According to the footage, the deputy, later identified as Dirio Sinclair, can be seen speaking with the patient, whose face in the clip is blurred as he is handcuffed to the side of the bed.
The patient attempts to stand up on the bed and pulls on the bed’s railing that he is handcuffed to. Sinclair appears to be seen telling the patient to lay back down in the bed. When he refuses, Sinclair allegedly begins hitting the patient.
At a Tuesday press conference, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez announced that the deputy had been suspended “pending a criminal investigation.” Lopez said that Sinclair has been with the Osceola County Sheriff’s office for about two years.
According to Lopez, the incident between the patient and Sinclair occurred on May 6 at the Advent Health Hospital.
“The patient had one arm handcuffed to the bed and he was under arrest for violating a domestic violence injunction,” Lopez said. “Upon receiving this information regarding the behavior of this deputy, we relieved him of his duty, took his gun and badge and started the investigation.”
Lopez said that the video shows the altercation between the deputy and the patient began after the two started arguing.
“When I saw the video…it looks like two individuals in crisis, to be honest with you,” Lopez said. “But since I took office, I promised transparency and we’re always gonna hold our deputies to a higher standard. What happened between the two of them, definitely, it’s clear on video that this needed to be investigated and send it up to the state attorney’s office.”
Lopez explained that the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office completed its own investigation regarding the deputy and the incident, and sent the case to the Osceola County State Attorney’s Office.
“It’s potentially a crime committed by a deputy. This crime is a misdemeanor battery case,” the sheriff said.
Lopez also noted that following the investigation by the sheriff’s office, he does believe that Sinclair struck the patient and suggested that Sinclair’s mental health may have played a role in the incident.
Newsweek reached out to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for further comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
