Sheriff's Office has reviewed several booking videos and found no evidence of a systemic problem of abuse against inmates, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. "We don't believe this is an ongoing issue."

But John Trevena, Sterner's attorney, said in 15 years as a criminal trial lawyer in Florida, he routinely receives inquiries from potential clients who claim abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers.

"I believe it's a fairly routine occurrence," Trevena said. "But I also know that without indisputable proof such as a videotape that their claims will fall on deaf ears."

Trevena said he would like to see legislation requiring surveillance in all areas of detention facilities. "It won't stop all abuse," he said, "but at least it will expose it."

Different accounts

Pourmoghani was booked into the Orient Road jail Nov. 11, 2006, on a charge of driving on a suspended license, a violation of probation stemming from an earlier DUI arrest, records show. In the lawsuit, she says Deputy Shanna Marsh approached her in the booking area and told her, "Take your feet off my furniture."

"Your furniture?" Pourmoghani said she responded.

Pourmoghani said the deputy grabbed her by the hair and yanked her out of the chair. Other deputies watched but didn't intervene, she said.

"I was savagely attacked," she told reporters Monday night. "It's been the most horrible thing that's ever happened in my life."

Marsh then pummeled Pourmoghani repeatedly with a closed fist, according to the suit. Pourmoghani told reporters she felt blood rushing from her nose and mouth and that she couldn't breathe and lost consciousness.

"I was dying," she said. "I mean, this is a crime caught on tape is what this is."

Sheriff's officials offer a different account of the incident.

According to the sheriff's report, Pourmoghani was being "disruptive" during the booking process and continued causing problems after "being counseled several times." The deputy tried to put Pourmoghani into a holding cell, but she pulled away from the deputy and grabbed a chair rail, according to the report. When the deputy directed Pourmoghani to the floor, she grabbed the deputy's leg and refused to let go.

Marsh feared Pourmoghani would bite, Carter said.

A nurse later examined Pourmoghani and determined she had suffered a nose injury and "appeared to be having symptoms of possible overdose," the arrest report says. She was taken to Tampa General Hospital.

Carter said the agency exonerated Marsh.

Pourmoghani faced a battery charge in the incident, but prosecutors decided not to pursue it, records show.

History of arrests

Pourmoghani has been arrested 11 times since 1992, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In 2001, she was released from four months' imprisonment at Lowell Correctional Institution for women in Ocala, where she served on 1996 charges of grand theft and trafficking in stolen property and a 1995 charge of battery on a law enforcement officer.

Her other arrests over the years include charges of prostitution, fraud, battery and resisting an officer.

Pourmoghani says her life will never be the same: She has lost much of her short-term memory. She stays at home much of the time and fears any contact with law enforcement. She suffers from seizures and can no longer drive, her attorney said.

Pourmoghani says she wants the deputies involved to go to prison.

Moore and his client say the Sheriff's Office response coupled with Sterner's case add up to a troubled system that needs to be re-examined.

"These are supposed to be the people that protect and serve," Pourmoghani said.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.

[Last modified February 18, 2008, 23:58:22]