NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired due to use of excessive force, officials said.
Ronald Thurston had been with the Broward Sheriffs Department for more than 20 years and has had a public feud in the past with Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony.
Thurston was not shy about voicing his opinion about the department being more diverse.
According to the department, Thurston was terminated due to the use of excessive force against a man he had taken into custody.
Body camera footage showed the encounter between Thurston and the suspect, Isaiah Darcisse-Bey, on April 2020.
Darcisse-Bey spoke with 7News on Friday.
“It definitely did something to a man to see himself in a situation like that, but you know. If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger,” he said.
When Thurston went to the North Lauderdale complex to investigate a previous crime, the suspect is seen trying to get away from him.
“Hey … I’m going to shoot you. Get on the ground! Get on the ground!” said Thurston in the body camera footage.
After getting the suspect on the ground, another angle of the body camera footage shows the deputy placing his knee on Darcisse-Bey’s neck.
“I look like a play toy? No, boy. I’m a man. That’s what happened when you [expletive] with a man,” said Thurston while his knee is on the suspect’s neck.
According to authorities, Darcisse-Bey complained about it being too much, and nothing changed until other deputies arrived.
Authorities then accused Thurston of hitting Darcisse-Bey with his forearm, causing the suspect’s head to hit the patrol unit.
This occurred after Darcisse-Bey was already placed in handcuffs.
During the internal investigation, Thurston is accused of saying: “I probably would have killed him right there, and we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about.”
The state attorney did not move forward with criminal charges, and BSO’s Professional Standards Committee suggested a three-day suspension for the incident.
Tony went another route and opted to let Thurston go.
In a statement, the sheriff wrote, “His actions show that he possesses neither the temperament nor the decision-making ability to wear a badge or carry a gun.”
“I would say it was the correct thing to do, but more stuff needs to be don,” said Darcisse-Bey. “Our gratitude to the sheriff for living up to, I would say, the due dilligence of due process of law.”
7News reached out to Thurston’s attorney, and they said neither of them will be making a comment about the incident or why he was let go.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.