wheelchair dumper has some explaining to do
Thanks to investigative reporter Mike Deeson, Tampa Bay’s 10 was the first to air the video of the Hillsborough County Sheriff Deputy dumping Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair. That video has since made its way around the world on such outlets as NBC’s Today Show, CNN and the front page of BBC’s website.
Everyone is horrified.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is “appalled,” and ready to investigate, while Governor Charlie Crist finds it “terribly disturbing.” Sheriff David Gee said it was “horrific” and “aberrant,” and apologized for the actions of his deputies. Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said the actions are “indefensible,” and “anything short of dismissal would be inappropriate.”
Advocacy groups and officials nationwide are stunned. Daniel Ruth says cops are “inured to the suffering of people,” and assume that every prisoner is scamming. A Tribune editorial says there is no excuse, and the casual cruelty is an outrage. St. Pete Times editorial wants a severe punishment immediately. Steve Otto says nobody does their job right.
Of course, these are all the same people who vilified officer Matthew Parco for arresting a harmless 74 year old lady at the McDonald’s drive-thru. But that wasn’t the final story. Turns out the French Fry Grandma is a colossal b*tch, and Parco did nothing wrong.
Still, all of us rush to judgment. My first reaction was one of horror. And I too wondered why the other people in the room acted as if it’s a daily occurrence. But I think there is much, much more to this.
Times reporter Abbie Vansickle found out that his friends say Brian Sterner hasn’t been his normal self lately. He was arrested for “fleeing and attempting to elude officers,” which if true, doesn’t show much respect for law enforcement. After his initial report, Mike Deeson followed up with Sterner’s neighbors who are so scared of the guy, they don’t want to be seen on camera, and he has allegedly tried to run some of them over with his car.
Meanwhile, according to Tribune reporters Josh Poltilove and Mike Wells, Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones has had a very good record:
A review of the personnel files of Marshall-Jones and the three supervisors turned up mostly positive performance evaluations and dozens of commendation letters. Her last evaluation was written by Hinson (one of the supervisors seen in the video) two weeks before the wheelchair incident… In it, the sergeant says Marshall-Jones is an outstanding employee who handles inmates well.
In fact, her personnel file indicates she was praised:
… contains at least 13 commendation letters praising her service from various residents and other county workers. In November 2003, she and the rest of the booking room staff were named employees of the month.
But like you, she is not perfect. Marshall-Jones has been suspended twice. But notice both were administrative screw-ups, and both happened over eighteen years ago.
She worked at the courthouse with Hillsborough Circuit Judge Barbara Fleischer. Check what she says about her:
“She used humor to cajole people who otherwise were difficult to deal with. If anything, she calmed down situations that otherwise might have resulted in confrontation.” … “I never had any issue with anything related with her behavior.” … Marshall-Jones was “one of the better people I’ve come into contact with.”
Sue Carlton covered the courthouse, and remembers Marshall-Jones:
One of the nicest [bailiffs at the courthouse] was a female deputy who worked with a judge who liked the courtroom to run just so. Still, she kept things pleasant, always seemed even-keeled, funny, friendly. She was someone you never minded running into. Her name was Charlette, and every time I see her on that video, I can’t imagine.
And someone at Marshall-Jones home is confident:
A woman who answered the telephone at the home of the deputy, Charlette Marshall-Jones, said: “I feel positive. When I know I’m not wrong, I feel that way… I do believe the truth will come out, but I can’t offer more than that.”
Again, the video of a disabled person getting dumped out of his chair is horrific. It’s difficult to imagine what might have led to that happening. But we don’t have to imagine. This is the United States of America, so Deputy Marshall-Jones will have a chance to explain her side. I’m willing to wait for that.
Let’s get the entire story.
Tags: abuse, disabled, Hillsborough County, law enforcement, media, news, wheelchair
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February 15th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I don’t care if this guy went in and gunned down 1,000 people … you don’t dump someone out of their wheelchair.
That’s the whole story you need. But once again, let’s blame everyone except those that deserve the blame.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I think the biggest, and most overlooked, aspect of this is that Sheriff Gee is pretending to be shocked and “looking into this immediately” when it happened weeks ago. He clearly tried to cover it up and failed miserably.
At some point, we moved away from being a society that held its leaders responsible for decisions made by underlings. The nonchalant response by others in the video clearly indicate this is not the first time a similar incident has happened. Yet all the blame seems to be going on the individual who actually dumped the guy out of his chair? Ridiculous.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
What a memory-hole we live in..
How long ago was it that the video was released of a woman being dragged by her hair in the Orient jail for no reason? A year?
Or the old lady who was going to the hospital because her husband just had a heart-attack, the cop didn’t listen, he punched her in the face and arrested her. 4 months?
Or the little kid they killed last year upstate by beating the living crap out of him?
Every cop in this state needs to take a freaking civil rights class, quit the steroids, and take a deep breath.
Do I need to bring up the 5 high school drop-outs in Miami who were supposed to be a terror cell or the two guys from USF with the Roman candles driving while Muslim?
February 15th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I agree with you Tommy!
Yes, it is deplorable that she would have dumped him out of the chair but she had to have been provoked!
February 15th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
best part is we now have a new verb… wheelchair dumping!
February 16th, 2008 at 9:32 am
your take is right on, tommy.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Of course if they wanted to cover it up they could have started by not releasing their video. That was, after all, jail surveillance video that was released. It seems should they want to cover something up “accidentally” deleting the file would have been the first step.
I don’t see how she could have been provoked. This can’t be the first wheelchair bound person she has searched in 21 years. Plenty of witnesses though both civilian and leo here so lets see what they all say.
btw I missed that link about the crazy old lady in Clearwater Tommy thanks for posting it!
February 16th, 2008 at 11:36 am
also the deputy turned herself in for arrest this morning.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Provoked? Give me a break. So if you say something nasty and disrespectful to a cop that gives them the right to assault you? They’re supposed to enforce the law, not use it as a weapon to teach lessons to people they don’t like. She hurt a cripple…who cares why she did it?
February 16th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Perhaps Dep. Marshall-Jones watched the beginning of “Trading Places” recently.
February 16th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
They could not cover that up. Deleting a surveillance tape of interrogation areas, which are public records, would be a felony — and one much stronger than assaulting a man who it seems Tommy thinks deserved it (or may have deserved it, based on his call to get the “rest of the story.”)
February 17th, 2008 at 2:53 am
As usual, NONE of the media is giving us any background, except printing the same thing.
1)How did this jail tape get out to the media in the first place.
2)The man is in a wheelchair, and not a big guy either. If he was of ethnic race Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton would be screaming already.
3) NO one wants to touch this because it was African Americans involved against a white person. I am tired of this bias against white people. Enough is enough!
4)No matter what race this man is, he is half paralyzed. How much of a threat can this person be. Baloney
5)The writer of this piece seems to feel the young man provoked her. That is still NOT a valid reason for dumping him on the floor like that.
Why doesnt this writer really investigate both of them.
Reporters don’t report anymore, they just all say the same thing they got from one source, and keep repeating it.
Lets have some real investigative reporting on this one.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I’m not blaming anyone, don’t think he “deserved it,” and never said “provoked.” The world isn’t black and white. There are plenty of other possibilities.
Dan raises some good points above. There are numerous examples of rogue cops, but I hesitate to paint a picture of an entire group of people because of the actions of a few.
Beth, if you want better investigative reporting, go ahead and get started. Let us know what you find out.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:20 am
She was booked, bonded out, and released all within one hour. Hmmm talk about special treatment.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:28 am
The news DID say how the tape got out. It was requested by the man’s attorney, and he released it. There was nothing preventing him from doing so, as far as I’m concerned.
And there IS outrage. What do you think all this media hype is about, Beth?
I don’t think race should be a factor here, as I don’t think any of this was racially motivated.
Might there be more to the story, Tommy? Of course. But that doesn’t mean we should reserve judgment on the woman’s actions. I can’t think of a single thing in the world that would justify anyone dumping a paralyzed man or woman out of their wheelchair.
Nothing.