A case involving a mentally ill woman and the Broward Sheriff’s Office was recently settled for $30,000. The case itself began when the mentally ill woman, Dasyl Rios, was “dragged across a courthouse hallway by a Broward sheriff’s detention deputy” back in early 2015. The horrible incident sparked national headlines at the time, and was made more horrible when cellphone footage was released showing Rios being “dragged by the shackles around her ankles by Christopher Johnson, a detention deputy.” On the video, she was heard screaming, “You’re hurting me!”
A case involving a mentally ill woman and the Broward Sheriff’s Office was recently settled for $30,000. The case itself began when the mentally ill woman, Dasyl Rios, was “dragged across a courthouse hallway by a Broward sheriff’s detention deputy” back in early 2015. The horrible incident sparked national headlines at the time, and was made more horrible when cellphone footage was released showing Rios being “dragged by the shackles around her ankles by Christopher Johnson, a detention deputy.” On the video, she was heard screaming, “You’re hurting me!”
When the incident occurred, Rios was 28-years-old and had “diagnosed with a significant mental illness,” according to the lawsuit she filed as a result of her treatment. But why was she in a courthouse hallway, shackled, to begin with? Well, in December of 2014 she was arrested “on a cocaine possession charge at a Deerfield Beach motel.” When she was in the courthouse for matters related to the charges against her, she wanted to “speak to her mother who was in the back of the courtroom, but she was directed outside, where she sat on a bench.”
From there, the lawsuit states she was ordered to get up by the deputy. “When she refused, he grabbed the leg shackles binding her ankles, pulled her off the bench onto the floor and began dragging her down the hallway.” According to the lawsuit, she was dragged “about 300 feet, or the length of a football field.”
David Frankel, the attorney representing Rios, called the deputy’s actions “inhumane, and intolerable in a civilized society,” especially considering the fact that Rios was seen pleading with the deputy to stop in the cellphone recording.
The incident spurred a yearlong investigation into the matter, during which the “State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Johnson, finding his actions fell within the legally permissible use of force under the circumstances.” He was only given a “written reprimand after an internal investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.” According to reports, Johnson “stopped at least twice to provide her with the opportunity to get up and walk. Both times, Rios refused and continued to scream.”
That didn’t stop the courts from siding with Rios and handing her a check for $30,000. For now, Frankel said, “Rios has moved away from Florida and she’s doing OK.” He added, “it’s just a terrible incident, and I hope that something good comes out of it.”
As of Tuesday night, the Broward Sheriff’s Office could not be immediately reached for comment.
Sources:
Woman dragged through courthouse gets $30,000 in lawsuit settlement, her lawyer says
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