Jail commission gets lesson in use of force

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office major James Previtera, right, talks about deputy training to the Independent Review Commission on Jails at Jefferson High School. [Chris Zuppa, Times]

TAMPA -- A commission reviewing the Hillsborough County jail is hearing from sheriff's personnel about the appropriate use of force by deputies.

The commission, which was convened after a video showed a detention deputy dump a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair in Central Booking, is meeting for the second time today. So far, the commission has heard about the training of deputies, supervisors and the use of force at the jail.

Testimony is expected later this afternoon on internal affairs inquiries and on psychological evaluations of sheriff's employees.

The meeting, which began just after 10 a.m. and is slated to end about 3 p.m., is open to the public but few people have attended other than reporters. It is held at Jefferson High School.

The day started with a video about the purpose of jails in communities. It started with scenes from famous movies: The Silence of the Lambs, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Then, it showed the Hillsborough County jail and other national jails, showing that modern facilities look different from the scary scenes in the movies.

The commissioners come from a wide array of backgrounds, including experts in mental health, law enforcement and a state board member of the ACLU. Most questions so far have focused on how the agency trains supervisors and how the Sheriff's Office weeds out deputies who show troubling behaviors.

-- Abbie VanSickle, Times staff writer