Pinellas Sheriff suspends two deputies for using excessive force

Two Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies have been suspended after a monthslong investigation into their use of excessive force on the night of May 25.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said he has suspended Alexander Edge and Jason Fineran for their roles in the incident. Edge faces a more severe punishment. The deputy will be suspended 15 days and be required to undergo training, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

Fineran has been suspended five days for turning off his microphone while the incident was being recorded.

Note: The video contains graphic content and may be difficult to watch.

The video, which was released in October, depicts the two deputies yanking the hair of 25-year-old Jimarez Reed and punching the back of his head and hitting him with handcuffs outside of his friend’s home. Toward the end of the video, a civilian assists the deputies in making the arrest.

According to Gualtieri, the video only shows a “partial depiction.” He said Edge’s actions were justified because Reed wasn’t following orders to place his hands on his head and stop running around his car. According to an arrest report, he also used his car to block a deputy from arresting him and resisted arrest even further when he kicked a deputy in the legs.

Twelve witnesses were interviewed as part of the investigation and Gualtieri reviewed 15 hours of recorded statements. According to Bay News 9, he said Reed was “screaming and yelling in an emphatic matter” and “the use of force never looks good,” but sometimes it’s justified.

But Reed’s lawyer, Michele Rayner, disagrees. She argues that the deputies were unnecessarily violent with her client.

“He was prone is essentially the best way to describe that. He was on his belly, his hands were out. What threat was he posing?” Rayner said. “What was the need to put him in a chokehold? What was the need to keep punching him? What was the need to pull him back up by his dreads?”

The sheriff’s office charged Reed with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and obstruction in May.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Pinellas Sheriff suspends two deputies for using excessive force."