FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy defended his decision to punch a handcuffed inmate when he took the stand at his trial.
Jorge Sobrino spent hours testifying in his own defense on Thursday afternoon at the Broward County Courthouse about the Jan. 2, 2019 incident at Broward Health North.
The former deputy, who faces a misdemeanor battery charge, said he delivered the punch because he was unsure what the inmate was going to do next.
“Did you strike him because of his words?” asked a defense attorney.
“No,” said Sobrino.
“Why did you strike him?” asked the defense attorney.
“Because of his actions,” answered Sobrino.
Body camera video captured Sobrino and then 26-year-old inmate, David O’Connell, in a hospital room.
O’Connell, a felon who has been convicted seven times, was under arrest for attacking a security officer at a Walmart in Pompano Beach.
Before taking him to jail, Sobrino wanted to have O’Connell checked out at the hospital.
Sobrino said O’Connell, who was handcuffed to a bed, was becoming disruptive, and the former deputy wanted to cuff his other arm.
The footage then showed Sobrino punching the inmate.
Sobrino said the punch was justified because O’Connell was resisting.
“My intention was to lift his legs up, wrap his arm, handcuff it to the bed and walk away,” Sobrino said on the stand. “As I lifted his legs up, his left arm, his free arm, began to come up towards me.”
Sobrino was fired from the BSO and charged with battery. He faces up to a year in jail if he is convicted.
The defense has since rested. Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday, and the jury is expected to begin deliberations sometime on Friday afternoon.
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