FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A controversial booking in 2022 led to the arrests of three Broward Detention deputies who, officials said, assaulted a subject. Now, they are fighting the accusations, claiming they did nothing wrong.
According to records, BSO Deputies Denia Walker and Cleopatra Johnnie, as well as Sgt. Zakiyyah Polk, brought a woman into Broward County Jail on a charge of driving under the influence in October 2022. The deputies then demanded the 38-year-old woman, identified as Samantha Caputo, remove her clothes, inciting an argument.
Caputo’s attorney, Philip Johnston, said she was instructed by the deputies to change into a jail uniform.
“She removed her bra from underneath her shirt and tossed it, underhand, at the guard, who caught it, but it was taken as a sign of disrespect, and that guard immediately shoved her against the opposite wall, and she went flying,” said Johnston.
Video captured by cameras in the Broward County Main Jail showcases the moments the three deputies began to punch and kick her multiple times. One of the deputies attacked Caputo with pepper spray while another shocked her with a Taser.
“She tried to get back to her feet, the guard caught her throat with an open hand and took her down to the ground. Another guard pepper-sprayed her within seconds. This is all taking place within seconds,” said Johnston.
That’s when some of what was described in the arrest warrant allegedly happens, behind a yellow line, which is a blind spot for the cameras, where inmates change.
“The guard hit her with knee strikes, punched her, stomped on her, the main officer takes out a Taser and tases her once, tases her a second time,” said Johnston. “A guard touches her when she’s being shocked, and she went flying across the room.”
BSO nursing staff then treated Caputo, who had suffered significant injuries. Caputo also learned she had contracted a skin infection from where she’d been shocked with a Taser.
The DUI charge against Caputo was later dropped.
Attorneys for all three deputies released statements. In one of them, an attorney for one of the deputies wrote that they believe the charges against each woman is “factually unfounded,” and they are “looking forward to vigorously defending this case” in court.
One of the statements reads in part:
“There is more to this story then what any videos will and won’t show. We will fight tooth and nail to illustrate that these Detention Deputies did not commit any crimes. We remain confident that, when all of the facts are revealed, that our clients will be acquitted.”
Johnston, however, said otherwise.
“There is not a clear other side to this story. My client is about 110 pounds. She went flying from the first shove, and her eyes were shut from the immediate use of mace. There was no possible harm posed by my client in the course of this,” he said.
All three deputies, each facing a second-degree felony charge, have since been released from custody on $7,500 bonds. They have also been placed on administrative leave with pay.
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