
Paul King, left, and Trevena discuss King's experience in the Hillsborough County Jail. | Video [Lara Cerri | Times]
TAMPA -- A former special-education teacher says Hillsborough jail deputies violently threw him to the floor of a cell, put a hood over his head while he was in a restraint chair, and intentionally obstructed the view of a surveillance camera before beating him.
And the attorney representing him also brought forth another new client at a news conference this afternoon, a man who uses a wheelchair who says Hillsborough deputies forced him to ride on the floor of a van for more than three hours, aggravating his spinal injuries. They are the sixth and seventh claims of abuse by Hillsborough jail deputies to publicly surface this month.
Records show Paul King, 40, was arrested five times in Hillsborough County between May and July of 2007. The charges ranged from DUI to reckless driving to domestic assault. On July 7, he was booked on charges of disorderly intoxication and battery on a facility employee by expelling fluids. His attorney, John Trevena, says he has video showing the deputies mistreating King that day.
A Sheriff's Office spokesman could not be reached for comment on the latest allegations.
Video shows a deputy hurling King to the floor. It shows him seated in a restraint chair with a hood over his head. It also shows a deputy relocating paper from the glass cell wall in a way that blocked the camera's view of King's head.
"The one element of it that's going to be completely indefensible is when he's taken from the glass and thrown forcibly," said Trevena, adding that King was not resisting at that time.
At the news conference, King said deputies at the jail "made me say vile things about myself just to humiliate myself, and the other deputies laughed."
State arrest records show King’s life taking a sudden turn last May. His first arrest came May 27, when he was cited with reckless driving and DUI. Two days later, he was arrested on a charge of burglary of an occupied building.
July 4, he was arrested on suspicion of driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license and DUI. He was released on bail or his own recognizance.
Three days later it was battery on a facility employee and disorderly intoxication for which he received three years of probation. King alleges the abuse took place after this arrest.
Eight days later on July 15, Temple Terrace police arrested him on charges of suspicion of battery of someone over the age of 65, battery on a facility employee, disorderly intoxication, DUI, reckless driving and trespassing.
In December, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on suspicion of battery assault. He was not prosecuted.
Even though Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee has already asked a citizen panel to look into his agency's detention practices, Trevena called that "window dressing" and urged appointment of a special prosecutor to look at the abuse claims. "The floodgates, so to speak, have opened," Trevena said.
At the news conference, Trevena's associate introduced client Nick Joseph Molfetto, who had to be transported from the Lake Butler Correctional Institution to the Orient Road Jail for a court date and says Hillsborough deputies forced him to ride on the floor of a van despite his telling them he needed a special van for the disabled because of a spinal surgery.
Molfetto has been arrested about 21 times in Florida, state records show, on charges ranging from larceny, battery, burglary, weapon possession, cocaine possession, dealing in stolen property, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding.
Jail officials made headlines repeatedly in recent weeks when former inmates came forward with abuse claims.
The most famous case involved Brian Sterner, the quadriplegic whose ejection from his wheelchair at the hands of Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones was seen on video around the world. The incident led to Marshall-Jones' arrest on a felony abuse charge.
Another inmate said a deputy had broken her arm. And two more inmates claimed to have been beaten or abused, one saying she suffered brain damage. Then, on Thursday, the Sheriff's Office released footage in the case of Benjamin Rayburn; the combative paraplegic was left on the floor of a holding cell for 62 minutes after deputies took away his wheelchair.
"I'm beginning to think now that this may be a class action," Trevena said.
- Thomas Lake, Times staff writer