Florida Deputy Accused Of Punching Handcuffed Prisoner

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — A Florida sheriff's deputy was charged with misdemeanor battery after he was caught on video allegedly punching a prisoner who was handcuffed to a hospital bed earlier this year. If convicted, Broward Deputy Jorge Sobrino faces up to one year in jail.

"The Jan. 2, 2019 incident in a hospital room at Broward Health North Medical Center was
captured on body-camera video footage," according to the Broward State Attorney's Office, which announced the charge on Friday.

The prisoner, identified as David Rafferty O’Connell of Boca Raton, had been arrested and taken to the hospital for medical clearance after witnesses said he tried to fight an employee in a Pompano Beach store.

In a statement, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said the 24-year-old Sobrino also is the subject of an internal affairs investigation, which has been placed on hold until after the criminal proceeding.

Watch below via WSVN-TV:

Today, after the State Attorney’s Office announced it was charging Deputy Jorge Sobrino with one count of misdemeanor battery, Sheriff Gregory Tony immediately suspended him without pay," the sheriff's office said.

A date for Sobrino's initial court appearance had not yet been set as of Friday.