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Wheelchair Incident Sparks OutrageBy Opal Shelton Colvin On January 29th of this year, a booking deputy in Hillsborough County, Florida, dumped a detainee out of his wheelchair, breaking his ribs. Brian Sterner, brought to the jail on an alleged traffic violation, had broken his neck 14 years earlier. Because he has no sensation from the chest down, he didn’t know that his ribs were broken when he was ejected from the wheel -chair. According to Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee, Deputy Charlette Marshall Jones will face a charge of abuse of the disabled, a third-degree felony. If found guilty, she could get up to five years in jail. The incident continues to get local and national attention, and a video of it has been posted on the Internet. Some states already have clearly defined regulations in place when booking suspects with disabilities. Others do not. Since the event, shown many times on local television newscasts, it has come to light that there are no uniform standards in Florida for booking a person who uses a wheelchair. According to unofficial procedures used by some Florida police departments, “a deputy should not handle or try to assist a wheelchair-bound prisoner unless the prisoner specifically requests assistance.” Many persons with disabilities and their advocates were outraged by the incident and the lack of reaction from others on duty at the time. After Sterner had been dumped out of his wheelchair, the video showed little or no reaction from other sheriff’s department employees. Advocates for the disabled urge a change in how the disabled are treated and education and training for those in law enforcement. Jones, who was placed on unpaid leave and dismissed from her job at the Orient Road jail after a video of the incident aired on television, posted $3,500 bail. Her trial date has not yet been set. Jones, a 14-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, stated that she thought Sterner had been faking his disability. After the incident, three of her supervisors were placed on paid suspension. They have since returned to active duty. The state attorney general, Florida’s Office of the Governor and the U.S. Department of Justice are among those investigating the incident. Similar incidents have been reported in Florida and other states. The Florida sheriff’s office is now in the process of checking on other cases to see if a person with disabilities was abused after being booked. Although the number of arrests in Florida of people in wheelchairs cannot be confirmed, some detainees have accused officials of rough treatment. So far, videotapes of the arrests in question have been reviewed and none of the allegations have been substantiated. ****************************** Opal Colvin is an advocate who lives in Florida. |
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