The Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff on Wednesday offered a personal apology to a disabled man who was dumped onto the floor from his wheelchair while in deputies' custody. "I am personally embarrassed and shocked by the horrific treatment Mr. Sterner received," Sheriff David Gee says in a statement on the department's Web site.
A video now making the rounds on television networks and various Web sites shows a deputy tipping Brian Sterner, 32, out of a wheelchair January at the county's booking center in Tampa on January 29. "I cannot and will not even try to offer an explanation for what is seen on the video, other than to say, that once it was brought to my attention, I immediately initiated an internal investigation," Gee said.
All involved deputies: Please pay attention to the above lesson courtesy of Sheriff Gee.
Sterner had been picked up by sheriff's deputies on a warrant for a charge of fleeing and attempting to elude police in an incident in October of last year, his attorney said. |