FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A jury found former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy Jorge Sobrino not guilty of battery in his decision to punch an inmate who had been handcuffed to a hospital bed back in 2019.
Deliberations lasted just a few hours.
The incident happened in 2019 at Broward Health North in Pompano Beach after Sobrino arrested David O’Connell.
O’Connell was accused of attacking a security guard the same day he was struck by Sobrino.
Sobrino took the stand Friday and testified about his actions leading up to the incident.
“My intention was to lift his legs up, grab his arm, handcuff it to the bed and, again, walk away,” said Sobrino on the stand. “As I lifted his legs up, um, his left arm, his free arm, began to come up towards me.”
After being acquitted Friday, he received a very emotional hug from his father in the courtroom.
“He is not a bad officer. He’s not a bad deputy,” said defense attorney Eric Schwartzreich. “This was nothing more than someone who was restraining, was resisting arrest, was lawfully arrested.”
Schwartzreich said now the next steps for Sobrino are to fight for his job back.
“There are bad police officers and there are good police officers. He’s a great police officer,” he said. “He wants his job back. He wants to be in law enforcement officer.”
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.