FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida sheriff’s deputy faces a misdemeanor battery charge for punching an inmate who was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Prosecutors filed the charges against 24-year-old Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Jorge Sobrino and the sheriff said Friday he was suspending Sobrino without pay until the criminal case is resolved.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office said in a news release that the January incident at Broward Health North medical center was captured on body cam footage. The video showed Sobrino punching David Rafferty O’Connell as he was handcuffed to the bed.
O’Connell had been arrested and taken to the hospital for medical clearance after he’d tried to fight an employee at a store.
Sobrino is expected to be arraigned soon. His initial court appearance hasn’t been scheduled and it’s unclear whether he has a lawyer.
He faces up to a year in jail.
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