The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office released surveillance footage showing the moments an inmate attacked a deputy.
The video was taken inside the Falkenburg Road Jail on Oct. 19.
The attack lasted for several minutes before another inmate stepped in.
Sheriff Chad Chronister filed a motion Thursday asking for the full video to be sealed by the courts.
He said it shows how many surveillance cameras are in the jail and where they are.
He also said it shows where deputies are located inside the jail, something he said, if released would let inmates know how long it takes deputies to respond to a certain spot.
Investigators said a detention deputy questioned inmate Raheem Fulton over contraband.
It’s what happened next that sent the deputy to the hospital.
“It was very scary to see that cut pause and that officer being overpowered,” Center for Justice Research & Policy Co-Director Edelyn Verona said.
In the video, the deputy tries to put Fulton in handcuffs. That’s when investigators said Fulton turned around and punched the deputy in the face.
The fight continued for just under four minutes before an inmate finally intervenes.
Another minute goes by before another deputy enters the video and restrains Fulton, something Verona said she was shocked to see.
“What was astounding to me is that it went on for a while,” she said. “I didn’t see another officer come in as quickly as you might expect.”
Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez said the state’s pre-trial detention motion was granted, so Fulton will now be held without bond until trial.
“If this defendant is going to be brazen enough to do this to a deputy inside of our jail, there’s no telling what he would do to someone on the outside,” Lopez said. “He’s already on probation for an armed robbery, so we know he’s a dangerous individual.”
The state attorney said because Fulton is a prison release reoffender, he could be looking at decades in prison.
“Getting out of prison, within three years, he picked up a violent offense, which is aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, so he is looking at a day for day sentence of 30 years in prison and that’s what we’re going to go after,” Lopez said.
As for the deputy, members of the sheriff’s office said he suffered an eye socket fracture and had to undergo surgery.
He has since been released from the hospital.
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Source: wfla
