Here’s one of those bad apples that give police officers a negative rep. His name is Charles Broaderick and he’s a Corrections Officer in Marion County, Florida.
What Broaderick did is slam DUI (Driving Under the Influence) suspect James Duckworth’s head into a concrete wall leaving the man bleeding and unconscious for a few minutes after interpreting what looks like -and we’ll agree with Gawker here– a throat cleaning gesture as a spitting attempt.
In the surveillance footage released by the sheriff’s office, we hear 41-year old Broaderick saying, “You don’t spit at officers”. At the time, Duckworth was handcuffed with his back to the wall in a room in the jail where police take drunken driver suspects.
According to ActionNewsJax, the officer responsible was put in jail but released immediately after on bond. He is currently on unpaid suspension, pending an investigation.
When asked about the October 8, 2013, incident, Captain Hames Pogue of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said: “Your reaction to seeing the video and the public’s reaction to it was the same for us. Same for Sheriff Blair when he watched it.”
He said that firing Broaderick for excessive use of force before the case is completed was not an option.
“How employers in law enforcement act is governed by Florida state statute,” said Pogue who added that the process is “very strict when it comes to an officer’s rights to due process”.
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