By David J. Neal, Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — If a Broward sheriff’s detention deputy used a flashlight on a recalcitrant inmate’s fingers and hands, as an internal affairs investigation claims Delroy Rose did, the Broward State Attorney’s Office counts it as battery.
That’s why Rose, 56, has been charged with one count of misdemeanor battery. The state filed charges this week for an incident alleged to have happened Oct. 29 at BSO’s North Broward Bureau jail.
While Rose was working the jail’s male infirmary unit, a probable cause affidavit says, he saw an inmate throw a cup with “an unknown substance into the vestibule area of the unit.”
Rose soon tried to close the inmate’s cell door, but the inmate “maintained a firm grasp of the flap, preventing Rose from closing the flap,” the affidavit said. “Rose then retrieved his flashlight and repeatedly struck [the inmate’s]) hands and fingers, ultimately securing the door flap.”
On Thursday, Sheriff Gregory Tony said Rose was suspended from BSO without pay.
“Last year, command staff at our North Broward Bureau reviewed an incident involving Detention Deputy Delroy Rose and forwarded the information to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Use of Force Review Board to review the case. The Use of Force Review Board, which was established under my direction, recommended that BSO’s Internal Affairs Unit investigate the incident,” he said in a statement.
BSO’s Internal Affairs Unit forwarded the case to the Broward State Attorney’s Office to see if criminal charges are warranted, Tony’s statement said.
“Any allegation of misconduct by an employee of the Broward Sheriff’s Office will be thoroughly investigated,” Tony’s statement continued. “I have made it clear that I have zero tolerance for any abuse of power, and I have demonstrated that commitment time and time again by holding employees to account for their actions. The investigation involving this detention deputy will be no different.”
According to BSO, Rose was hired on July 30, 2001. He has been a detention deputy during his 20 years with BSO.
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