A sheriff's deputy is on restricted duty after officials say he dragged a mentally incompetent woman by the shackles around her ankles through a courthouse hallway.
The incident was caught on video Monday morning. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel questioned the conduct of Deputy Christopher Johnson and said the agency's internal affairs unit would investigate.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that attorney Bill Gelin recorded the deputy dragging 28-year-old Dasyl Jeanette Rios down a third-floor hallway. The woman sobbed and pleaded with the deputy. She had just been declared mentally incompetent during a trespassing and criminal mischief case.
"My only concern was that the deputy might have had other options, could have gone through a different course, performed it in a different way," Israel said. "We will see where it goes once internal affairs gets it."
Officials say Rios had argued with a female deputy when Johnson interceded.
Rhonda Boettcher, Rios' public defender, said she saw the moments before Rios was dragged away.
"He was telling her to get up and he picked her up and threw her to the ground and just pulled her away," Boettcher said.
Public Defender Howard Finkelstein called the act criminal and says he was furious when he saw the video.
