By C1 Staff
MIAMI, Fla. — A Broward County deputy is under investigation after video surfaced of him dragging a mentally ill, distressed female inmate by her ankle shackles down a courthouse hallway.
The NY Daily News reports that Dasyl Rios was in the Broward County Courthouse on Monday for a status hearing after two doctors found her mentally incompetent.
Rios’ mother said that her daughter suffers from bipolar disorder. Rios has been involuntarily institutionalized numerous times in recent years and became distraught as she left the courtroom ahead of her.
The video was taken by defense lawyer Bill Gelin, who said that the deputy was dragging Rios “like she was a farm animal.”
Rios was sitting on a hallway bench sobbing when Deputy Christopher Johnson ordered her to walk. He threatened to drag her if she didn’t get up.
Seconds later, Johnson yanked Rios off of the bench and started hauling her feet first through the hallway.
Others in the hall witnessing the event, including other deputies, make no moves to stop Johnson.
Johnson wrote in a report about the incident that Rios had grown disruptive and he feared “she would cause a commotion,” so he hauled her out of court.
He has been placed on restricted duty and the sheriff’s office has begun an internal investigation.
“I am concerned by the way the deputy handled this situation, because there were other courses of action he could have taken,” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said in a statement.
Rios was transferred to a mental health hospital.